Isaiah 45
45
Cyrus as God’s anointed
1The LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whom I have grasped by the strong hand,
to conquer nations before him,
disarming kings,
and opening doors before him,
so no gates will be shut:
2I myself will go before you,
and I will level mountains.
I will shatter bronze doors;
I will cut through iron bars.
3I will give you hidden treasures of secret riches,
so you will know that I am the LORD,
the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
4For the sake of my servant Jacob and Israel my chosen,
I called you by name.
I gave you an honored title,
though you didn’t know me.
5I am the LORD, and there is no other;
besides me there is no God.
I strengthen you—
though you don’t know me—
6so all will know, from the rising of the sun to its setting,
that there is nothing apart from me.
I am the LORD; there’s no other.
7I form light and create darkness,
make prosperity and create doom;
I am the LORD, who does all these things.
8Pour down, you heavens above,
and let the clouds flow with righteousness.
Let the earth open for salvation to bear fruit;
let righteousness sprout as well.
I, the LORD, have created these things.
Potter and clay
9Doom to the one who argues with the potter,#45.9 Or maker
as if he were just another clay pot!
Does the clay say to the potter, “What are you making?”
or “Your work has no handles”?
10Doom to one who says to a father,
“What have you fathered?”
and to a woman,
“With what are you in labor?”
11The LORD, the holy one of Israel and its maker,#45.11 Or potter says:
Are you questioning me#45.11 Or about future things ask me about my own children?
Are you telling me what to do with the work of my hands?
12I myself made the earth,
and created humans upon it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens.
I commanded all their forces.
13I have a right to awaken Cyrus;
I will smooth all his paths.
He will build my city
and set my exiles free,
not for a price and not for a bribe,
says the LORD of heavenly forces.
14The LORD says:
Egypt will grow weary, Cush will be sold,#45.14 Heb uncertain
and the tall Sabeans will cross over to you.
They will be yours, and after you they will go.
In chains they will come;
to you they will bow down.
They will plead with you:
“Truly God is with you;
there’s no other, no other God.”
15Surely you are a god who hides himself,
Israel’s God and savior.
Idols contrasted with God
16They will all be shamed and disgraced;
the makers of idols will end up disgraced together.
17Israel has been saved by the LORD of everlasting salvation.
You won’t be shamed,
and you won’t be disgraced forever and always.
18For this is what the LORD said, who created the heavens,
who is God,
who formed the earth and made it,
who established it,
who didn’t create it a wasteland but formed it as a habitation:
I, the LORD, and none other!
19I didn’t speak in secret
or in some land of darkness;
I didn’t say to the offspring of Jacob,
“Seek me in chaos.”
I am the LORD, the one who speaks truth,
who announces what is correct.
20Gather and come,
draw near together,
fugitives of the nations!
Those who carry their wooden idols don’t know;
those who pray to a god who won’t save.
21Announce! Approach! Confer together!
Who proclaimed this from the beginning, announced it from long ago?
Wasn’t it I, the LORD?
There’s no other God except me,
a righteous God and a savior;
there’s none besides me!
22Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth,
for I am God, and there’s no other.
23I have sworn a solemn pledge;
a word has left my mouth;
it is reliable and won’t fail.
Surely every knee will bow
and every tongue will confess;
24they will say, “Righteousness and strength come only from the LORD.
All who are angry with him will come to shame.
25All the Israelites
will be victorious and rejoice.”
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Isaiah 45: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 45
45
Cyrus, the Lord’s Chosen One
1This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his anointed one,
whose right hand he will empower.
Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear.
Their fortress gates will be opened,
never to shut again.
2This is what the Lord says:
“I will go before you, Cyrus,
and level the mountains.#45:2 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads the swellings.
I will smash down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
3And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—
secret riches.
I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.
4“And why have I called you for this work?
Why did I call you by name when you did not know me?
It is for the sake of Jacob my servant,
Israel my chosen one.
5I am the Lord;
there is no other God.
I have equipped you for battle,
though you don’t even know me,
6so all the world from east to west
will know there is no other God.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7I create the light and make the darkness.
I send good times and bad times.
I, the Lord, am the one who does these things.
8“Open up, O heavens,
and pour out your righteousness.
Let the earth open wide
so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together.
I, the Lord, created them.
9“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator.
Does a clay pot argue with its maker?
Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying,
‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’
Does the pot exclaim,
‘How clumsy can you be?’
10How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father,
‘Why was I born?’
or if it said to its mother,
‘Why did you make me this way?’”
11This is what the Lord says—
the Holy One of Israel and your Creator:
“Do you question what I do for my children?
Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?
12I am the one who made the earth
and created people to live on it.
With my hands I stretched out the heavens.
All the stars are at my command.
13I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose,
and I will guide his actions.
He will restore my city and free my captive people—
without seeking a reward!
I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
Future Conversion of Gentiles
14This is what the Lord says:
“You will rule the Egyptians,
the Ethiopians,#45:14 Hebrew Cushites. and the Sabeans.
They will come to you with all their merchandise,
and it will all be yours.
They will follow you as prisoners in chains.
They will fall to their knees in front of you and say,
‘God is with you, and he is the only God.
There is no other.’”
15Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior,
you work in mysterious ways.
16All craftsmen who make idols will be humiliated.
They will all be disgraced together.
17But the Lord will save the people of Israel
with eternal salvation.
Throughout everlasting ages,
they will never again be humiliated and disgraced.
18For the Lord is God,
and he created the heavens and earth
and put everything in place.
He made the world to be lived in,
not to be a place of empty chaos.
“I am the Lord,” he says,
“and there is no other.
19I publicly proclaim bold promises.
I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.
I would not have told the people of Israel#45:19 Hebrew of Jacob. See note on 14:1. to seek me
if I could not be found.
I, the Lord, speak only what is true
and declare only what is right.
20“Gather together and come,
you fugitives from surrounding nations.
What fools they are who carry around their wooden idols
and pray to gods that cannot save!
21Consult together, argue your case.
Get together and decide what to say.
Who made these things known so long ago?
What idol ever told you they would happen?
Was it not I, the Lord?
For there is no other God but me,
a righteous God and Savior.
There is none but me.
22Let all the world look to me for salvation!
For I am God; there is no other.
23I have sworn by my own name;
I have spoken the truth,
and I will never go back on my word:
Every knee will bend to me,
and every tongue will declare allegiance to me.#45:23 Hebrew will confess; Greek version reads will declare allegiance to God. Compare Rom 14:11.”
24The people will declare,
“The Lord is the source of all my righteousness and strength.”
And all who were angry with him
will come to him and be ashamed.
25In the Lord all the generations of Israel will be justified,
and in him they will boast.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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