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45 “Cyrus is my anointed king.
    I take hold of his right hand.
I give him the power
    to bring nations under his control.
I help him strip kings of their power
    to go to war against him.
I break city gates open so he can go through them.
    I say to him,
‘I will march out ahead of you.
    I will make the mountains level.
I will break down bronze gates.
    I will cut through their heavy iron bars.
I will give you treasures that are hidden away.
    I will give you riches that are stored up in secret places.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.
    I am the God of Israel.
    I am sending for you by name.
Cyrus, I am sending for you by name.
    I am doing it for the good of the family of Jacob.
    They are my servant.
I am doing it for Israel.
    They are my chosen people.
You do not know anything about me.
    But I am giving you a title of honor.
I am the Lord. There is no other Lord.
    I am the one and only God.
You do not know anything about me.
    But I will make you strong.
Then people will know there is no God but me.
    Everyone from where the sun rises in the east
    to where it sets in the west will know it.
I am the Lord.
    There is no other Lord.
I cause light to shine. I also create darkness.
    I bring good times. I also create hard times.
    I do all these things. I am the Lord.

“ ‘Rain down my godliness, you heavens above.
    Let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide to receive it.
    Let freedom spring to life.
Let godliness grow richly along with it.
    I have created all these things.
    I am the Lord.’ ”

How terrible it will be for anyone who argues with their Maker!
    They are like a broken piece of pottery lying on the ground.
Does clay say to a potter,
    “What are you making?”
Does a pot say,
    “The potter doesn’t have any skill”?
10 How terrible it will be for anyone who says to a father,
    “Why did you give me life?”
How terrible for anyone who says to a mother,
    “Why have you brought me into the world?”

11 The Lord is the Holy One of Israel.
    He made them.
He says to them,
    “Are you asking me about what will happen to my children?
    Are you telling me what I should do with what my hands have made?
12 I made the earth.
    I created human beings to live there.
My own hands spread out the heavens.
    I put all the stars in their places.
13 I will stir up Cyrus and help him win his battles.
    I will make all his roads straight.
He will rebuild Jerusalem.
    My people have been taken away from their country.
    But he will set them free.
I will not pay him to do it.
    He will not receive a reward for it,”
    says the Lord who rules over all.

14 The Lord says to the people of Jerusalem,

“You will get everything Egypt produces.
    You will receive everything the people of Cush
and the tall Sabeans get in trade.
    All of it will belong to you.
And all these people will walk behind you as slaves.
    They will be put in chains and come over to you.
They will bow down to you.
    They will admit,
‘God is with you.
    There is no other God.’ ”

15 You are a God who has been hiding yourself.
    You are the God of Israel. You save us.
16 All those who make statues of gods will be put to shame.
    They will be dishonored.
    They will be led away in shame together.
17 But the Lord will save Israel.
    He will save them forever.
They will never be put to shame or dishonored.
    That will be true for all time to come.

18 The Lord created the heavens.
    He is God.
He formed the earth and made it.
    He set it firmly in place.
He didn’t create it to be empty.
    Instead, he formed it for people to live on.
He says, “I am the Lord.
    There is no other Lord.
19 I have not spoken in secret.
    I have not spoken from a dark place.
I have not said to Jacob’s people,
    ‘It is useless to look for me.’
I am the Lord. I always speak the truth.
    I always say what is right.

20 “Come together, you people of the nations
    who escaped from Babylon.
    Gather together and come into court.
Only people who do not know anything
    would carry around gods that are made out of wood.
    They pray to false gods that can’t save them.
21 Tell me what will happen. State your case.
    Talk it over together.
Who spoke long ago about what would happen?
    Who said it a long time ago?
I did. I am the Lord.
    I am the one and only God.
I always do what is right.
    I am the one who saves.
    There is no God but me.

22 “All you who live anywhere on earth,
    turn to me and be saved.
    I am God. There is no other God.
23 I have made a promise in my own name.
    I have spoken with complete honesty.
    I will not take back a single word. I said,
‘Everyone will kneel down to me.
    Everyone’s mouth will make promises in my name.’
24 They will say, ‘The Lord is the only one who can save us.
    Only he can make us strong.’ ”
All those who have been angry with the Lord will come to him.
    And they will be put to shame.
25 But the Lord will save all the people of Israel.
    And so they will boast about the Lord.

45 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,(A)
    to Cyrus,(B) whose right hand I take hold(C) of
to subdue nations(D) before him
    and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
    so that gates will not be shut:
I will go before you(E)
    and will level(F) the mountains[a];
I will break down gates(G) of bronze
    and cut through bars of iron.(H)
I will give you hidden treasures,(I)
    riches stored in secret places,(J)
so that you may know(K) that I am the Lord,
    the God of Israel, who summons you by name.(L)
For the sake of Jacob my servant,(M)
    of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
    and bestow on you a title of honor,
    though you do not acknowledge(N) me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;(O)
    apart from me there is no God.(P)
I will strengthen you,(Q)
    though you have not acknowledged me,
so that from the rising of the sun
    to the place of its setting(R)
people may know(S) there is none besides me.(T)
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I form the light and create darkness,(U)
    I bring prosperity and create disaster;(V)
    I, the Lord, do all these things.

“You heavens above, rain(W) down my righteousness;(X)
    let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
    let salvation(Y) spring up,
let righteousness flourish with it;
    I, the Lord, have created it.

“Woe to those who quarrel(Z) with their Maker,(AA)
    those who are nothing but potsherds(AB)
    among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,(AC)
    ‘What are you making?’(AD)
Does your work say,
    ‘The potter has no hands’?(AE)
10 Woe to the one who says to a father,
    ‘What have you begotten?’
or to a mother,
    ‘What have you brought to birth?’

11 “This is what the Lord says—
    the Holy One(AF) of Israel, and its Maker:(AG)
Concerning things to come,
    do you question me about my children,
    or give me orders about the work of my hands?(AH)
12 It is I who made the earth(AI)
    and created mankind on it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;(AJ)
    I marshaled their starry hosts.(AK)
13 I will raise up Cyrus[b](AL) in my righteousness:
    I will make all his ways straight.(AM)
He will rebuild my city(AN)
    and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,(AO)
    says the Lord Almighty.”

14 This is what the Lord says:

“The products(AP) of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,[c]
    and those tall Sabeans(AQ)
they will come over to you(AR)
    and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,(AS)
    coming over to you in chains.(AT)
They will bow down before you
    and plead(AU) with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you,(AV) and there is no other;
    there is no other god.(AW)’”

15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding(AX) himself,
    the God and Savior(AY) of Israel.
16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;(AZ)
    they will go off into disgrace together.
17 But Israel will be saved(BA) by the Lord
    with an everlasting salvation;(BB)
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,(BC)
    to ages everlasting.

18 For this is what the Lord says—
he who created the heavens,
    he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,(BD)
    he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,(BE)
    but formed it to be inhabited(BF)
he says:
“I am the Lord,
    and there is no other.(BG)
19 I have not spoken in secret,(BH)
    from somewhere in a land of darkness;(BI)
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,(BJ)
    ‘Seek(BK) me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
    I declare what is right.(BL)

20 “Gather together(BM) and come;
    assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant(BN) are those who carry(BO) about idols of wood,
    who pray to gods that cannot save.(BP)
21 Declare what is to be, present it—
    let them take counsel together.
Who foretold(BQ) this long ago,
    who declared it from the distant past?(BR)
Was it not I, the Lord?
    And there is no God apart from me,(BS)
a righteous God(BT) and a Savior;(BU)
    there is none but me.

22 “Turn(BV) to me and be saved,(BW)
    all you ends of the earth;(BX)
    for I am God, and there is no other.(BY)
23 By myself I have sworn,(BZ)
    my mouth has uttered in all integrity(CA)
    a word that will not be revoked:(CB)
Before me every knee will bow;(CC)
    by me every tongue will swear.(CD)
24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
    are deliverance(CE) and strength.(CF)’”
All who have raged against him
    will come to him and be put to shame.(CG)
25 But all the descendants(CH) of Israel
    will find deliverance(CI) in the Lord
    and will make their boast in him.(CJ)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 45:2 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
  2. Isaiah 45:13 Hebrew him
  3. Isaiah 45:14 That is, the upper Nile region