Isaiah 45
Evangelical Heritage Version
Cyrus the Lord’s Anointed Shepherd
45
This is what the Lord says to his anointed one,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
by stripping kings of their weapons,
to open doors before him
so that the gates cannot be shut.
2 I myself will go before you,
and I will level high mountains.[a]
I will break bronze doors into pieces,
and I will cut through iron bars.
3 I will give you treasures hidden in darkness
and riches concealed in secret places,
so that you will acknowledge that I am the Lord,
the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
for the sake of Israel my chosen one,
I will call you by your name.
I will give you an honored name, though you do not know me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other.
Except for me, there is no god.
I will equip you even though you do not know me,
6 so that people will know from the rising of the sun
to the place where it sets
that there is no one except me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I am the one who forms light and creates darkness,
the one who makes peace and creates disaster.
I am the Lord, the one who does all these things.
Coming Blessings
8 Shower down, you heavens, from above,
and let the clouds rain down righteousness.
Let the earth open up,
so that salvation will produce fruit.
Let righteousness sprout up along with it.
I, the Lord, am creating this.
Arguing With the Lord
9 Woe to anyone who argues against the potter who formed him.
He is just a potsherd among the broken pieces of pottery on the ground.
Does clay say to its potter, “What are you making?
Your work looks like something made by a potter with no hands”?
10 Woe to anyone who says to his father, “What have you fathered?”
or to a woman, “What are you giving birth to?”
11 This is what the Lord says,
the Holy One of Israel, who formed Israel.
Do you wish to question me concerning things to come?
Will you give me orders about my children
and about the work of my hands?
12 I myself made the earth,
and I created Adam[b] upon it.
With my hands I stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their army.
Cyrus as the Lord’s Servant
13 I myself will arouse him in righteousness,
and I will make all his roads level for him.
He himself will rebuild my city.
He will set my exiles free—
but not for a price and not for a gift,
says the Lord of Armies.
14 This is what the Lord says.
The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush
and those tall Sabeans will cross over to you and become yours.
They will walk behind you and approach you in chains.
They will bow down to you and plead with you and say,
“Yes, God is with you, and there is no other.
There is no other God.”
The Hidden God Is Revealed
15 Indeed, you are a God who hides himself.
You are the God of Israel, the Savior.
16 They will be ashamed.
All of them will also be disgraced.
Together they will walk in humiliation—those experts at crafting images.
17 Israel will be saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation.
You will not be ashamed or disgraced for all eternity.
18 This is what the Lord says.
He created the heavens,
He is God!
He formed the earth and made it.
Yes, he established it!
He did not create it to remain empty.[c]
He formed it to be inhabited.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I did not speak in secret,
or from someplace in a land of darkness.
I did not say to the descendants[d] of Jacob,
“Seek me in the midst of chaos.”[e]
I, the Lord, am speaking in righteousness.
I am declaring what is right.
20 Gather! Come! Draw near together,
you survivors from the nations.
They have no knowledge—
those who are lifting up their idols of wood
and praying to a god that cannot save.
21 Make an announcement and come close.
Let them consult together.
Who made this known ahead of time?
From time past who announced it?
Was it not I, the Lord?
There is no god except me,
a righteous God and Savior.
There is no one except me.
22 Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth,
because I am God,
and there is no other.
23 I have sworn by myself.
From my mouth a righteous word has gone out,
and it will not return unfulfilled.
Indeed, to me every knee will bow,
and every tongue will swear allegiance.
24 “Only in the Lord,” they will say of me,
“Only in the Lord is there true righteousness and strength.”
To him they will come and be ashamed—
all those who are angry at him.
25 In the Lord, all the descendants[f] of Israel will be justified.
They will be praised by him.[g]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 45:2 The translation mountains follows the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah and the Greek Old Testament. The word in the standard Hebrew text occurs only here. It may mean rough places or walls.
- Isaiah 45:12 Or mankind
- Isaiah 45:18 The same Hebrew word translated empty describes the first stage of creation in Genesis 1.
- Isaiah 45:19 Literally the seed
- Isaiah 45:19 The same Hebrew translated chaos describes the first stage of creation in Genesis 1.
- Isaiah 45:25 Or all the seed
- Isaiah 45:25 Or be confident in him or shine in glory
Isaiah 45
Lexham English Bible
45 Thus says Yahweh to his anointed one,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped
to subjugate nations before him,
and I uncover[a] the loins of kings
to open doors before him,
and the gates shall not be shut:
2 “I myself will go before you,
and I will level the mountains.[b]
I will break the doors of bronze
and cut throughthe bars of iron.
3 And I will give you the treasures of darkness
and treasures of secret places
so that you may know that I am Yahweh,
the one who calls you by your name, the God of Israel,
4 for the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen one.
And I call you by your name;
I give you a name of honor, though[c] you do not know me.
5 I am Yahweh, and there is none besides me;
besides me there is no god.
I gird you though[d] you do not know me,
6 so that they may know from the rising of the sun
and from the west that there is none besides me;
I am Yahweh and there is none besides me.
7 I form light and I create darkness;
I make peace and I create evil;
I am Yahweh; I do all these things.
8 Trickle, O heavens, from above,
and let clouds trickle with righteousness;
let the earth open so that[e] salvation may be fruitful,
and let it cause righteousness to sprout along with it.[f]
I myself, Yahweh, have created it.
9 Woe to the one who strives with his maker,[g]
a potsherd among[h] potsherds of earth!
Does the clay say to the one who fashions it,
‘What are you making?’
and ‘Your work has no hands’?
10 Woe to the one who says to a father, ‘What you are begetting?’
or[i] to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”
11 Thus says Yahweh, the holy one of Israel,
and its maker:[j]
“Ask me of the things to come about[k] my children,
and you command me about the work of my hands.
12 I myself made the earth,
and I created humankind upon it.
I, my hands, stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host.
13 I myself have stirred him up in righteousness,
and I will make all his paths smooth.
He himself shall build my city,
and he shall set my exiles free,
not for price or a gift,” says Yahweh of hosts.
Yahweh the Only Savior
14 Thus says Yahweh:
“The acquisition of Egypt
and the merchandise of Cush
and the Sabeans, tall men,
shall pass over to you;
they shall be yours,
and they shall walk behind you.
They shall pass over in chains,
and they shall bow down to you;
they will pray to you:
‘Surely God is with you, and there is no other.
Besides him there is no God.’”
15 Surely you are a God who keeps yourself hidden,
God of Israel, the savior.
16 All of them are ashamed and indeed humiliated;
the craftsmen of idols go together in insult.
17 Israel is saved by Yahweh with everlasting salvation;
you shall not be ashamed,
and you shall not be humiliated to all eternity.[l]
18 For thus says Yahweh, who created[m] the heavens,
he is God, who formed[n] the earth
and who made[o] it.
He himself established it;
he did not create it as emptiness—
he formed it for inhabiting.
“I am Yahweh and there is none besides me.
19 I have spoken not in secrecy, in a place, a land, of darkness,
I have not said to the descendants of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain!’[p]
I, Yahweh, am speaking righteousness,
declaring uprightness.
20 Assemble and come;
draw near together, survivors of the nations!
They do not know, those who carry their wooden idols[q]
and pray to a god who cannot save.
21 Declare and present your case,
also let them consult together!
Who made this known[r] from former times,[s]
declared it from of old?[t]
Was it not I, Yahweh?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God besides me,
and no savior besides me.
22 Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth,
for I am God and there is none besides me.
23 I have sworn by myself;
a word that[u] shall not return has gone forth from my mouth in righteousness:
‘Every knee shall kneel down to me;
every tongue shall swear.’
24 ‘Only in Yahweh,’ one shall say to me, ‘are righteousness and strength.’
He shall come to him, and all those who were angry with him shall be ashamed.
25 In Yahweh all the offspring of Israel shall be in the right,
and they shall boast.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 45:1 Or “let loose”
- Isaiah 45:2 Literally “swells”
- Isaiah 45:4 Or “and”
- Isaiah 45:5 Or “and”
- Isaiah 45:8 Or “and”
- Isaiah 45:8 Or “together”
- Isaiah 45:9 Literally “one who forms”
- Isaiah 45:9 Or “with”
- Isaiah 45:10 Or “and”
- Isaiah 45:11 Literally “one who forms”
- Isaiah 45:11 Literally “over”
- Isaiah 45:17 Literally “for eternity, forever”
- Isaiah 45:18 Literally “creating”
- Isaiah 45:18 Literally “forming”
- Isaiah 45:18 Literally “making”
- Isaiah 45:19 Literally “in emptiness,” as in verse 18
- Isaiah 45:20 Literally “the wood of their idol”
- Isaiah 45:21 Literally “caused to hear this”
- Isaiah 45:21 Literally “before”
- Isaiah 45:21 Literally “then”
- Isaiah 45:23 Or “and”
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