Isaiah 45:7-14

English Standard Version

^8 (B)“Shower, O heavens, from above,
    and ^(C)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 (D)“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
    a pot among earthen pots!
^(E)Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
    or ‘Your work has no handles’?
¹⁰ Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
    or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”

¹¹ Thus says ^(F)the Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
^(G)“Ask me of things to come;
    will you command me ^(H)concerning my children and ^(I)the work of my hands?^[a]
12 (J)I made the earth
    and created man on it;
it was my hands ^(K)that stretched out the heavens,
    and ^(L)I commanded all their host.
^13 (M)I have stirred him up in righteousness,
    ^(N)and I will make all his ways level;
^(O)he shall build my city
    ^(P)and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
    says the Lord of hosts.