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
The LORD Appoints Cyrus
1The LORD has chosen Cyrus to be king!
He has appointed him to conquer nations;
he sends him to strip kings of their power;
the LORD will open the gates of cities for him.
To Cyrus the LORD says,
2“I myself will prepare your way,
levelling mountains and hills.
I will break down bronze gates
and smash their iron bars.
3I will give you treasures from dark, secret places;
then you will know that I am the LORD,
and that the God of Israel has called you by name.
4I appoint you to help my servant Israel,
the people that I have chosen.
I have given you great honour,
although you do not know me.
5“I am the LORD; there is no other god.
I will give you the strength you need,
although you do not know me.
6I do this so that everyone
from one end of the world to the other
may know that I am the LORD
and that there is no other god.
7I create both light and darkness;
I bring both blessing and disaster.
I, the LORD, do all these things.
8I will send victory from the sky like rain;
the earth will open to receive it
and will blossom with freedom and justice.
I, the LORD, will make this happen.”
The LORD of Creation and History
9 #
Rom 9.20
Does a clay pot dare to argue with its maker,
a pot that is like all the others?
Does the clay ask the potter what he is doing?
Does the pot complain that its maker has no skill?
10Does anyone dare to say to his parents,
“Why did you make me like this?”
11The LORD, the holy God of Israel,
the one who shapes the future, says:
“You have no right to question me about my children
or to tell me what I ought to do!
12I am the one who made the earth
and created the human race to live there.
By my power I stretched out the heavens;
I control the sun, the moon, and the stars.
13I myself have stirred Cyrus to action
to fulfil my purpose and put things right.
I will straighten every road that he travels.
He will rebuild my city, Jerusalem,
and set my captive people free.
No one has hired him or bribed him to do this.”
The LORD Almighty has spoken.
14The LORD says to Israel,
“The wealth of Egypt and Ethiopia#45.14 Ethiopia: See Word List. will be yours,
and the tall men of Seba will be your slaves;
they will follow you in chains.
They will bow down to you and confess,
‘God is with you — he alone is God.
15The God of Israel, who saves his people,
is a God who conceals himself.
16Those who make idols will all be ashamed;
all of them will be disgraced.
17But Israel is saved by the LORD,
and her victory lasts for ever;
her people will never be disgraced.’ ”
18The LORD created the heavens —
he is the one who is God!
He formed and made the earth —
he made it firm and lasting.
He did not make it a desolate waste,
but a place for people to live in.
It is he who says, “I am the LORD,
and there is no other god.
19I have not spoken in secret
or kept my purpose hidden.
I did not require the people of Israel
to look for me in a desolate waste.
I am the LORD, and I speak the truth;
I make known what is right.”
The LORD of the World and the Idols of Babylon
20The LORD says,
“Come together, people of the nations,
all who survive the fall of the empire;
present yourselves for the trial!
The people who parade with their idols of wood
and pray to gods that cannot save them —
those people know nothing at all!
21Come and present your case in court;
let the defendants consult one another.
Who predicted long ago what would happen?
Was it not I, the LORD, the God who saves his people?
There is no other god.
22“Turn to me now and be saved,
people all over the world!
I am the only God there is.
23 #
Rom 14.11; Phil 2.10–11 My promise is true,
and it will not be changed.
I solemnly promise by all that I am:
Everyone will come and kneel before me
and vow to be loyal to me.
24“They will say that only through me
are victory and strength to be found;
but all who hate me will suffer disgrace.
25I, the LORD, will rescue all the descendants of Jacob,
and they will give me praise.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.