Isaiah 45
45
Cyrus Obeys the Lord's Commands
1The Lord said to Cyrus, his chosen one:
I have taken hold
of your right hand
to help you capture nations
and remove kings from power.
City gates will open for you;
not one will stay closed.
2As I lead you,
I will level mountains#45.2 mountains: The Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text “rising waves.”
and break the iron bars
on bronze gates of cities.
3I will give you treasures
hidden in dark
and secret places.
Then you will know that I,
the Lord God of Israel,
have called you by name.
4Cyrus, you don't even know me!
But I have called you by name
and highly honored you#45.4 But … you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
because of Israel,
my chosen servant.
5Only I am the Lord!
There are no other gods.
I have made you strong,
though you don't know me.
6Now everyone from east to west
will learn that I am the Lord.
No other gods are real.
7I create light and darkness,
happiness and sorrow.
I, the Lord, do all this.
8Tell the heavens
to send down justice
like showers of rain.
Prepare the earth
for my saving power
to sprout and produce justice
that I, the Lord, create.#45.8 Prepare … create: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
The Lord's Mighty Power
The Lord said:
9 #
Is 29.16; Ro 9.20. Israel, you have no right
to argue with your Creator.
You are merely a clay pot
shaped by a potter.
The clay doesn't ask,
“Why did you make me this way?
Where are the handles?”
10Children don't have the right
to demand of their parents,
“What have you done
to make us what we are?”
11I am the Lord, the Creator,
the holy God of Israel.
Do you dare question me
about my own nation
or about what I have done?
12I created the world
and covered it with people;
I stretched out the sky
and filled it with stars.
13I have done the right thing
by placing Cyrus in power,
and I will make the roads easy
for him to follow.
I am the Lord All-Powerful!
Cyrus will rebuild my city
and set my people free
without being paid a thing.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Lord Alone Can Save
14My people, I, the Lord, promise
that the riches of Egypt
and the treasures of Ethiopia#45.14 Ethiopia: See the note at 11.11.
will belong to you.
You will force into slavery
those tall people of Seba.#45.14 Seba: See the note at 43.3.
They will bow down and say,
“The only true God is with you;
there are no other gods.”
15People of Israel,
your God is a mystery,
though he alone can save.
16Anyone who makes idols
will be confused
and terribly disgraced.
17But Israel, I, the Lord,
will always keep you safe
and free from shame.
Everyone Is Invited
18The Lord alone is God!
He created the heavens
and made a world
where people can live,
instead of creating
an empty desert.
The Lord alone is God;
there are no others.
19The Lord did not speak
in a dark secret place
or command Jacob's descendants
to search for him in vain.
The Lord speaks the truth,
and this is what he says
20to every survivor
from every nation:
“Gather around me!
Learn how senseless it is
to worship wooden idols
or pray to helpless gods.
21“Why don't you get together
and meet me in court?
Didn't I tell you long ago
what would happen?
I am the only God!
There are no others.
I bring about justice,
and have the power to save.
22“I invite the whole world
to turn to me and be saved.
I alone am God!
No others are real.
23 #
Ro 14.11; Phil 2.10,11. I have made a solemn promise,
one that won't be broken:
Everyone will bow down
and worship me.
24They will admit that I alone
can bring about justice.
Everyone who is angry with me
will be terribly ashamed
and will turn to me.
25I, the Lord, will give
victory and great honor
to the people of Israel.”
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Isaiah 45: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 45
45
1 Thus says Yahweh to his anointed one,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped
to subjugate nations before him,
and I uncover#Or “let loose” the loins of kings
to open doors before him,
and the gates shall not be shut:
2“I myself will go before you,
and I will level the mountains.#Literally “swells”
I will break the doors of bronze
and cut throughthe bars of iron.
3And I will give you the treasures of darkness
and treasures of secret places
so that you may know that I am Yahweh,
the one who calls you by your name, the God of Israel,
4for the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen one.
And I call you by your name;
I give you a name of honor, though#Or “and” you do not know me.
5I am Yahweh, and there is none besides me;
besides me there is no god.
I gird you though#Or “and” you do not know me,
6so that they may know from the rising of the sun
and from the west that there is none besides me;
I am Yahweh and there is none besides me.
7I form light and I create darkness;
I make peace and I create evil;
I am Yahweh; I do all these things.
8Trickle, O heavens, from above,
and let clouds trickle with righteousness;
let the earth open so that#Or “and” salvation may be fruitful,
and let it cause righteousness to sprout along with it.#Or “together”
I myself, Yahweh, have created it.
9Woe to the one who strives with his maker,#Literally “one who forms”
a potsherd among#Or “with” potsherds of earth!
Does the clay say to the one who fashions it,
‘What are you making?’
and ‘Your work has no hands’?
10Woe to the one who says to a father, ‘What you are begetting?’
or#Or “and” to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’ ”
11Thus says Yahweh, the holy one of Israel,
and its maker:#Literally “one who forms”
“Ask me of the things to come about#Literally “over” my children,
and you command me about the work of my hands.
12I myself made the earth,
and I created humankind upon it.
I, my hands, stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host.
13I myself have stirred him up in righteousness,
and I will make all his paths smooth.
He himself shall build my city,
and he shall set my exiles free,
not for price or a gift,” says Yahweh of hosts.
Yahweh the Only Savior
14Thus says Yahweh:
“The acquisition of Egypt
and the merchandise of Cush
and the Sabeans, tall men,
shall pass over to you;
they shall be yours,
and they shall walk behind you.
They shall pass over in chains,
and they shall bow down to you;
they will pray to you:
‘Surely God is with you, and there is no other.
Besides him there is no God.’ ”
15Surely you are a God who keeps yourself hidden,
God of Israel, the savior.
16All of them are ashamed and indeed humiliated;
the craftsmen of idols go together in insult.
17Israel is saved by Yahweh with everlasting salvation;
you shall not be ashamed,
and you shall not be humiliated to all eternity.#Literally “for eternity, forever”
18For thus says Yahweh, who created#Literally “creating” the heavens,
he is God, who formed#Literally “forming” the earth
and who made#Literally “making” it.
He himself established it;
he did not create it as emptiness—
he formed it for inhabiting.
“I am Yahweh and there is none besides me.
19I have spoken not in secrecy, in a place, a land, of darkness,
I have not said to the descendants of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain!’#Literally “in emptiness,” as in verse 18
I, Yahweh, am speaking righteousness,
declaring uprightness.
20Assemble and come;
draw near together, survivors of the nations!
They do not know, those who carry their wooden idols#Literally “the wood of their idol”
and pray to a god who cannot save.
21Declare and present your case,
also let them consult together!
Who made this known#Literally “caused to hear this” from former times,#Literally “before”
declared it from of old?#Literally “then”
Was it not I, Yahweh?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God besides me,
and no savior besides me.
22Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth,
for I am God and there is none besides me.
23I have sworn by myself;
a word that#Or “and” shall not return has gone forth from my mouth in righteousness:
‘Every knee shall kneel down to me;
every tongue shall swear.’
24‘Only in Yahweh,’ one shall say to me, ‘are righteousness and strength.’
He shall come to him, and all those who were angry with him shall be ashamed.
25In Yahweh all the offspring of Israel shall be in the right,
and they shall boast.”
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