Isaiah 45
45
Cyrus, God's Instrument
1Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him
and strip kings of their robes,
to open doors before him—
and the gates shall not be closed:
2I will go before you
and level the mountains,#45.2 Q Ms Gk: MT the swellings
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3I will give you the treasures of darkness
and riches hidden in secret places,
so that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
4For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I surname you, though you do not know me.
5I am the Lord, and there is no other;
besides me there is no god.
I arm you, though you do not know me,
6so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7I form light and create darkness,
I make weal and create woe;
I the Lord do all these things.
8Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the skies rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation may spring up,#45.8 Q Ms: MT that they may bring forth salvation
and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also;
I the Lord have created it.
9Woe to you who strive with your Maker,
earthen vessels with the potter!#45.9 Cn: Heb with the potsherds, or with the potters
Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, “What are you making”?
or “Your work has no handles”?
10Woe to anyone who says to a father, “What are you begetting?”
or to a woman, “With what are you in labor?”
11Thus says the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
Will you question me#45.11 Cn: Heb Ask me of things to come about my children,
or command me concerning the work of my hands?
12I made the earth,
and created humankind upon it;
it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host.
13I have aroused Cyrus#45.13 Heb him in righteousness,
and I will make all his paths straight;
he shall build my city
and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,
says the Lord of hosts.
14Thus says the Lord:
The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Ethiopia,#45.14 Or Nubia; Heb Cush
and the Sabeans, tall of stature,
shall come over to you and be yours,
they shall follow you;
they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying,
“God is with you alone, and there is no other;
there is no god besides him.”
15Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
16All of them are put to shame and confounded,
the makers of idols go in confusion together.
17But Israel is saved by the Lord
with everlasting salvation;
you shall not be put to shame or confounded
to all eternity.
18For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he did not create it a chaos,
he formed it to be inhabited!):
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19I did not speak in secret,
in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
“Seek me in chaos.”
I the Lord speak the truth,
I declare what is right.
Idols Cannot Save Babylon
20Assemble yourselves and come together,
draw near, you survivors of the nations!
They have no knowledge—
those who carry about their wooden idols,
and keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.
21Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
There is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is no one besides me.
22Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23By myself I have sworn,
from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
“To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear.”
24Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and strength;
all who were incensed against him
shall come to him and be ashamed.
25In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
shall triumph and glory.
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Isaiah 45: NRSV-CI
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 45
45
1The Lord says this to Cyrus, his anointed,#Is 44:28
whose right hand I have grasped#Ps 73:23; Is 41:13; 42:6
to subdue nations before him
and disarm#45:1 Lit unloosen the waist of kings,#Jb 12:21; Is 45:5
to open doors before him,
and even city gates will not be shut:
2“I will go before you
and level the uneven places;#45:2 DSS, LXX read the mountains#Is 40:4
I will shatter the bronze doors
and cut the iron bars in two.#Ps 107:16
3I will give you the treasures of darkness
and riches from secret places,#Jr 41:8; 50:37
so that you may know that I am the Lord.
I am the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.#Ex 33:12,17; Is 43:1; 49:1
4I call you by your name,
for the sake of my servant Jacob#Is 41:8; 42:19
and Israel my chosen one.
I give a name to you,
though you do not know me.
5I am the Lord, and there is no other;#Is 45:6,14,18,21; 46:9
there is no God but me.#Is 44:6,8
I will strengthen#45:5 Lit gird you,
though you do not know me,
6so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
that there is no one but me.#Ps 102:15; Is 37:20; Mal 1:11
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7I form light and create darkness,#Ps 104:20; 105:28
I make success and create disaster;#Gn 50:20; 1Sm 16:14; 1Kg 21:21; 22:8; 2Kg 6:33; Jb 2:10; Ps 78:49; Is 13:11; 31:2; 47:11; Jr 1:14; Lm 3:38; Am 3:6
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8“Heavens, sprinkle from above,
and let the skies shower righteousness.#Hs 10:12
Let the earth open up
so that salvation will sprout
and righteousness will spring up with it.#Ps 85:11; Is 61:11
I, the Lord, have created it.
9“Woe to the one who argues with his Maker —
one clay pot among many.#45:9 Lit a clay pot with clay pots of the ground
Does clay say to the one forming it,
‘What are you making? ’ #Is 29:16; 64:8; Jr 18:6; Rm 9:20–21
Or does your work say,
‘He has no hands’?#45:9 Or making? Your work has no hands.
10Woe to the one who says to his father,
‘What are you fathering?’
or to his mother,#45:10 Lit to a woman
‘What are you giving birth to? ’”
11This is what the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel#Is 1:4 and its Maker, says:
“Ask me what is to happen to#45:11 Or me the coming things about my sons,#Jr 31:9
and instruct me about the work of my hands.#Is 19:25; 29:23; 60:21; 64:8
12I made the earth,
and created humans on it.
It was my hands that stretched out the heavens,#Ps 104:2; Is 42:5; 44:24
and I commanded everything in them.
13I have stirred him up in righteousness,#Is 41:2
and will level all roads for him.
He will rebuild my city,#2Ch 36:22–23; Is 44:28
and set my exiles free,#Is 52:3
not for a price or a bribe,”
says the Lord of Armies.
God Alone Is the Savior
14This is what the Lord says:
“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush
and the Sabeans, men of stature,#Is 18:1; 43:3
will come over to you#Is 14:1–2; 49:23; 54:3
and will be yours;
they will follow you,
they will come over in chains
and bow down to you.
They will confess#45:14 Lit pray to you,
‘God is indeed with you,#1Co 14:25 and there is no other;
there is no other God.’”
15Yes, you are a God who hides,#Ps 44:24; Is 1:15; 8:17; 57:17
God of Israel, Savior.#Is 43:3
16All of them are put to shame, even humiliated;#Is 42:17; 44:9
the makers of idols go in humiliation together.
17Israel will be saved by the Lord
with an everlasting salvation;
you will not be put to shame or humiliated
for all eternity.#Ps 37:19; Is 49:23; 50:7; 54:4; Jl 2:26–27; Zph 3:11; Rm 9:33; 10:11; 1Pt 2:6
18For this is what the Lord says —
the Creator of the heavens,
the God who formed the earth and made it,
the one who established it
(he did not create it to be a wasteland,
but formed it to be inhabited)#Gn 1:26; Ps 115:16 —
he says, “I am the Lord,
and there is no other.
19I have not spoken in secret,#Is 48:16
somewhere in a land of darkness.
I did not say to the descendants of Jacob:
Seek me in a wasteland.#2Ch 15:2; Ps 78:34; Jr 29:13–14
I am the Lord, who speaks righteously,#Ps 19:8; Is 45:23; 63:1
who declares what is right.
20“Come, gather together,
and approach, you fugitives of the nations.
Those who carry their wooden idols
and pray to a god who cannot save#Is 44:17; 46:1,7; Jr 10:5
have no knowledge.#Is 44:18–19; 48:5–7
21Speak up and present your case#45:21 Lit and approach#Is 41:21–23; 43:9 —
yes, let them consult each other.
Who predicted this long ago?
Who announced it from ancient times?
Was it not I, the Lord?
There is no other God but me,
a righteous God and Savior;#Is 43:3,11
there is no one except me.#Dt 4:35; 6:4; Mk 12:32
22Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth.
For I am God,
and there is no other.
23By myself I have sworn;#Gn 22:16; Is 62:8; Heb 6:13
truth has gone from my mouth,#Is 55:11
a word that will not be revoked:
Every knee will bow#Rm 14:11; Php 2:10 to me,
every tongue will swear allegiance.
24It will be said about me, ‘Righteousness and strength
are found only in the Lord.’”
All who are enraged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.#Is 41:11
25All the descendants of Israel
will be justified and boast in the Lord.
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