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
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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