Isaiah 44:28-45:13

English Standard Version

²⁸who says of ^(A)Cyrus, ‘He is ^(B)my shepherd,
and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
^(C)and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

Cyrus, God's Instrument

45 Thus says the Lord to ^(D)his anointed, to Cyrus,
    ^(E)whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
    and ^(F)to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
    that gates may not be closed:
²“I will go before you
    and ^(G)level the exalted places,^[a]
^(H)I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
    and cut through the bars of iron,
³^(I)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, ^(J)who call you by your name.
⁴For the sake of my servant Jacob,
    and Israel my chosen,
^(K)I call you by your name,
    ^(L)I name you, though you do not know me.
⁵^(M)I am the Lord, and there is no other,
    besides me there is no God;
    ^(N)I equip you, though you do not know me,
⁶^(O)that people 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.
⁷I form light and create darkness;
    I make well-being and ^(P)create calamity;
    I am the Lord, who does all these things.

⁸^(Q)“Shower, O heavens, from above,
    and ^(R)let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
    let the earth cause them both to sprout;
    I the Lord have created it.

⁹^(S)“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
    a pot among earthen pots!
^(T)Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
    or ‘Your work has no handles’?
¹⁰Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
    or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”

¹¹Thus says ^(U)the Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
^(V)“Ask me of things to come;
    will you command me ^(W)concerning my children and ^(X)the work of my hands?^[b]
¹²^(Y)I made the earth
    and created man on it;
it was my hands ^(Z)that stretched out the heavens,
    and ^(AA)I commanded all their host.
¹³^(AB)I have stirred him up in righteousness,
    ^(AC)and I will make all his ways level;
^(AD)he shall build my city
    ^(AE)and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
    says the Lord of hosts.

Footnotes

Isaiah 45:2 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint level the mountains
Isaiah 45:11 A slight emendation yields will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands?