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.
Isaiah 45
Common English Bible
Cyrus as God’s anointed
45 The Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whom I have grasped by the strong hand,
to conquer nations before him,
disarming kings,
and opening doors before him,
so no gates will be shut:
2 I myself will go before you,
and I will level mountains.
I will shatter bronze doors;
I will cut through iron bars.
3 I will give you hidden treasures of secret riches,
so you will know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob and Israel my chosen,
I called you by name.
I gave you an honored title,
though you didn’t know me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;
besides me there is no God.
I strengthen you—
though you don’t know me—
6 so all will know, from the rising of the sun to its setting,
that there is nothing apart from me.
I am the Lord; there’s no other.
7 I form light and create darkness,
make prosperity and create doom;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8 Pour down, you heavens above,
and let the clouds flow with righteousness.
Let the earth open for salvation to bear fruit;
let righteousness sprout as well.
I, the Lord, have created these things.
Potter and clay
9 Doom to the one who argues with the potter,[a]
as if he were just another clay pot!
Does the clay say to the potter, “What are you making?”
or “Your work has no handles”?
10 Doom to one who says to a father,
“What have you fathered?”
and to a woman,
“With what are you in labor?”
11 The Lord, the holy one of Israel and its maker,[b] says:
Are you questioning me[c] about my own children?
Are you telling me what to do with the work of my hands?
12 I myself made the earth,
and created humans upon it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens.
I commanded all their forces.
13 I have a right to awaken Cyrus;
I will smooth all his paths.
He will build my city
and set my exiles free,
not for a price and not for a bribe,
says the Lord of heavenly forces.
14 The Lord says:
Egypt will grow weary, Cush will be sold,[d]
and the tall Sabeans will cross over to you.
They will be yours, and after you they will go.
In chains they will come;
to you they will bow down.
They will plead with you:
“Truly God is with you;
there’s no other, no other God.”
15 Surely you are a god who hides himself,
Israel’s God and savior.
Idols contrasted with God
16 They will all be shamed and disgraced;
the makers of idols will end up disgraced together.
17 Israel has been saved by the Lord of everlasting salvation.
You won’t be shamed,
and you won’t be disgraced forever and always.
18 For this is what the Lord said, who created the heavens,
who is God,
who formed the earth and made it,
who established it,
who didn’t create it a wasteland but formed it as a habitation:
I, the Lord, and none other!
19 I didn’t speak in secret
or in some land of darkness;
I didn’t say to the offspring of Jacob,
“Seek me in chaos.”
I am the Lord, the one who speaks truth,
who announces what is correct.
20 Gather and come,
draw near together,
fugitives of the nations!
Those who carry their wooden idols don’t know;
those who pray to a god who won’t save.
21 Announce! Approach! Confer together!
Who proclaimed this from the beginning, announced it from long ago?
Wasn’t it I, the Lord?
There’s no other God except me,
a righteous God and a savior;
there’s none besides me!
22 Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth,
for I am God, and there’s no other.
23 I have sworn a solemn pledge;
a word has left my mouth;
it is reliable and won’t fail.
Surely every knee will bow
and every tongue will confess;
24 they will say, “Righteousness and strength come only from the Lord.
All who are angry with him will come to shame.
25 All the Israelites
will be victorious and rejoice.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 45:9 Or maker
- Isaiah 45:11 Or potter
- Isaiah 45:11 Or about future things ask me
- Isaiah 45:14 Heb uncertain
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.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible