Add parallel Print Page Options

Cyrus, God’s Instrument

45 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
    whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him
    and strip kings of their robes,
to open doors before him—
    and the gates shall not be closed:
I will go before you
    and level the mountains,[a]
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
    and cut through the bars of iron,
I will give you the treasures of darkness
    and riches hidden in secret places,
so that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
    the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
For the sake of my servant Jacob,
    and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
    I surname you, though you do not know me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
    besides me there is no god.
    I arm you, though you do not know me,
so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
    and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I form light and create darkness,
    I make weal and create woe;
    I the Lord do all these things.

Shower, O heavens, from above,
    and let the skies rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation may spring up,[b]
    and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also;
    I the Lord have created it.

Woe to you who strive with your Maker,
    earthen vessels with the potter![c]
Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, “What are you making”?
    or “Your work has no handles”?
10 Woe to anyone who says to a father, “What are you begetting?”
    or to a woman, “With what are you in labor?”
11 Thus says the Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
Will you question me[d] about my children,
    or command me concerning the work of my hands?
12 I made the earth,
    and created humankind upon it;
it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
    and I commanded all their host.
13 I have aroused Cyrus[e] in righteousness,
    and I will make all his paths straight;
he shall build my city
    and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,
    says the Lord of hosts.
14 Thus says the Lord:
The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Ethiopia,[f]
    and the Sabeans, tall of stature,
shall come over to you and be yours,
    they shall follow you;
    they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying,
    “God is with you alone, and there is no other;
    there is no god besides him.”
15 Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
    O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 All of them are put to shame and confounded,
    the makers of idols go in confusion together.
17 But Israel is saved by the Lord
    with everlasting salvation;
you shall not be put to shame or confounded
    to all eternity.

18 For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
    (he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
    (he established it;
he did not create it a chaos,
    he formed it to be inhabited!):
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I did not speak in secret,
    in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
    “Seek me in chaos.”
I the Lord speak the truth,
    I declare what is right.

Idols Cannot Save Babylon

20 Assemble yourselves and come together,
    draw near, you survivors of the nations!
They have no knowledge—
    those who carry about their wooden idols,
and keep on praying to a god
    that cannot save.
21 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?
    There is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
    there is no one besides me.

22 Turn to me and be saved,
    all the ends of the earth!
    For I am God, and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn,
    from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness
    a word that shall not return:
“To me every knee shall bow,
    every tongue shall swear.”

24 Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
    are righteousness and strength;
all who were incensed against him
    shall come to him and be ashamed.
25 In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
    shall triumph and glory.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 45:2 Q Ms Gk: MT the swellings
  2. Isaiah 45:8 Q Ms: MT that they may bring forth salvation
  3. Isaiah 45:9 Cn: Heb with the potsherds, or with the potters
  4. Isaiah 45:11 Cn: Heb Ask me of things to come
  5. Isaiah 45:13 Heb him
  6. Isaiah 45:14 Or Nubia; Heb Cush

Cyrus Obeys the Lord's Commands

45 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.
As I lead you,
    I will level mountains[a]
and break the iron bars
    on bronze gates of cities.

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

Only I am the Lord!
    There are no other gods.
I have made you strong,
    though you don't know me.
Now everyone from east to west
will learn that I am the Lord.
    No other gods are real.
I create light and darkness,
happiness and sorrow.
    I, the Lord, do all this.

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.[c]

The Lord's Mighty Power

The Lord said:

(A) 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 Ethiopia[d]
    will belong to you.
You will force into slavery
    those tall people of Seba.[e]

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 (B) 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.”

Footnotes

  1. 45.2 mountains: The Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text “rising waves.”
  2. 45.4 But … you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  3. 45.8 Prepare … create: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  4. 45.14 Ethiopia: See the note at 11.11.
  5. 45.14 Seba: See the note at 43.3.

45 Thus says Adonai to Koresh, his anointed,
whose right hand he has grasped,
so that he subdues nations before him
and strips kings of their robes,
so that doors open in front of him,
and no gates are barred:
“I will go ahead of you,
levelling the hills,
shattering the bronze gates,
smashing the iron bars.
I will give you treasures
hoarded in the dark,
secret riches hidden away,
so that you will know that I, Adonai,
calling you by your name,
am the God of Isra’el.
It is for the sake of Ya‘akov my servant,
yes, for Isra’el my elect,
that I call you by your name
and give you a title, although you don’t know me.
I am Adonai; there is no other;
besides me there is no God.
I am arming you, although you don’t know me,
so that those from the east and those from the west
will know that there is none besides me —
I am Adonai; there is no other.
I form light, I create darkness;
I make well-being, I create woe;
I, Adonai, do all these things.

“Heavens above, rain down justice;
let the clouds pour it down.
Let the earth open,
so that salvation springs up,
and justice sprouts with it.
I, Adonai, have created it.”

Woe to anyone who argues with his maker,
like potsherds lying on the ground!
Does the clay ask the potter, “What are you doing?”
or, “What’s this you’re making, that has no hands?”
10 Woe to him who asks a father,
“Of what are you the father?”
or who asks a woman,
“To what are you giving birth?”

11 Thus says Adonai,
the Holy One of Isra’el, his Maker:
“You ask for signs concerning my children?
You give orders concerning the work of my hands?
12 I am the one who made the earth!
I created human beings on it!
I — my hands — stretched out the heavens,
and directed all their number.
13 I am stirring up Koresh to righteousness,
I am smoothing out all his paths.
He will rebuild my city;
and he will free my exiles,
taking neither ransom nor bribe,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.

14 Here is what Adonai says:
“The earnings of Egypt, the commerce of Ethiopia,
and men of stature from S’va
will come over to you and become yours;
they will come in chains and follow you.
They will prostrate themselves before you;
they will pray to you:
‘Surely God is with you; there is no other,
other gods are nothing.’”

15 Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
God of Isra’el, Savior!
16 The idol-makers will be ashamed,
disgraced, all of them;
they will go dishonored together.
17 But Isra’el, saved by Adonai
with an everlasting salvation,
you will never, ever, be ashamed or disgraced.

18 For thus says Adonai, who created the heavens,
God, who shaped and made the earth,
who established and created it not to be chaos,
but formed it to be lived in:
“I am Adonai; there is no other.
19 I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness.
I did not say to the descendants of Ya‘akov,
‘It is in vain that you will seek me.’
I, Adonai, speak rightly; I say what is true.
20 Assemble, come and gather together,
you refugees from the nations!
Those carrying their wooden idols are ignorant,
they pray to a god that cannot save.
21 Let them stand and present their case!
Indeed, let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago,
announced it in times gone by?
Wasn’t it I, Adonai?
There is no other God besides me,
a just God and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
22 Look to me, and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God;
there is no other.
23 In the name of myself I have sworn,
from my mouth has rightly gone out,
a word that will not return —
that to me every knee will bow
and every tongue will swear 24 about me
that only in Adonai
are justice and strength.”

All who rage against him
will come to him ashamed,
25 but all the descendants of Isra’el
will find justice and glory in Adonai.