Add parallel Print Page Options

45 Yahweh says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him, and strip kings of their armor; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut:

“I will go before you
    and make the rough places smooth.
I will break the doors of bronze in pieces
    and cut apart the bars of iron.
I will give you the treasures of darkness
    and hidden riches of secret places,
that you may know that it is I, Yahweh, who calls you by your name,
    even the God of Israel.
For Jacob my servant’s sake,
    and Israel my chosen,
I have called you by your name.
    I have given you a title,
    though you have not known me.
I am Yahweh, and there is no one else.
    Besides me, there is no God.
I will strengthen[a] you,
    though you have not known me,
that they may know from the rising of the sun,
    and from the west,
that there is no one besides me.
    I am Yahweh, and there is no one else.
I form the light
    and create darkness.
I make peace
    and create calamity.
I am Yahweh,
    who does all these things.

Rain, you heavens, from above,
    and let the skies pour down righteousness.
Let the earth open, that it may produce salvation,
    and let it cause righteousness to spring up with it.
I, Yahweh, have created it.

Woe to him who strives with his Maker—
    a clay pot among the clay pots of the earth!
Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, ‘What are you making?’
    or your work, ‘He has no hands?’
10 Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What have you become the father of?’
    or to a mother, ‘What have you given birth to?’”

11 Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel
    and his Maker says:
“You ask me about the things that are to come, concerning my sons,
    and you command me concerning the work of my hands!
12 I have made the earth, and created man on it.
    I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens.
    I have commanded all their army.
13 I have raised him up in righteousness,
    and I will make all his ways straight.
He shall build my city,
    and he shall let my exiles go free,
    not for price nor reward,” says Yahweh of Armies.

14 Yahweh says: “The labor of Egypt,
    and the merchandise of Ethiopia,
    and the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you,
    and they will be yours.
They will go after you.
    They shall come over in chains.
    They will bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you:
    ‘Surely God is in you; and there is no one else.
    There is no other god.
15 Most certainly you are a God who has hidden yourself,
    God of Israel, the Savior.’”
16 They will be disappointed,
    yes, confounded, all of them.
    Those who are makers of idols will go into confusion together.
17 Israel will be saved by Yahweh with an everlasting salvation.
    You will not be disappointed nor confounded to ages everlasting.

18 For Yahweh who created the heavens,
    the God who formed the earth and made it,
    who established it and didn’t create it a waste,
    who formed it to be inhabited says:
“I am Yahweh.
    There is no other.
19 I have not spoken in secret,
    in a place of the land of darkness.
I didn’t say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’
    I, Yahweh, speak righteousness.
    I declare things that are right.

20 “Assemble yourselves and come.
    Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations.
Those have no knowledge who carry the wood of their engraved image,
    and pray to a god that can’t save.
21 Declare and present it.
    Yes, let them take counsel together.
Who has shown this from ancient time?
    Who has declared it of old?
    Haven’t I, Yahweh?
There is no other God besides me, a just God and a Savior.
    There is no one besides me.

22 “Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
    for I am God, and there is no other.
23 I have sworn by myself.
    The word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and will not be revoked,
that to me every knee shall bow,
    every tongue shall take an oath.
24 They will say of me,
    ‘There is righteousness and strength only in Yahweh.’”
Even to him will men come.
    All those who raged against him will be disappointed.
25 All the offspring of Israel will be justified in Yahweh,
    and will rejoice!

Footnotes

  1. 45:5 or, equip

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.
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.
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.

“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.
I am the Lord;
    there is no other God.
I have equipped you for battle,
    though you don’t even know me,
so all the world from east to west
    will know there is no other God.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
    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.

“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.

“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.

Footnotes

  1. 45:2 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads the swellings.
  2. 45:14 Hebrew Cushites.
  3. 45:19 Hebrew of Jacob. See note on 14:1.
  4. 45:23 Hebrew will confess; Greek version reads will declare allegiance to God. Compare Rom 14:11.