Isaiah 45
45
Cyrus, God’s Instrument
1Thus says the Lord to #[ch. 44:28] his anointed, to Cyrus,
# [ch. 41:13] whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and #Job 12:21; [ver. 5; ch. 22:21]to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
2“I will go before you
and #ch. 40:4 level the exalted places,#45:2 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint level the mountains
#
Ps. 107:16
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3 # [Jer. 50:37; 51:13] I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, #ch. 43:1who call you by your name.
4For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
# [See ver. 3 above] I call you by your name,
# [ch. 62:2] I name you, though you do not know me.
5 # See ch. 44:8 I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
# [Job 12:21; ch. 22:21] I equip you, though you do not know me,
6 # [ch. 37:20; Mal. 1:11] that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and #[ch. 41:23; Amos 3:6]create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8 # [Deut. 32:2] “Shower, O heavens, from above,
and #Ps. 85:11; [Hos. 10:12]let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the Lord have created it.
9 # [Eccles. 6:10]; See ch. 10:15 “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
a pot among earthen pots!
# ch. 64:8; Cited Rom. 9:20 Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
or ‘Your work has no handles’?
10Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”
11Thus says #Ezek. 39:7 the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
# [ch. 41:23] “Ask me of things to come;
will you command me #[Jer. 31:9] concerning my children and #ch. 29:23; 64:8the work of my hands?#45:11 A slight emendation yields will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands?
12 #
Jer. 27:5 I made the earth
and created man on it;
it was my hands #ch. 42:5; 44:24 that stretched out the heavens,
and #Gen. 2:1I commanded all their host.
13 # ch. 41:2 I have stirred him up in righteousness,
# [ver. 2] and I will make all his ways level;
# See ch. 44:28 he shall build my city
# ch. 49:25; 51:14; 52:3 and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
says the Lord of hosts.
The Lord, the Only Savior
14Thus says the Lord:
# [ch. 43:3] “The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,
and the Sabeans, men of stature,
shall come over to you #ch. 14:2and be yours;
they shall follow you;
they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
They will plead with you, saying:
‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,
no god besides him.’”
15 # ch. 57:17 Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 # See ch. 42:17 All of them are put to shame and confounded;
the makers of idols go in confusion together.
17But Israel is saved by the Lord
with everlasting salvation;
# ch. 54:4 you shall not be put to shame or confounded
to all eternity.
18 # ch. 42:5 For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he #[Gen. 1:2] did not create it empty,
# [Ps. 115:16] he formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 # ch. 48:16; [Deut. 30:11] I did not speak in secret,
in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
#
Jer. 29:13, 14 ‘Seek me in vain.’#45:19 Hebrew in emptiness
I the Lord speak #ver. 23the truth;
I declare what is right.
20 # [ch. 41:1] “Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations!
# [ch. 44:18, 19; 48:5-7] They have no knowledge
who #ch. 46:1, 7; Jer. 10:5 carry about their wooden idols,
# [ch. 44:17] and keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.
21 # [ch. 41:22, 26; 43:9] Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God #[ch. 43:11]and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
22“Turn to me and be saved,
# ch. 11:12; 43:5, 6 all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 # See Gen. 22:16 By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in #ver. 19 righteousness
a word that shall not return:
# Cited Rom. 14:11; [Phil. 2:10] ‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.’#45:23 Septuagint every tongue shall confess to God
24 # [ch. 26:4; 44:8] “Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and #[ch. 26:4; 44:8] strength;
to him shall come and be ashamed
# [ch. 41:11] all who were incensed against him.
25In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
shall be justified and shall glory.”
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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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