Isaiah 45

1 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of
to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut:

2 I will go before you
and will level the mountains;
I will break down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.

3 I will give you the treasures of darkness,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,
of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge me.

5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,

6 so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting
men may know there is none besides me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.

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

8 “You heavens above, rain down righteousness;
let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
let salvation spring up,
let righteousness grow with it;
I, the Lord, have created it.

9 “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker,
to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
‘What are you making?’
Does your work say,
‘He has no hands’?

10 Woe to him who says to his father,
‘What have you begotten?’
or to his mother,
‘What have you brought to birth?’

11 “This is what the Lord says—
the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
Concerning things to come,
do you question me about my children,
or give me orders about the work of my hands?

12 It is I who made the earth
and created mankind upon it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;
I marshaled their starry hosts.

13 I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness:
I will make all his ways straight.
He will rebuild my city
and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,
says the Lord Almighty.”

14 This is what the Lord says:
“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,
and those tall Sabeans—
they will come over to you
and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,
coming over to you in chains.
They will bow down before you
and plead with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you, and there is no other;
there is no other god.’ ”

15 Truly you are a God who hides himself,
O God and Savior of Israel.

16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;
they will go off into disgrace together.

17 But Israel will be saved by the Lord
with an everlasting salvation;
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,
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,
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited—
he says:
“I am the Lord,
and there is no other.

19 I have not spoken in secret,
from somewhere in a land of darkness;
I have not said to Jacob's descendants,
‘Seek me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
I declare what is right.

20 “Gather together and come;
assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood,
who pray to gods that cannot save.

21 Declare what is to be, present it—
let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago,
who declared it from the distant past?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no God apart from me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none but me.

22 “Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.

23 By myself I have sworn,
my mouth has uttered in all integrity
a word that will not be revoked:
Before me every knee will bow;
by me every tongue will swear.

24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
are righteousness and strength.’ ”
All who have raged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.

25 But in the Lord all the descendants of Israel
will be found righteous and will exult.

ISAIAH 45

Cyrus Obeys //the [Lord]'s Commands

1 The [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.

2 As I lead you,
I will level mountainst
and break the iron bars
on bronze gates of cities.

3 I 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.

4 Cyrus, you don't even know me!
But I have called you by name
and highly honored yout
because of Israel,
my chosen servant.

5 Only I am the [Lord]!
There are no other gods.
I have made you strong,
though you don't know me.

6 Now everyone from east to west
will learn that I am the [Lord].
No other gods are real.

7 I create light and darkness,
happiness and sorrow.
I, the [Lord], do all this.

8 Tell 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.t

The [Lord]'s Mighty Power

The [Lord] said:

9  t 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?”

10 Children don't have the right
to demand of their parents,
“What have you done
to make us what we are?”

11 I 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?

12 I created the world
and covered it with people;
I stretched out the sky
and filled it with stars.

13 I 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

14 My people, I, the [Lord], promise
that the riches of Egypt
and the treasures of Ethiopiat
will belong to you.
You will force into slavery
those tall people of Seba.t
They will bow down and say,
“The only true God is with you;
there are no other gods.”

15 People of Israel,
your God is a mystery,
though he alone can save.

16 Anyone who makes idols
will be confused
and terribly disgraced.

17 But Israel, I, the [Lord],
will always keep you safe
and free from shame.

Everyone Is Invited

18 The [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.

19 The [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

20 to 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  t I have made a solemn promise,
one that won't be broken:
Everyone will bow down
and worship me.

24 They will admit that I alone
can bring about justice.
Everyone who is angry with me
will be terribly ashamed
and will turn to me.

25 I, the [Lord], will give
victory and great honor
to the people of Israel.”