Add parallel Print Page Options

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:
“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.
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,
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.
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,
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.
I form light and I create darkness;
    I make peace and I create evil;
        I am Yahweh; I do all these things.
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.
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

  1. Isaiah 45:1 Or “let loose”
  2. Isaiah 45:2 Literally “swells”
  3. Isaiah 45:4 Or “and”
  4. Isaiah 45:5 Or “and”
  5. Isaiah 45:8 Or “and”
  6. Isaiah 45:8 Or “together”
  7. Isaiah 45:9 Literally “one who forms”
  8. Isaiah 45:9 Or “with”
  9. Isaiah 45:10 Or “and”
  10. Isaiah 45:11 Literally “one who forms”
  11. Isaiah 45:11 Literally “over”
  12. Isaiah 45:17 Literally “for eternity, forever”
  13. Isaiah 45:18 Literally “creating”
  14. Isaiah 45:18 Literally “forming”
  15. Isaiah 45:18 Literally “making”
  16. Isaiah 45:19 Literally “in emptiness,” as in verse 18
  17. Isaiah 45:20 Literally “the wood of their idol”
  18. Isaiah 45:21 Literally “caused to hear this”
  19. Isaiah 45:21 Literally “before”
  20. Isaiah 45:21 Literally “then”
  21. Isaiah 45:23 Or “and”

God Uses Cyrus

45 This is what the Lord says to (A)Cyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken by the right (B)hand,
To (C)subdue nations before him
And [a]to (D)undo the weapons belt on the waist of kings;
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
“I will go before you and (E)make the [b]rough places smooth;
I will (F)shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron (G)bars.
I will give you the [c](H)treasures of darkness
And hidden wealth of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
The Lord, the God of Israel, who (I)calls you by your name.
For the sake of (J)Jacob My servant,
And Israel My chosen one,
I have also (K)called you by your name;
I have given you a title of honor
Though you have (L)not known Me.
I am the Lord, and (M)there is no one else;
(N)There is no God except Me.
I will (O)[d]arm you, though you have not known Me,
So that (P)people may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is (Q)no one besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no one else,
The One (R)forming light and (S)creating darkness,
Causing [e]well-being and (T)creating disaster;
I am the Lord who does all these things.

God’s Supreme Power

(U)Drip down, heavens, from above,
And let the clouds pour down righteousness;
Let the (V)earth open up and salvation bear fruit,
(W)And righteousness sprout with it.
I, the Lord, have created it.

“Woe to the one who (X)quarrels with [f]his Maker—
A piece of pottery [g]among the other earthenware pottery pieces!
Will the (Y)clay say to the [h]potter, ‘What are you doing?’
Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?
10 Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you fathering?’
Or to a woman, ‘To what are you [i]giving birth?’”

11 This is what the (Z)Lord says, the Holy One of Israel and [j]his (AA)Maker:

[k](AB)Ask Me about the things to come [l]concerning My (AC)sons,
And you shall commit to Me (AD)the work of My hands.
12 It is I who (AE)made the earth, and created mankind upon it.
I (AF)stretched out the heavens with My hands,
And I [m]ordained (AG)all their [n]lights.
13 I have stirred him in (AH)righteousness,
And I will (AI)make all his ways smooth.
He will (AJ)build My city and let My exiles go (AK)free,
Without any payment or reward,” says the Lord of armies.

14 This is what the Lord says:

“The [o]products of (AL)Egypt and the merchandise of [p](AM)Cush
And the Sabeans, men of stature,
Will (AN)come over to you and will be yours;
They will walk behind you, they will come over in (AO)chains
And will (AP)bow down to you;
They will plead with you:
[q](AQ)God certainly is [r]with you, and (AR)there is no one else,
No other God.’”
15 Truly, You are a God who (AS)hides Himself,
God of Israel, (AT)Savior!
16 They will be (AU)put to shame and even humiliated, all of them;
The (AV)manufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation.
17 Israel has been saved by the Lord
With an (AW)everlasting salvation;
You (AX)will not be put to shame or humiliated
To all eternity.

18 For this is what the Lord says, He who (AY)created the heavens (He is the God who (AZ)formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it [s]as a (BA)waste place, but formed it to be (BB)inhabited):

“I am the Lord, and (BC)there is no one else.
19 (BD)I have not spoken in secret,
In [t]some dark land;
I did not say to the [u](BE)offspring of Jacob,
(BF)Seek Me in [v]a wasteland’;
I, the Lord, (BG)speak righteousness,
(BH)Declaring things that are right.

20 (BI)Gather yourselves and come;
Come together, you survivors of the nations!
(BJ)They have no knowledge,
Who (BK)carry around [w]their wooden idol
And (BL)pray to a god who cannot save.
21 (BM)Declare and present your case;
Indeed, let them consult together.
(BN)Who has announced this long ago?
Who has long since declared it?
Is it not I, the Lord?
And there is (BO)no other God besides Me,
A righteous God and a (BP)Savior;
There is none except Me.
22 (BQ)Turn to Me and (BR)be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 (BS)I have sworn by Myself;
The (BT)word has gone out from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me (BU)every knee will bow, every tongue will (BV)swear allegiance.
24 They will say of Me, ‘Only (BW)in the Lord are righteousness and strength.’
People will come to Him,
And (BX)all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.
25 In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
Will be (BY)justified and will (BZ)boast.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 45:1 Lit I will loose
  2. Isaiah 45:2 Another reading is mountains
  3. Isaiah 45:3 Or hoarded treasures
  4. Isaiah 45:5 Or embrace
  5. Isaiah 45:7 Or peace
  6. Isaiah 45:9 Lit He who formed him
  7. Isaiah 45:9 Lit with
  8. Isaiah 45:9 Lit he who formed him
  9. Isaiah 45:10 Lit in labor pains with
  10. Isaiah 45:11 Lit He who formed him
  11. Isaiah 45:11 Or Will you ask
  12. Isaiah 45:11 Or upon
  13. Isaiah 45:12 Or commanded
  14. Isaiah 45:12 Lit host; i.e., sun, stars, etc.
  15. Isaiah 45:14 Lit labor
  16. Isaiah 45:14 Or Ethiopia
  17. Isaiah 45:14 Or God is with you alone
  18. Isaiah 45:14 Or in
  19. Isaiah 45:18 LXX in vain
  20. Isaiah 45:19 Lit a place of a land of darkness
  21. Isaiah 45:19 Lit seed
  22. Isaiah 45:19 Or vain
  23. Isaiah 45:20 Lit the wood of their carved image