Jerusalem to Be Inhabited

24 “This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer,(A) who formed(B) you in the womb:(C)

I am the Lord,
    the Maker of all things,
    who stretches out the heavens,(D)
    who spreads out the earth(E) by myself,
25 who foils(F) the signs of false prophets
    and makes fools of diviners,(G)
who overthrows the learning of the wise(H)
    and turns it into nonsense,(I)
26 who carries out the words(J) of his servants
    and fulfills(K) the predictions of his messengers,

who says of Jerusalem,(L) ‘It shall be inhabited,’
    of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’
    and of their ruins,(M) ‘I will restore them,’(N)
27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,
    and I will dry up(O) your streams,’
28 who says of Cyrus,(P) ‘He is my shepherd
    and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem,(Q) “Let it be rebuilt,”
    and of the temple,(R) “Let its foundations(S) be laid.”’

45 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,(T)
    to Cyrus,(U) whose right hand I take hold(V) of
to subdue nations(W) before him
    and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
    so that gates will not be shut:
I will go before you(X)
    and will level(Y) the mountains[a];
I will break down gates(Z) of bronze
    and cut through bars of iron.(AA)
I will give you hidden treasures,(AB)
    riches stored in secret places,(AC)
so that you may know(AD) that I am the Lord,
    the God of Israel, who summons you by name.(AE)
For the sake of Jacob my servant,(AF)
    of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
    and bestow on you a title of honor,
    though you do not acknowledge(AG) me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;(AH)
    apart from me there is no God.(AI)
I will strengthen you,(AJ)
    though you have not acknowledged me,
so that from the rising of the sun
    to the place of its setting(AK)
people may know(AL) there is none besides me.(AM)
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I form the light and create darkness,(AN)
    I bring prosperity and create disaster;(AO)
    I, the Lord, do all these things.

“You heavens above, rain(AP) down my righteousness;(AQ)
    let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
    let salvation(AR) spring up,
let righteousness flourish with it;
    I, the Lord, have created it.

“Woe to those who quarrel(AS) with their Maker,(AT)
    those who are nothing but potsherds(AU)
    among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,(AV)
    ‘What are you making?’(AW)
Does your work say,
    ‘The potter has no hands’?(AX)
10 Woe to the one who says to a father,
    ‘What have you begotten?’
or to a mother,
    ‘What have you brought to birth?’

11 “This is what the Lord says—
    the Holy One(AY) of Israel, and its Maker:(AZ)
Concerning things to come,
    do you question me about my children,
    or give me orders about the work of my hands?(BA)
12 It is I who made the earth(BB)
    and created mankind on it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;(BC)
    I marshaled their starry hosts.(BD)
13 I will raise up Cyrus[b](BE) in my righteousness:
    I will make all his ways straight.(BF)
He will rebuild my city(BG)
    and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,(BH)
    says the Lord Almighty.”

14 This is what the Lord says:

“The products(BI) of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,[c]
    and those tall Sabeans(BJ)
they will come over to you(BK)
    and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,(BL)
    coming over to you in chains.(BM)
They will bow down before you
    and plead(BN) with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you,(BO) and there is no other;
    there is no other god.(BP)’”

15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding(BQ) himself,
    the God and Savior(BR) of Israel.
16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;(BS)
    they will go off into disgrace together.
17 But Israel will be saved(BT) by the Lord
    with an everlasting salvation;(BU)
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,(BV)
    to ages everlasting.

18 For this is what the Lord says—
he who created the heavens,
    he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,(BW)
    he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,(BX)
    but formed it to be inhabited(BY)
he says:
“I am the Lord,
    and there is no other.(BZ)
19 I have not spoken in secret,(CA)
    from somewhere in a land of darkness;(CB)
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,(CC)
    ‘Seek(CD) me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
    I declare what is right.(CE)

20 “Gather together(CF) and come;
    assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant(CG) are those who carry(CH) about idols of wood,
    who pray to gods that cannot save.(CI)
21 Declare what is to be, present it—
    let them take counsel together.
Who foretold(CJ) this long ago,
    who declared it from the distant past?(CK)
Was it not I, the Lord?
    And there is no God apart from me,(CL)
a righteous God(CM) and a Savior;(CN)
    there is none but me.

22 “Turn(CO) to me and be saved,(CP)
    all you ends of the earth;(CQ)
    for I am God, and there is no other.(CR)
23 By myself I have sworn,(CS)
    my mouth has uttered in all integrity(CT)
    a word that will not be revoked:(CU)
Before me every knee will bow;(CV)
    by me every tongue will swear.(CW)
24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
    are deliverance(CX) and strength.(CY)’”
All who have raged against him
    will come to him and be put to shame.(CZ)
25 But all the descendants(DA) of Israel
    will find deliverance(DB) in the Lord
    and will make their boast in him.(DC)

Gods of Babylon

46 Bel(DD) bows down, Nebo stoops low;
    their idols(DE) are borne by beasts of burden.[d]
The images that are carried(DF) about are burdensome,
    a burden for the weary.
They stoop and bow down together;
    unable to rescue the burden,
    they themselves go off into captivity.(DG)

“Listen(DH) to me, you descendants of Jacob,
    all the remnant(DI) of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,(DJ)
    and have carried(DK) since you were born.(DL)
Even to your old age and gray hairs(DM)
    I am he,(DN) I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
    I will sustain(DO) you and I will rescue you.

“With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
    To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?(DP)
Some pour out gold from their bags
    and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith(DQ) to make it into a god,
    and they bow down and worship it.(DR)
They lift it to their shoulders and carry(DS) it;
    they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
    From that spot it cannot move.(DT)
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;(DU)
    it cannot save(DV) them from their troubles.

“Remember(DW) this, keep it in mind,
    take it to heart, you rebels.(DX)
Remember the former things,(DY) those of long ago;(DZ)
    I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me.(EA)
10 I make known the end from the beginning,(EB)
    from ancient times,(EC) what is still to come.(ED)
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,(EE)
    and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon(EF) a bird of prey;(EG)
    from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
    what I have planned,(EH) that I will do.(EI)
12 Listen(EJ) to me, you stubborn-hearted,(EK)
    you who are now far from my righteousness.(EL)
13 I am bringing my righteousness(EM) near,
    it is not far away;
    and my salvation(EN) will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,(EO)
    my splendor(EP) to Israel.

The Fall of Babylon

47 “Go down, sit in the dust,(EQ)
    Virgin Daughter(ER) Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
    queen city of the Babylonians.[e](ES)
No more will you be called
    tender or delicate.(ET)
Take millstones(EU) and grind(EV) flour;
    take off your veil.(EW)
Lift up your skirts,(EX) bare your legs,
    and wade through the streams.
Your nakedness(EY) will be exposed
    and your shame(EZ) uncovered.
I will take vengeance;(FA)
    I will spare no one.(FB)

Our Redeemer(FC)—the Lord Almighty(FD) is his name(FE)
    is the Holy One(FF) of Israel.

“Sit in silence,(FG) go into darkness,(FH)
    queen city of the Babylonians;(FI)
no more will you be called
    queen(FJ) of kingdoms.(FK)
I was angry(FL) with my people
    and desecrated my inheritance;(FM)
I gave them into your hand,(FN)
    and you showed them no mercy.(FO)
Even on the aged
    you laid a very heavy yoke.
You said, ‘I am forever(FP)
    the eternal queen!’(FQ)
But you did not consider these things
    or reflect(FR) on what might happen.(FS)

“Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
    lounging in your security(FT)
and saying to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.(FU)
I will never be a widow(FV)
    or suffer the loss of children.’
Both of these will overtake you
    in a moment,(FW) on a single day:
    loss of children(FX) and widowhood.(FY)
They will come upon you in full measure,
    in spite of your many sorceries(FZ)
    and all your potent spells.(GA)
10 You have trusted(GB) in your wickedness
    and have said, ‘No one sees me.’(GC)
Your wisdom(GD) and knowledge mislead(GE) you
    when you say to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
11 Disaster(GF) will come upon you,
    and you will not know how to conjure it away.
A calamity will fall upon you
    that you cannot ward off with a ransom;
a catastrophe you cannot foresee
    will suddenly(GG) come upon you.

12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells
    and with your many sorceries,(GH)
    which you have labored at since childhood.
Perhaps you will succeed,
    perhaps you will cause terror.
13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!(GI)
    Let your astrologers(GJ) come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
    let them save(GK) you from what is coming upon you.
14 Surely they are like stubble;(GL)
    the fire(GM) will burn them up.
They cannot even save themselves
    from the power of the flame.(GN)
These are not coals for warmth;
    this is not a fire to sit by.
15 That is all they are to you—
    these you have dealt with
    and labored(GO) with since childhood.
All of them go on in their error;
    there is not one that can save(GP) you.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 45:2 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
  2. Isaiah 45:13 Hebrew him
  3. Isaiah 45:14 That is, the upper Nile region
  4. Isaiah 46:1 Or are but beasts and cattle
  5. Isaiah 47:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 5

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