Isaiah 44:21-45:7

New International Version

²¹“Remember^(A) these things, Jacob,
    for you, Israel, are my servant.^(B)
I have made you, you are my servant;^(C)
    Israel, I will not forget you.^(D)
²²I have swept away^(E) your offenses like a cloud,
    your sins like the morning mist.
Return^(F) to me,
    for I have redeemed^(G) you.”

²³Sing for joy,^(H) you heavens, for the Lord has done this;
    shout aloud, you earth^(I) beneath.
Burst into song, you mountains,^(J)
    you forests and all your trees,^(K)
for the Lord has redeemed^(L) Jacob,
    he displays his glory^(M) in Israel.

Jerusalem to Be Inhabited

²⁴“This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer,^(N) who formed^(O) you in the womb:^(P)

I am the Lord,
    the Maker of all things,
    who stretches out the heavens,^(Q)
    who spreads out the earth^(R) by myself,
²⁵who foils^(S) the signs of false prophets
    and makes fools of diviners,^(T)
who overthrows the learning of the wise^(U)
    and turns it into nonsense,^(V)
²⁶who carries out the words^(W) of his servants
    and fulfills^(X) the predictions of his messengers,

who says of Jerusalem,^(Y) ‘It shall be inhabited,’
    of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’
    and of their ruins,^(Z) ‘I will restore them,’^(AA)
²⁷who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,
    and I will dry up^(AB) your streams,’
²⁸who says of Cyrus,^(AC) ‘He is my shepherd
    and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem,^(AD) “Let it be rebuilt,”
    and of the temple,^(AE) “Let its foundations^(AF) be laid.”’

45 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,^(AG)
    to Cyrus,^(AH) whose right hand I take hold^(AI) of
to subdue nations^(AJ) before him
    and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
    so that gates will not be shut:
²I will go before you^(AK)
    and will level^(AL) the mountains^[a];
I will break down gates^(AM) of bronze
    and cut through bars of iron.^(AN)
³I will give you hidden treasures,^(AO)
    riches stored in secret places,^(AP)
so that you may know^(AQ) that I am the Lord,
    the God of Israel, who summons you by name.^(AR)
⁴For the sake of Jacob my servant,^(AS)
    of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
    and bestow on you a title of honor,
    though you do not acknowledge^(AT) me.
⁵I am the Lord, and there is no other;^(AU)
    apart from me there is no God.^(AV)
I will strengthen you,^(AW)
    though you have not acknowledged me,
⁶so that from the rising of the sun
    to the place of its setting^(AX)
people may know^(AY) there is none besides me.^(AZ)
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.
⁷I form the light and create darkness,^(BA)
    I bring prosperity and create disaster;^(BB)
    I, the Lord, do all these things.