Isaiah 45:1-10

English Standard Version

Cyrus, God's Instrument

45 Thus says the Lord to ^(A)his anointed, to Cyrus,
    ^(B)whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
    and ^(C)to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
    that gates may not be closed:
²“I will go before you
    and ^(D)level the exalted places,^[a]
^(E)I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
    and cut through the bars of iron,
³^(F)I will give you the treasures of darkness
    and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
    the God of Israel, ^(G)who call you by your name.
⁴For the sake of my servant Jacob,
    and Israel my chosen,
^(H)I call you by your name,
    ^(I)I name you, though you do not know me.
⁵^(J)I am the Lord, and there is no other,
    besides me there is no God;
    ^(K)I equip you, though you do not know me,
⁶^(L)that people may know, from the rising of the sun
    and from the west, that there is none besides me;
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.
⁷I form light and create darkness;
    I make well-being and ^(M)create calamity;
    I am the Lord, who does all these things.

⁸^(N)“Shower, O heavens, from above,
    and ^(O)let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
    let the earth cause them both to sprout;
    I the Lord have created it.

⁹^(P)“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
    a pot among earthen pots!
^(Q)Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
    or ‘Your work has no handles’?
¹⁰Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
    or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”