Isaiah 45
GOD’S WORD Translation
45 This is what the Lord says about Cyrus, his [a] anointed one:
I have held him by his right hand
so he could conquer the nations ahead of him,
strip kings of their power,
and open doors ahead of him
so that the gates would not be shut.
2 I will go ahead of you, Cyrus, and smooth out the rough places.
I will break down the bronze doors and cut through the iron bars.
3 I will give you treasures from dark places and hidden stockpiles.
Then you will know that I, the Lord God of Israel,
have called you by name.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
Israel, my chosen one,
I have called you by name.
I have given you a title of honor, although you don’t know me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other.
There is no other God besides me.
I will strengthen you, although you don’t know me,
6 so that from the east to the west people will know
that there is no God except me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I make light and create darkness.
I make blessings and create disasters.
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8 Rain down from above, you heavens,
and pour down righteousness, you skies.
Let the earth open.
Let salvation and righteousness sprout.
Let them spring up.
I, the Lord, have created them.
9 How horrible it will be for the one who quarrels with his maker.
He is pottery among other earthenware pots.
Does the clay ask the one who shapes it, “What are you making?”
Does your work say to you, “There are no handles”?
10 How horrible it will be for the one
who says to his father, “Why did you conceive me?”
or to his mother, “Why did you go through labor pains for me?”
11 The Lord is the Holy One and the maker of Israel.
This is what the Lord says:
Ask me about what is going to happen to my children!
Are you going to give me orders concerning my handiwork?
12 I made the earth and created humans on it.
I stretched out the heavens with my own hands.
I commanded all the stars ⌞to shine⌟.
13 I prepared Cyrus for my righteous purpose.
I will make all his roads straight.
He will build my city and let my exiles go free
without any payment or any reward, says the Lord of Armies.
14 This is what the Lord says:
The products from Egypt, the merchandise from Sudan,
and the important Sabaeans will come to you.
They will belong to you.
They will follow you.
They will come to you in chains.
They will bow to you and pray to you,
“Certainly God is with you alone, and there is no other God.”
15 Certainly, you are a God who has hidden himself.
You are the God of Israel, the Savior!
16 Those who make idols will be ashamed and disgraced.
They will go away completely disgraced.
17 Israel has been saved by the Lord forever.
You will never again be ashamed or disgraced.
18 The Lord created the heavens.
God formed the earth and made it.
He set it up.
He did not create it to be empty
but formed it to be inhabited.
This is what the Lord says:
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I haven’t spoken privately or in some dark corner of the world.
I didn’t say to Jacob’s descendants,
“Search for me in vain!”
I, the Lord, speak what is fair and say what is right.
20 Come here, you refugees from the nations.
Ignorant people carry wooden idols
and pray to gods that cannot save ⌞anyone⌟.
21 Speak and present your case. Yes, let them consult one another.
Who revealed this in the distant past and predicted it long ago?
Wasn’t it I, the Lord?
There is no other God except me.
There is no other righteous God and Savior besides me.
22 Turn to me and be saved, all who live at the ends of the earth,
because I am God, and there is no other.
23 I have bound myself with an oath.
A word has gone out from my righteous mouth
that will not be recalled,
“Every knee will bow to me
and every tongue will swear ⌞allegiance⌟.”
24 It will be said of me,
“Certainly, righteousness and strength are found in the Lord alone.”
All who are angry with him will come to him and be ashamed.
25 All the descendants of Israel will be declared righteous,
and they will praise the Lord.
Footnotes
- 45:1 Masoretic Text; Greek “my.”
Isaiah 45
English Standard Version
Cyrus, God's Instrument
45 Thus says the Lord to (A)his anointed, to Cyrus,
(B)whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and (C)to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
2 “I will go before you
and (D)level the exalted places,[a]
(E)I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3 (F)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, (G)who call you by your name.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
(H)I call you by your name,
(I)I name you, though you do not know me.
5 (J)I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
(K)I equip you, though you do not know me,
6 (L)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.
7 I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and (M)create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8 (N)“Shower, O heavens, from above,
and (O)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 (P)“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
a pot among earthen pots!
(Q)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 (R)the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
(S)“Ask me of things to come;
will you command me (T)concerning my children and (U)the work of my hands?[b]
12 (V)I made the earth
and created man on it;
it was my hands (W)that stretched out the heavens,
and (X)I commanded all their host.
13 (Y)I have stirred him up in righteousness,
(Z)and I will make all his ways level;
(AA)he shall build my city
(AB)and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
says the Lord of hosts.
The Lord, the Only Savior
14 Thus says the Lord:
(AC)“The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,
and the Sabeans, men of stature,
shall come over to you (AD)and be yours;
they shall follow you;
they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
They will plead with you, saying:
‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,
no god besides him.’”
15 (AE)Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 (AF)All of them are put to shame and confounded;
the makers of idols go in confusion together.
17 But Israel is saved by the Lord
with everlasting salvation;
(AG)you shall not be put to shame or confounded
to all eternity.
18 (AH)For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he (AI)did not create it empty,
(AJ)he formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 (AK)I did not speak in secret,
in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
(AL)‘Seek me in vain.’[c]
I the Lord speak (AM)the truth;
I declare what is right.
20 (AN)“Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations!
(AO)They have no knowledge
who (AP)carry about their wooden idols,
(AQ)and keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.
21 (AR)Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God (AS)and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
22 “Turn to me and be saved,
(AT)all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 (AU)By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in (AV)righteousness
a word that shall not return:
(AW)‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.’[d]
24 (AX)“Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and (AY)strength;
to him shall come and be ashamed
(AZ)all who were incensed against him.
25 In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
shall be justified and shall glory.”
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?
- Isaiah 45:19 Hebrew in emptiness
- Isaiah 45:23 Septuagint every tongue shall confess to God
Isaiah 45
21st Century King James Version
45 “Thus saith the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings to open before him the twoleaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut:
2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron.
3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, who call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
4 For Jacob My servant’s sake, and Israel Mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name; I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known Me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is none else; there is no God besides Me. I girded thee, though thou hast not known Me,
6 that they 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 none else.
7 I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I, the Lord, do all these things.
8 “Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together. I, the Lord, have created it.
9 “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, ‘What makest thou?’ or thy work, ‘He hath no hands’?
10 Woe unto him that saith unto his father, ‘What begettest thou?’ or to the woman, ‘What hast thou brought forth?’
11 “Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons, and concerning the work of My hands command ye Me.
12 I have made the earth and created man upon it; I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
13 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways; he shall build My city, and he shall let go My captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts.”
14 Thus saith the Lord: “The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine. They shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee; they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, ‘Surely God is in thee, and there is none else; there is no god.’”
15 Verily Thou art a God who hidest Thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 They shall be ashamed and also confounded, all of them; they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols.
17 But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation; ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
18 For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens, God Himself that formed the earth and made it—He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is none else.
19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth; I said not unto the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek ye Me in vain.’ I, the Lord, speak righteousness; I declare things that are right.
20 “Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations. They have no knowledge, who set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together. Who hath declared this from ancient time? Who hath told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord? And there is no God else besides Me, a just God and a Savior. There is none besides Me.
22 “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.
23 I have sworn by Myself; the word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
24 Surely, shall one say, ‘In the Lord have I righteousness and strength. Even to Him shall men come, and all that are incensed against Him shall be ashamed.
25 In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.’”
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.