Isaiah 45
Christian Standard Bible
45 The Lord says this to Cyrus, his anointed,(A)
whose right hand I have grasped(B)
to subdue nations before him
and disarm[a] kings,(C)
to open doors before him,
and even city gates will not be shut:
2 “I will go before you
and level the uneven places;[b](D)
I will shatter the bronze doors
and cut the iron bars in two.(E)
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness
and riches from secret places,(F)
so that you may know that I am the Lord.
I am the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.(G)
4 I call you by your name,
for the sake of my servant Jacob(H)
and Israel my chosen one.
I give a name to you,
though you do not know me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;(I)
there is no God but me.(J)
I will strengthen[c] you,
though you do not know me,
6 so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
that there is no one but me.(K)
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form light and create darkness,(L)
I make success and create disaster;(M)
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8 “Heavens, sprinkle from above,
and let the skies shower righteousness.(N)
Let the earth open up
so that salvation will sprout
and righteousness will spring up with it.(O)
I, the Lord, have created it.
9 “Woe to the one who argues with his Maker—
one clay pot among many.[d]
Does clay say to the one forming it,
‘What are you making?’ (P)
Or does your work say,
‘He has no hands’?[e]
10 Woe to the one who says to his father,
‘What are you fathering?’
or to his mother,[f]
‘What are you giving birth to?’”
11 This is what the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel(Q) and its Maker, says:
“Ask me what is to happen to[g] my sons,(R)
and instruct me about the work of my hands.(S)
12 I made the earth,
and created humans on it.
It was my hands that stretched out the heavens,(T)
and I commanded everything in them.
13 I have stirred him up in righteousness,(U)
and will level all roads for him.
He will rebuild my city,(V)
and set my exiles free,(W)
not for a price or a bribe,”
says the Lord of Armies.
God Alone Is the Savior
14 This is what the Lord says:
“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush
and the Sabeans, men of stature,(X)
will come over to you(Y)
and will be yours;
they will follow you,
they will come over in chains
and bow down to you.
They will confess[h] to you,
‘God is indeed with you,(Z) and there is no other;
there is no other God.’”
15 Yes, you are a God who hides,(AA)
God of Israel, Savior.(AB)
16 All of them are put to shame, even humiliated;(AC)
the makers of idols go in humiliation together.
17 Israel will be saved by the Lord
with an everlasting salvation;
you will not be put to shame or humiliated
for all eternity.(AD)
18 For this is what the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens,
the God who formed the earth and made it,
the one who established it
(he did not create it to be a wasteland,
but formed it to be inhabited)(AE)—
he says, “I am the Lord,
and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in secret,(AF)
somewhere in a land of darkness.
I did not say to the descendants of Jacob:
Seek me in a wasteland.(AG)
I am the Lord, who speaks righteously,(AH)
who declares what is right.
20 “Come, gather together,
and approach, you fugitives of the nations.
Those who carry their wooden idols
and pray to a god who cannot save(AI)
have no knowledge.(AJ)
21 Speak up and present your case[i](AK)—
yes, let them consult each other.
Who predicted this long ago?
Who announced it from ancient times?
Was it not I, the Lord?
There is no other God but me,
a righteous God and Savior;(AL)
there is no one except me.(AM)
22 Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth.
For I am God,
and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn;(AN)
truth has gone from my mouth,(AO)
a word that will not be revoked:
Every knee will bow(AP) to me,
every tongue will swear allegiance.
24 It will be said about me, ‘Righteousness and strength
are found only in the Lord.’”
All who are enraged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.(AQ)
25 All the descendants of Israel
will be justified and boast in the Lord.
Isaiah 45
New Living Translation
Cyrus, the Lord’s Chosen One
45 This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his anointed one,
whose right hand he will empower.
Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear.
Their fortress gates will be opened,
never to shut again.
2 This is what the Lord says:
“I will go before you, Cyrus,
and level the mountains.[a]
I will smash down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
3 And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—
secret riches.
I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.
4 “And why have I called you for this work?
Why did I call you by name when you did not know me?
It is for the sake of Jacob my servant,
Israel my chosen one.
5 I am the Lord;
there is no other God.
I have equipped you for battle,
though you don’t even know me,
6 so all the world from east to west
will know there is no other God.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I create the light and make the darkness.
I send good times and bad times.
I, the Lord, am the one who does these things.
8 “Open up, O heavens,
and pour out your righteousness.
Let the earth open wide
so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together.
I, the Lord, created them.
9 “What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator.
Does a clay pot argue with its maker?
Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying,
‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’
Does the pot exclaim,
‘How clumsy can you be?’
10 How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father,
‘Why was I born?’
or if it said to its mother,
‘Why did you make me this way?’”
11 This is what the Lord says—
the Holy One of Israel and your Creator:
“Do you question what I do for my children?
Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?
12 I am the one who made the earth
and created people to live on it.
With my hands I stretched out the heavens.
All the stars are at my command.
13 I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose,
and I will guide his actions.
He will restore my city and free my captive people—
without seeking a reward!
I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
Future Conversion of Gentiles
14 This is what the Lord says:
“You will rule the Egyptians,
the Ethiopians,[b] and the Sabeans.
They will come to you with all their merchandise,
and it will all be yours.
They will follow you as prisoners in chains.
They will fall to their knees in front of you and say,
‘God is with you, and he is the only God.
There is no other.’”
15 Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior,
you work in mysterious ways.
16 All craftsmen who make idols will be humiliated.
They will all be disgraced together.
17 But the Lord will save the people of Israel
with eternal salvation.
Throughout everlasting ages,
they will never again be humiliated and disgraced.
18 For the Lord is God,
and he created the heavens and earth
and put everything in place.
He made the world to be lived in,
not to be a place of empty chaos.
“I am the Lord,” he says,
“and there is no other.
19 I publicly proclaim bold promises.
I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.
I would not have told the people of Israel[c] to seek me
if I could not be found.
I, the Lord, speak only what is true
and declare only what is right.
20 “Gather together and come,
you fugitives from surrounding nations.
What fools they are who carry around their wooden idols
and pray to gods that cannot save!
21 Consult together, argue your case.
Get together and decide what to say.
Who made these things known so long ago?
What idol ever told you they would happen?
Was it not I, the Lord?
For there is no other God but me,
a righteous God and Savior.
There is none but me.
22 Let all the world look to me for salvation!
For I am God; there is no other.
23 I have sworn by my own name;
I have spoken the truth,
and I will never go back on my word:
Every knee will bend to me,
and every tongue will declare allegiance to me.[d]”
24 The people will declare,
“The Lord is the source of all my righteousness and strength.”
And all who were angry with him
will come to him and be ashamed.
25 In the Lord all the generations of Israel will be justified,
and in him they will boast.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
