Isaiah 45
45
God Chooses Cyrus to Make Israel Free
1This is what the Lord said to Cyrus, his chosen king#45:1 chosen king Literally, “the anointed one.”:
“I took you by your right hand to help you defeat nations,
to strip other kings of their power,
and to open city gates that will not be closed again.
2I will go in front of you
and make the mountains flat.
I will break the city gates of bronze
and cut the iron bars on the gates.
3I will give you the wealth that is stored in secret places.
I will give you those hidden treasures.
Then you will know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
4I do this for my servant, Jacob.
I do it for my chosen people, Israel.
Cyrus, I am calling you by name.
You don’t know me, but I know you.#45:4 I know you Or “I will give you a title.”
5I am the Lord, the only God.
There is no other God except me.
I put your clothes on you,#45:5 I put … you This also means “I made you strong.”
but still you don’t know me.
6I am doing this so that everyone will know
that I am the only God.
From the east to the west, people will know that I am the Lord
and that there is no other God.
7I made the light and the darkness.
I bring peace, and I cause trouble.
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8“May the clouds in the skies above
pour goodness on the earth like rain.
May the earth open up
to let salvation grow.
And may goodness grow with that salvation,
which I, the Lord, created.
God Controls His Creation
9“Look at these people! They are arguing with the one who made them. Look at them argue with me. They are like pieces of clay from a broken pot. Clay does not say to the one molding it, ‘Man, what are you doing?’ Things that are made don’t have the power to question the one who makes them. 10A father gives life to his children, and they cannot ask, ‘Why are you giving me life?’ They cannot question their mother and ask, ‘Why are you giving birth to me?’”
11The Lord God is the Holy One of Israel. He created Israel, and he says,
“My children, you asked me to show you a sign.
You told me to show you what I have done.#45:11 My children … done Or “Those who are coming asked for my children. They commanded me to give them the people I made with my own hands.”
12I made the earth,
and I created the people on it.
I used my own hands to make the skies.
And I command all the armies in the sky.#45:12 armies in the sky Sometimes this means the angels, and sometimes it means the stars.
13I was right to give power to Cyrus,#45:13 I was right … Cyrus Or “I gave Cyrus power to do something good.”
and I will make his work easy.
He will rebuild my city,
and he will set my people free without bribes or payment.”
The Lord All-Powerful said this.
14The Lord says, “Egypt and Ethiopia are rich,
but, Israel, you will get those riches.
The tall people from Seba will be yours.
They will walk behind you with chains around their necks.
They will bow down before you
and ask you to pray for them and say,
‘The true God really is with you,
and there is no other God.’”
15You are the God people cannot see.
You are the God who saves Israel.
16Many people make false gods,
but they will be disappointed.
All of them will go away ashamed.
17But Israel will be saved by the Lord.
That salvation will continue forever.
Never again will Israel be shamed.
18The Lord is God.
He made the skies and the earth.
He put the earth in its place.
He did not want the earth to be empty when he made it.
He created it to be lived on.
“I am the Lord.
There is no other God.
19I have spoken openly, not in secret.
I did not hide my words in a dark and secret place.
I did not tell the people of Jacob
to look for me in empty places.
I am the Lord, and I speak the truth.
I say only what is right.
The Lord Proves He Is the Only God
20“You people who escaped from other nations, gather together before me. (These people carry statues of false gods. They pray to useless gods, but they don’t know what they are doing. 21Tell them to come to me. Let them present their case and discuss these things.)
“Who told you about this before it happened? Who told you this so long ago? I, the Lord, am the one who said these things. I am the only God, the one who does what is right. I am the one who saves, and there is no other! 22So all you people in faraway places, turn to me and be saved, because I am God, and there is no other.
23“When I make a promise, that promise is true. It will happen. And I swear by my own power that everyone will bow before me and will take an oath to obey me. 24They will say, ‘Goodness and strength come only from the Lord.’”
And all who show their anger against him will be humiliated. 25The Lord will help the people of Israel live right#45:25 live right Or “find justice.” and praise their God.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
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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