Isaiah 45
Legacy Standard Bible
Cyrus, Yahweh’s Anointed
45 Thus says Yahweh to (A)Cyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken hold of by his right (B)hand,
To (C)subdue nations before him
And [a]to (D)loose the loins of kings,
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
2 “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.
3 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,
Yahweh, the God of Israel, who (I)calls you by your name.
4 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.
5 I am Yahweh, and (M)there is no other;
(N)Besides Me there is no God.
I will [d](O)gird you, though you have not known Me,
6 That (P)they may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is (Q)no one besides Me.
I am Yahweh, and there is no other,
7 The One (R)forming light and (S)creating darkness,
Producing peace and (T)creating calamity;
I am Yahweh who does all these.
Yahweh the Maker
8 “(U)Drip down, O heavens, from above,
And let the skies pour down righteousness;
Let the (V)earth open up and salvation bear fruit,
(W)And righteousness [e]spring up with it.
I, Yahweh, have created it.
9 “Woe to the one who (X)contends with his [f]Maker—
An earthenware vessel [g]among the vessels of earth!
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 begetting?’
Or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor pains?’”
11 Thus says (Z)Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, and his [i](AA)Maker:
“[j](AB)Ask Me about the things that are to come [k]concerning My (AC)sons,
And you shall [l]commit to Me (AD)the work of My hands.
12 It is I who (AE)made the earth and created man upon it.
I (AF)stretched out the heavens with My hands,
And I commanded (AG)all their host.
13 I have awakened him in (AH)righteousness,
And I will (AI)make all his ways smooth;
He will (AJ)build My city and will (AK)let My exiles go,
Without any payment or reward,” says Yahweh of hosts.
14 Thus says Yahweh,
“The fruit of the labor of (AL)Egypt and the profit of [m](AM)Ethiopia
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 make supplication to you:
‘[n]Surely, (AQ)God is [o]with you, and (AR)there is none else,
No other God.’”
15 Truly, You are a God who (AS)hides Himself,
O God of Israel, (AT)Savior!
16 They will be (AU)put to shame and even dishonored, all of them;
The (AV)craftsmen of idols will go away together in dishonor.
17 Israel has been saved by Yahweh
With an (AW)everlasting salvation;
You (AX)will not be put to shame or dishonored
To all eternity.
18 For thus says Yahweh, 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 [p]a (BA)formless place, but formed it to be (BB)inhabited),
“I am Yahweh, and (BC)there is none else.
19 (BD)I have not spoken in secret,
In [q]some dark land;
I did not say to the (BE)seed of Jacob,
‘(BF)Seek Me in [r]a formless place’;
I, Yahweh, (BG)speak righteousness,
(BH)Declaring things that are upright.
20 “(BI)Gather yourselves and come;
Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations;
(BJ)They do not know,
Who (BK)carry about their graven image of wood
And (BL)pray to a god who cannot save.
21 (BM)Declare and draw near with your case;
Indeed, let them consult together.
(BN)Who has made this heard from of old?
Who has long since declared it?
Is it not I, Yahweh?
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 forth 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 Yahweh are righteousness and strength.’
Men will come to Him,
And (BX)all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.
25 In Yahweh all the seed of Israel
Will be (BY)justified and will (BZ)boast.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 45:1 Lit I will open, cf. 45:1b
- Isaiah 45:2 Or mountains
- Isaiah 45:3 Or hoarded treasures
- Isaiah 45:5 Or arm
- Isaiah 45:8 Or branch forth, cf. 61:11
- Isaiah 45:9 Lit Fashioner
- Isaiah 45:9 Lit with
- Isaiah 45:9 Lit Fashioner
- Isaiah 45:11 Lit Fashioner
- Isaiah 45:11 Or Will you ask...?
- Isaiah 45:11 Or upon
- Isaiah 45:11 Lit command
- Isaiah 45:14 Or Cush, cf. Gen 10:6
- Isaiah 45:14 Or God is with you alone
- Isaiah 45:14 Or in
- Isaiah 45:18 Or in vain
- Isaiah 45:19 Lit a place of a land of darkness
- Isaiah 45:19 Or vain
Isaiah 45
Revised Standard Version
Cyrus, God’s Instrument
45 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and ungird the loins of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
2 “I will go before you
and level the mountains,[a]
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut asunder the bars of iron,
3 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, who call you by your name.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I surname you, though you do not know me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I gird you, though you do not know me,
6 that men 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 weal and create woe,
I am the Lord, who do all these things.
8 “Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the skies rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation may sprout forth,[b]
and let it cause righteousness to spring up also;
I the Lord have created it.
9 “Woe to him who strives with his Maker,
an earthen vessel with the potter![c]
Does the clay say to him who fashions 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 travail?’”
11 Thus says the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:
“Will you question me[d] about my children,
or command me concerning the work of my hands?
12 I made the earth,
and created man upon it;
it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host.
13 I have aroused him in righteousness,
and I will make straight all his ways;
he shall build my city
and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
says the Lord of hosts.
14 Thus says the Lord:
“The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Ethiopia,
and the Sabe′ans, men of stature,
shall come over to you and be yours,
they shall follow you;
they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying:
‘God is with you only, and there is no other,
no god besides him.’”
15 Truly, thou art a God who hidest thyself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 All of them are put to shame and confounded,
the makers of idols go in confusion together.
17 But Israel is saved by the Lord
with everlasting salvation;
you shall not be put to shame or confounded
to all eternity.
18 For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he did not create it a chaos,
he formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I did not speak in secret,
in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
‘Seek me in chaos.’
I the Lord speak the truth,
I declare what is right.
Idols Cannot Save Babylon
20 “Assemble yourselves and come,
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations!
They have no knowledge
who carry about their wooden idols,
and keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.
21 Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
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,
from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear.’
24 “Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and strength;
to him shall come and be ashamed,
all who were incensed against him.
25 In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
shall triumph and glory.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 45:2 One ancient Ms Gk: Heb the swellings
- Isaiah 45:8 One ancient Ms: Heb that they may bring forth salvation
- Isaiah 45:9 Cn: Heb potsherds or potters
- Isaiah 45:11 Cn: Heb Ask me of things to come
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Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.