Isaiah 45:1-12
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.
4 For 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.
7 I 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’?
10 Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”
11 Thus says (R)the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
(S)“Ask me of things to come;
will you command me (T)concerning my children and (U)the work of my hands?[b]
12 (V)I made the earth
and created man on it;
it was my hands (W)that stretched out the heavens,
and (X)I commanded all their host.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 45:2 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint level the mountains
- Isaiah 45:11 A slight emendation yields will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands?
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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