Isaiah 45:1-10

Complete Jewish Bible

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:
² “I will go ahead of you,
levelling the hills,
shattering the bronze gates,
smashing the iron bars.
³ 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.
⁴ 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.
⁵ I am Adonai; there is no other;
besides me there is no God.
I am arming you, although you don’t know me,
⁶ 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.
⁷ I form light, I create darkness;
I make well-being, I create woe;
I, Adonai, do all these things.

⁸ “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.”

⁹ 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?”