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:
“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,
(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.
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.
(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,
(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.
I form light and create darkness;
    I make well-being and (M)create calamity;
    I am the Lord, who does all these things.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 45:2 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint level the mountains

Cyrus: God’s Deliverer

45 This is what the Lord says to his anointed, Cyrus,
    whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him,
    as I strip kings of their armor,[a]
to open doors[b] before him
    and gates that cannot keep closed:

“I myself will go before you,
    and he[c] will make the mountains[d] level;
I’ll shatter bronze doors
    and cut through iron bars.
I’ll give you concealed treasures[e]
    and riches hidden in secret places,
so that you’ll know that it is I, the Lord,
    the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
For the sake of Jacob my servant,
    Israel[f] my chosen,
I’ve called you,
    and he has established you with a name,[g]
        although you have not acknowledged me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other besides me:
    and there are no gods.[h]
I’m strengthening you,
    although you have not acknowledged me,
so that from the sun’s rising[i] to the west
    people may know that there is none besides me.

“I am the Lord, and there is no other.”

God is Sovereign

“I form light and create darkness,
I make goodness[j] and create disaster.
    I am the Lord, who does all these things.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 45:1 Lit. I expose the loins of kings
  2. Isaiah 45:1 So 1QIsaa (pl.); MT (dual)
  3. Isaiah 45:2 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read I
  4. Isaiah 45:2 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab LXX; MT reads hills
  5. Isaiah 45:3 Lit. treasures of darkness
  6. Isaiah 45:4 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read and Israel
  7. Isaiah 45:4 So 1QIsaa; MT reads I have called you by your name, given you a title; LXX reads I will call you by your name, and receive you
  8. Isaiah 45:5 So 1QIsaa; MT 1QIsab read there is no other: besides me there are no gods
  9. Isaiah 45:6 I.e. the east
  10. Isaiah 45:7 So 1QIsaa; MT reads well-being; LXX reads peace