Isaiah 45

The Lord Appoints Cyrus

1 The Lord has chosen Cyrus to be king. He has appointed him to conquer nations; he sends him to strip kings of their power; the Lord will open the gates of cities for him. To Cyrus the Lord says,

2 “I myself will prepare your way, leveling mountains and hills. I will break down bronze gates and smash their iron bars.

3 I will give you treasures from dark, secret places; then you will know that I am the Lord and that the God of Israel has called you by name.

4 I appoint you to help my servant Israel, the people that I have chosen. I have given you great honor, although you do not know me.

5 “I am the Lord; there is no other god. I will give you the strength you need, although you do not know me.

6 I do this so that everyone from one end of the world to the other may know that I am the Lord and that there is no other god.

7 I create both light and darkness; I bring both blessing and disaster. I, the Lord, do all these things.

8 I will send victory from the sky like rain; the earth will open to receive it and will blossom with freedom and justice. I, the Lord, will make this happen.”

The Lord of Creation and History

9  t Does a clay pot dare argue with its maker, a pot that is like all the others? Does the clay ask the potter what he is doing? Does the pot complain that its maker has no skill?

10 Do we dare say to our parents, “Why did you make me like this?”

11 The Lord, the holy God of Israel, the one who shapes the future, says: “You have no right to question me about my children or to tell me what I ought to do!

12 I am the one who made the earth and created human beings to live there. By my power I stretched out the heavens; I control the sun, the moon, and the stars.

13 I myself have stirred Cyrus to action to fulfill my purpose and put things right. I will straighten out every road that he travels. He will rebuild my city, Jerusalem, and set my captive people free. No one has hired him or bribed him to do this.” The Lord Almighty has spoken.

14 The Lord says to Israel, “The wealth of Egypt and Ethiopia t will be yours, and the tall men of Seba will be your slaves; they will follow you in chains. They will bow down to you and confess, ‘God is with you—he alone is God.

15 The God of Israel, who saves his people, is a God who conceals himself.

16 Those who make idols will all be ashamed; all of them will be disgraced.

17 But Israel is saved by the Lord, and her victory lasts forever; her people will never be disgraced.’”

18 The Lord created the heavens— he is the one who is God! He formed and made the earth— he made it firm and lasting. He did not make it a desolate waste, but a place for people to live. It is he who says, “I am the Lord, and there is no other god.

19 I have not spoken in secret or kept my purpose hidden. I did not require the people of Israel to look for me in a desolate waste. I am the Lord, and I speak the truth; I make known what is right.”

The Lord of the World and the Idols of Babylon

20 The Lord says, “Come together, people of the nations, all who survive the fall of the empire; present yourselves for the trial! The people who parade with their idols of wood and pray to gods that cannot save them— those people know nothing at all!

21 Come and present your case in court; let the defendants consult one another. Who predicted long ago what would happen? Was it not I, the Lord, the God who saves his people? There is no other god.

22 “Turn to me now and be saved, people all over the world! I am the only God there is.

23  t My promise is true, and it will not be changed. I solemnly promise by all that I am: Everyone will come and kneel before me and vow to be loyal to me.

24 “They will say that only through me are victory and strength to be found; but all who hate me will suffer disgrace.

25 I, the Lord, will rescue all the descendants of Jacob, and they will give me praise.

Isaiah 45

1 Thus saith Jehovah to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut:2 I will go before thee, and make the rough places smooth; I will break in pieces the doors of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron;3 and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that it is I, Jehovah, who call thee by thy name, even the God of Israel.4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.5 I am Jehovah, and there is none else; besides me there is no God. I will gird thee, though thou hast not known me;6 that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides me: I am Jehovah, and there is none else.7 I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil. I am Jehovah, that doeth all these things.8 Distil, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, that it may bring forth salvation, and let it cause righteousness to spring up together; I, Jehovah, have created it.9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?10 Woe unto him that saith unto a father, What begettest thou? or to a woman, With what travailest thou?11 Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: Ask me of the things that are to come; concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me.12 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens; and all their host have I commanded.13 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make straight all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward, saith Jehovah of hosts.14 Thus saith Jehovah, The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall go after thee, in chains they shall come over; and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God.15 Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.16 They shall be put to shame, yea, confounded, all of them; they shall go into confusion together that are makers of idols.17 But Israel shall be saved by Jehovah with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be put to shame nor confounded world without end.18 For thus saith Jehovah that created the heavens, the God that formed the earth and made it, that established it and created it not a waste, that formed it to be inhabited: I am Jehovah; and there is none else.19 I have not spoken in secret, in a place of the land of darkness; I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I, Jehovah, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.20 Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that carry the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.21 Declare ye, and bring it forth; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath showed this from ancient time? who hath declared it of old? have not I, Jehovah? and there is no God else besides me, a just God and a Saviour; there is none besides me.22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.23 By myself have I sworn, the word is gone forth from my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.24 Only in Jehovah, it is said of me, is righteousness and strength; even to him shall men come; and all they that were incensed against him shall be put to shame.25 In Jehovah shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.