Isaiah 45
45
1This is what the Lord says about Cyrus, his #45:1 Masoretic Text; Greek “my.” anointed one:
I have held him by his right hand
so he could conquer the nations ahead of him,
strip kings of their power,
and open doors ahead of him
so that the gates would not be shut.
2I will go ahead of you, Cyrus, and smooth out the rough places.
I will break down the bronze doors and cut through the iron bars.
3I will give you treasures from dark places and hidden stockpiles.
Then you will know that I, the Lord God of Israel,
have called you by name.
4For the sake of my servant Jacob,
Israel, my chosen one,
I have called you by name.
I have given you a title of honor, although you don’t know me.
5I am the Lord, and there is no other.
There is no other God besides me.
I will strengthen you, although you don’t know me,
6so that from the east to the west people will know
that there is no God except me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7I make light and create darkness.
I make blessings and create disasters.
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8Rain down from above, you heavens,
and pour down righteousness, you skies.
Let the earth open.
Let salvation and righteousness sprout.
Let them spring up.
I, the Lord, have created them.
9How horrible it will be for the one who quarrels with his maker.
He is pottery among other earthenware pots.
Does the clay ask the one who shapes it, “What are you making?”
Does your work say to you, “There are no handles”?
10How horrible it will be for the one
who says to his father, “Why did you conceive me?”
or to his mother, “Why did you go through labor pains for me?”
11The Lord is the Holy One and the maker of Israel.
This is what the Lord says:
Ask me about what is going to happen to my children!
Are you going to give me orders concerning my handiwork?
12I made the earth and created humans on it.
I stretched out the heavens with my own hands.
I commanded all the stars ⌞to shine⌟.
13I prepared Cyrus for my righteous purpose.
I will make all his roads straight.
He will build my city and let my exiles go free
without any payment or any reward, says the Lord of Armies.
14This is what the Lord says:
The products from Egypt, the merchandise from Sudan,
and the important Sabaeans will come to you.
They will belong to you.
They will follow you.
They will come to you in chains.
They will bow to you and pray to you,
“Certainly God is with you alone, and there is no other God.”
15Certainly, you are a God who has hidden himself.
You are the God of Israel, the Savior!
16Those who make idols will be ashamed and disgraced.
They will go away completely disgraced.
17Israel has been saved by the Lord forever.
You will never again be ashamed or disgraced.
18The Lord created the heavens.
God formed the earth and made it.
He set it up.
He did not create it to be empty
but formed it to be inhabited.
This is what the Lord says:
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19I haven’t spoken privately or in some dark corner of the world.
I didn’t say to Jacob’s descendants,
“Search for me in vain!”
I, the Lord, speak what is fair and say what is right.
20Come here, you refugees from the nations.
Ignorant people carry wooden idols
and pray to gods that cannot save ⌞anyone⌟.
21Speak and present your case. Yes, let them consult one another.
Who revealed this in the distant past and predicted it long ago?
Wasn’t it I, the Lord?
There is no other God except me.
There is no other righteous God and Savior besides me.
22Turn to me and be saved, all who live at the ends of the earth,
because I am God, and there is no other.
23I have bound myself with an oath.
A word has gone out from my righteous mouth
that will not be recalled,
“Every knee will bow to me
and every tongue will swear ⌞allegiance⌟.”
24It will be said of me,
“Certainly, righteousness and strength are found in the Lord alone.”
All who are angry with him will come to him and be ashamed.
25All the descendants of Israel will be declared righteous,
and they will praise the Lord.
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Isaiah 45: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 45
45
God Uses Cyrus
1This is what the Lord says to His anointed, to Cyrus [king of Persia],
Whose right hand I have held
To subdue nations before him,
And I will ungird the loins of kings [disarming them];
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
2“I will go before you and level the mountains;
I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.
3I will give you the treasures of darkness [the hoarded treasures]
And the hidden riches of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
The Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you (Cyrus the Great) by your name.
4For the sake of Jacob My servant,
And of Israel My chosen,
I have also called you by your name;
I have given you an honorable name
Though you have not known Me.
5I am the Lord, and there is no one else;
There is no God except Me.
I will embrace and arm you, though you have not known Me,
6That people may know from the rising to the setting of the sun [the world over]
That there is no one except Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other,
7The One forming light and creating darkness,
Causing peace and creating disaster;
I am the Lord who does all these things.
God’s Supreme Power
8“Rain down, O heavens, from above,
Let the clouds pour down righteousness [all the blessings of God];
Let the earth open up, let salvation bear fruit,
And righteousness spring up with it;
I, the Lord, have created it.
9“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who quarrels with his Maker—
A [worthless] piece of broken pottery among other broken pieces [equally worthless]!
Shall the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’
Or does the thing say, ‘He has no hands’?
10Woe (judgment is coming) to him who says to a father, ‘What are you fathering?’
Or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’ ”
11For the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker says this,
“Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons,
And give Me orders concerning the work of My hands.
12I made the earth and created man upon it.
My hands, stretched out the heavens,
And I commanded all their host.
13I have stirred up Cyrus and put him into action in righteousness [to accomplish My purpose]
And I will make all his ways smooth;
He will build My city and let My exiles go,
Without any payment or reward,” says the Lord of hosts.
14For this is what the Lord says,
“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush (ancient Ethiopia)
And the Sabeans, men of stature,
Will come over to you and they will be yours;
They will walk behind you, in chains [of subjection to you] they will come over,
And they will bow down before you;
They will make supplication to you, [humbly and earnestly] saying,
# These words foretell the fact that salvation will be available to believing Gentiles, as well as Jews. ‘Most certainly God is with you, and there is no other,
No other God [besides Him].’ ”
15Truly, You are a God who hides Himself,
O God of Israel, Savior!
16They will be put to shame and also humiliated, all of them;
They who make idols will go away together in humiliation.
17Israel has been saved by the Lord
With an everlasting salvation;
You will not be put to shame or humiliated
for all eternity.
18For the Lord, who created the heavens #Longer parenthetical passages such as this one are in the Hebrew text, and should not be confused with the general use of parentheses as a way to define or modify the previous word or group of words.(He is God, who formed the earth and made it; He established it and did not create it to be a wasteland, but formed it to be inhabited) says this,
“I am the Lord, and there is no one else.
19I have not spoken in secret,
In a corner of a land of darkness;
I did not say to the descendants of Jacob,
‘Seek Me in vain [with no benefit for yourselves].’
I, the Lord, speak righteousness [the truth—trustworthy, a straightforward correlation between deeds and words],
Declaring things that are upright.
20“Assemble yourselves and come;
Come together, you survivors of the nations!
They are ignorant,
Who carry around their wooden idols [in religious processions or into battle]
And keep on praying to a god that cannot save them.
21Declare and present your defense of idols;
Indeed, let them consult together.
Who announced this [rise of Cyrus and his conquests] long before it happened?
Who declared it long ago?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other God besides Me,
A [consistently and uncompromisingly] just and righteous God and a Savior;
There is none except Me.
22Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.
23I have sworn [an oath] by Myself,
The word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness
And shall not return,
That to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear [allegiance].
24It shall be said of Me, ‘Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength.’
To Him people will come,
And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.
25In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
Will be justified (declared free of guilt) and will glory [in God].”
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