Isaiah 44:24-45:6
Contemporary English Version
The Lord Created Everything
24 Israel, I am your Lord,
the source of your life,
and I have rescued you.
I created everything
from the sky above
to the earth below.
25 (A) I make liars of false prophets
and fools of fortunetellers.
I take human wisdom
and turn it into nonsense.
26 I will make the message
of my prophets come true.
They are saying, “Jerusalem
will be filled with people,
and the Lord will rebuild
the towns of Judah.”
27 I am the one who commands
the sea and its streams
to run dry.
28 (B) I am also the one who says,
“Cyrus will lead my people
and obey my orders.
Jerusalem and the temple
will be rebuilt.”
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.
2 As I lead you,
I will level mountains[a]
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 you[b]
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.
Isaiah 44:24-45:6
New American Standard Bible
24 This is what the Lord says, He who is your (A)Redeemer, and the one who (B)formed you from the womb:
“I, the Lord, am the maker of all things,
(C)Stretching out the heavens by Myself
And spreading out the earth [a]alone,
25 (D)Causing the [b]omens of diviners to fail,
[c]Making fools of fortune-tellers;
(E)Causing wise men to turn back
And [d]making their knowledge ridiculous,
26 (F)Confirming the word of His servant
And [e]carrying out the purpose of His messengers.
It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’
And of the (G)cities of Judah, ‘(H)They shall be built.’
And I will raise her ruins again.
27 I am the One who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Dry up!’
And I will make your rivers (I)dry up.
28 It is I who says of (J)Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,
And he will carry out all My desire.’
And [f]he says of Jerusalem, ‘(K)She will be built,’
And of the temple, ‘[g]Your foundation will be laid.’”
God Uses Cyrus
45 This is what the Lord says to (L)Cyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken by the right (M)hand,
To (N)subdue nations before him
And [h]to (O)undo the weapons belt on the waist of kings;
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
2 “I will go before you and (P)make the [i]rough places smooth;
I will (Q)shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron (R)bars.
3 I will give you the [j](S)treasures of darkness
And hidden wealth of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
The Lord, the God of Israel, who (T)calls you by your name.
4 For the sake of (U)Jacob My servant,
And Israel My chosen one,
I have also (V)called you by your name;
I have given you a title of honor
Though you have (W)not known Me.
5 I am the Lord, and (X)there is no one else;
(Y)There is no God except Me.
I will (Z)[k]arm you, though you have not known Me,
6 So that (AA)people may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is (AB)no one besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no one else,
Footnotes
- Isaiah 44:24 Or who was with Me?
- Isaiah 44:25 Lit signs
- Isaiah 44:25 Lit He makes
- Isaiah 44:25 Lit He turns
- Isaiah 44:26 Lit He performs
- Isaiah 44:28 Lit to say
- Isaiah 44:28 Lit You will be founded
- Isaiah 45:1 Lit I will loose
- Isaiah 45:2 Another reading is mountains
- Isaiah 45:3 Or hoarded treasures
- Isaiah 45:5 Or embrace
Isaiah 44:24-45:6
American Standard Version
24 Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb: I am Jehovah, that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth [a](who is with me?); 25 that frustrateth the signs of the [b]liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish; 26 that confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith of Jerusalem, She shall be inhabited; and of the cities of Judah, They shall be built, and I will raise up the waste places thereof; 27 that saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers; 28 That saith of [c]Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built; [d]and of the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
45 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.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 44:24 Another reading is, by myself
- Isaiah 44:25 Or, boasters
- Isaiah 44:28 Hebrew Coresh.
- Isaiah 44:28 Or, and the foundation of the temple shall be laid
Isaiah 44:24-45:7
The Message
24 God, your Redeemer,
who shaped your life in your mother’s womb, says:
“I am God. I made all that is.
With no help from you I spread out the skies
and laid out the earth.”
25-28 He makes the magicians look ridiculous
and turns fortunetellers into jokes.
He makes the experts look trivial
and their latest knowledge look silly.
But he backs the word of his servant
and confirms the counsel of his messengers.
He says to Jerusalem, “Be inhabited,”
and to the cities of Judah, “Be rebuilt,”
and to the ruins, “I raise you up.”
He says to Ocean, “Dry up.
I’m drying up your rivers.”
He says to Cyrus, “My shepherd—
everything I want, you’ll do it.”
He says to Jerusalem, “Be built,”
and to the Temple, “Be established.”
The God Who Forms Light and Darkness
45 1-7 God’s Message to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whom he took by the hand
To give the task of taming the nations,
of terrifying their kings—
He gave him free rein,
no restrictions:
“I’ll go ahead of you,
clearing and paving the road.
I’ll break down bronze city gates,
smash padlocks, kick down barred entrances.
I’ll lead you to buried treasures,
secret caches of valuables—
Confirmations that it is, in fact, I, God,
the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.
It’s because of my dear servant Jacob,
Israel my chosen,
That I’ve singled you out, called you by name,
and given you this privileged work.
And you don’t even know me!
I am God, the only God there is.
Besides me there are no real gods.
I’m the one who armed you for this work,
though you don’t even know me,
So that everyone, from east to west, will know
that I have no god-rivals.
I am God, the only God there is.
I form light and create darkness,
I make harmonies and create discords.
I, God, do all these things.
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