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God Chooses Cyrus to Make Israel Free

45 This is what the Lord said to Cyrus, his chosen king[a]:

“I took you by your right hand to help you defeat nations,
    to strip other kings of their power,
    and to open city gates that will not be closed again.
I will go in front of you
    and make the mountains flat.
I will break the city gates of bronze
    and cut the iron bars on the gates.
I will give you the wealth that is stored in secret places.
    I will give you those hidden treasures.
Then you will know that I am the Lord,
    the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
I do this for my servant, Jacob.
    I do it for my chosen people, Israel.
Cyrus, I am calling you by name.
    You don’t know me, but I know you.[b]
I am the Lord, the only God.
    There is no other God except me.
I put your clothes on you,[c]
    but still you don’t know me.
I am doing this so that everyone will know
    that I am the only God.
From the east to the west, people will know that I am the Lord
    and that there is no other God.
I made the light and the darkness.
    I bring peace, and I cause trouble.
    I, the Lord, do all these things.

“May the clouds in the skies above
    pour goodness on the earth like rain.
May the earth open up
    to let salvation grow.
And may goodness grow with that salvation,
    which I, the Lord, created.

God Controls His Creation

“Look at these people! They are arguing with the one who made them. Look at them argue with me. They are like pieces of clay from a broken pot. Clay does not say to the one molding it, ‘Man, what are you doing?’ Things that are made don’t have the power to question the one who makes them. 10 A father gives life to his children, and they cannot ask, ‘Why are you giving me life?’ They cannot question their mother and ask, ‘Why are you giving birth to me?’”

11 The Lord God is the Holy One of Israel. He created Israel, and he says,

“My children, you asked me to show you a sign.
    You told me to show you what I have done.[d]
12 I made the earth,
    and I created the people on it.
I used my own hands to make the skies.
    And I command all the armies in the sky.[e]
13 I was right to give power to Cyrus,[f]
    and I will make his work easy.
He will rebuild my city,
    and he will set my people free without bribes or payment.”
The Lord All-Powerful said this.

14 The Lord says, “Egypt and Ethiopia are rich,
    but, Israel, you will get those riches.
The tall people from Seba will be yours.
    They will walk behind you with chains around their necks.
They will bow down before you
    and ask you to pray for them and say,
‘The true God really is with you,
    and there is no other God.’”

15 You are the God people cannot see.
    You are the God who saves Israel.
16 Many people make false gods,
    but they will be disappointed.
    All of them will go away ashamed.
17 But Israel will be saved by the Lord.
    That salvation will continue forever.
    Never again will Israel be shamed.
18 The Lord is God.
    He made the skies and the earth.
    He put the earth in its place.
He did not want the earth to be empty when he made it.
    He created it to be lived on.
“I am the Lord.
    There is no other God.
19 I have spoken openly, not in secret.
    I did not hide my words in a dark and secret place.
I did not tell the people of Jacob
    to look for me in empty places.
I am the Lord, and I speak the truth.
    I say only what is right.

The Lord Proves He Is the Only God

20 “You people who escaped from other nations, gather together before me. (These people carry statues of false gods. They pray to useless gods, but they don’t know what they are doing. 21 Tell them to come to me. Let them present their case and discuss these things.)

“Who told you about this before it happened? Who told you this so long ago? I, the Lord, am the one who said these things. I am the only God, the one who does what is right. I am the one who saves, and there is no other! 22 So all you people in faraway places, turn to me and be saved, because I am God, and there is no other.

23 “When I make a promise, that promise is true. It will happen. And I swear by my own power that everyone will bow before me and will take an oath to obey me. 24 They will say, ‘Goodness and strength come only from the Lord.’”

And all who show their anger against him will be humiliated. 25 The Lord will help the people of Israel live right[g] and praise their God.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 45:1 chosen king Literally, “the anointed one.”
  2. Isaiah 45:4 I know you Or “I will give you a title.”
  3. Isaiah 45:5 I put … you This also means “I made you strong.”
  4. Isaiah 45:11 My children … done Or “Those who are coming asked for my children. They commanded me to give them the people I made with my own hands.”
  5. Isaiah 45:12 armies in the sky Sometimes this means the angels, and sometimes it means the stars.
  6. Isaiah 45:13 I was right … Cyrus Or “I gave Cyrus power to do something good.”
  7. Isaiah 45:25 live right Or “find justice.”

45 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,(A)
    to Cyrus,(B) whose right hand I take hold(C) of
to subdue nations(D) before him
    and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
    so that gates will not be shut:
I will go before you(E)
    and will level(F) the mountains[a];
I will break down gates(G) of bronze
    and cut through bars of iron.(H)
I will give you hidden treasures,(I)
    riches stored in secret places,(J)
so that you may know(K) that I am the Lord,
    the God of Israel, who summons you by name.(L)
For the sake of Jacob my servant,(M)
    of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
    and bestow on you a title of honor,
    though you do not acknowledge(N) me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;(O)
    apart from me there is no God.(P)
I will strengthen you,(Q)
    though you have not acknowledged me,
so that from the rising of the sun
    to the place of its setting(R)
people may know(S) there is none besides me.(T)
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I form the light and create darkness,(U)
    I bring prosperity and create disaster;(V)
    I, the Lord, do all these things.

“You heavens above, rain(W) down my righteousness;(X)
    let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
    let salvation(Y) spring up,
let righteousness flourish with it;
    I, the Lord, have created it.

“Woe to those who quarrel(Z) with their Maker,(AA)
    those who are nothing but potsherds(AB)
    among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,(AC)
    ‘What are you making?’(AD)
Does your work say,
    ‘The potter has no hands’?(AE)
10 Woe to the one who says to a father,
    ‘What have you begotten?’
or to a mother,
    ‘What have you brought to birth?’

11 “This is what the Lord says—
    the Holy One(AF) of Israel, and its Maker:(AG)
Concerning things to come,
    do you question me about my children,
    or give me orders about the work of my hands?(AH)
12 It is I who made the earth(AI)
    and created mankind on it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;(AJ)
    I marshaled their starry hosts.(AK)
13 I will raise up Cyrus[b](AL) in my righteousness:
    I will make all his ways straight.(AM)
He will rebuild my city(AN)
    and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,(AO)
    says the Lord Almighty.”

14 This is what the Lord says:

“The products(AP) of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,[c]
    and those tall Sabeans(AQ)
they will come over to you(AR)
    and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,(AS)
    coming over to you in chains.(AT)
They will bow down before you
    and plead(AU) with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you,(AV) and there is no other;
    there is no other god.(AW)’”

15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding(AX) himself,
    the God and Savior(AY) of Israel.
16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;(AZ)
    they will go off into disgrace together.
17 But Israel will be saved(BA) by the Lord
    with an everlasting salvation;(BB)
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,(BC)
    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,(BD)
    he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,(BE)
    but formed it to be inhabited(BF)
he says:
“I am the Lord,
    and there is no other.(BG)
19 I have not spoken in secret,(BH)
    from somewhere in a land of darkness;(BI)
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,(BJ)
    ‘Seek(BK) me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
    I declare what is right.(BL)

20 “Gather together(BM) and come;
    assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant(BN) are those who carry(BO) about idols of wood,
    who pray to gods that cannot save.(BP)
21 Declare what is to be, present it—
    let them take counsel together.
Who foretold(BQ) this long ago,
    who declared it from the distant past?(BR)
Was it not I, the Lord?
    And there is no God apart from me,(BS)
a righteous God(BT) and a Savior;(BU)
    there is none but me.

22 “Turn(BV) to me and be saved,(BW)
    all you ends of the earth;(BX)
    for I am God, and there is no other.(BY)
23 By myself I have sworn,(BZ)
    my mouth has uttered in all integrity(CA)
    a word that will not be revoked:(CB)
Before me every knee will bow;(CC)
    by me every tongue will swear.(CD)
24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
    are deliverance(CE) and strength.(CF)’”
All who have raged against him
    will come to him and be put to shame.(CG)
25 But all the descendants(CH) of Israel
    will find deliverance(CI) in the Lord
    and will make their boast in him.(CJ)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 45:2 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
  2. Isaiah 45:13 Hebrew him
  3. Isaiah 45:14 That is, the upper Nile region