Isaiah 45:14-25
English Standard Version
The Lord, the Only Savior
14 Thus says the Lord:
(A)“The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,
and the Sabeans, men of stature,
shall come over to you (B)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 (C)Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 (D)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;
(E)you shall not be put to shame or confounded
to all eternity.
18 (F)For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he (G)did not create it empty,
(H)he formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 (I)I did not speak in secret,
in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
(J)‘Seek me in vain.’[a]
I the Lord speak (K)the truth;
I declare what is right.
20 (L)“Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations!
(M)They have no knowledge
who (N)carry about their wooden idols,
(O)and keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.
21 (P)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 (Q)and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
22 “Turn to me and be saved,
(R)all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 (S)By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in (T)righteousness
a word that shall not return:
(U)‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.’[b]
24 (V)“Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and (W)strength;
to him shall come and be ashamed
(X)all who were incensed against him.
25 In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
shall be justified and shall glory.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 45:19 Hebrew in emptiness
- Isaiah 45:23 Septuagint every tongue shall confess to God
Isaiah 45:14-25
New English Translation
The Lord is the Nations’ Only Hope
14 This is what the Lord says:
“The profit[a] of Egypt and the revenue[b] of Ethiopia,
along with the Sabeans, those tall men,
will be brought to you[c] and become yours.
They will walk behind you, coming along in chains.[d]
They will bow down to you
and pray to you:[e]
‘Truly God is with[f] you; he has no peer;[g]
there is no other God!’”
15 Yes, you are a God who keeps hidden,
O God of Israel, deliverer!
16 They will all be ashamed and embarrassed;
those who fashion idols will all be humiliated.[h]
17 Israel will be delivered once and for all by the Lord;[i]
you will never again be ashamed or humiliated.[j]
18 For this is what the Lord says,
the one who created the sky—
he is the true God,[k]
the one who formed the earth and made it;
he established it,
he did not create it without order,[l]
he formed it to be inhabited:
“I am the Lord, I have no peer.
19 I have not spoken in secret,
in some hidden place.[m]
I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,
‘Seek me in vain!’[n]
I am the Lord,
the one who speaks honestly,
who makes reliable announcements.[o]
20 Gather together and come!
Approach together, you refugees from the nations.
Those who carry wooden idols know nothing,
those who pray to a god that cannot deliver.
21 Tell me! Present the evidence![p]
Let them consult with one another.
Who predicted this in the past?
Who announced it beforehand?
Was it not I, the Lord?
I have no peer, there is no God but me,
a God who vindicates and delivers;[q]
there is none but me.
22 Turn to me so you can be delivered,[r]
all you who live in the earth’s remote regions!
For I am God, and I have no peer.
23 I solemnly make this oath[s]—
what I say is true and reliable:[t]
‘Surely every knee will bow to me,
every tongue will solemnly affirm;[u]
24 they will say about me,
“Yes, the Lord is a powerful deliverer.”’”[v]
All who are angry at him will cower before him.[w]
25 All the descendants of Israel will be vindicated by the Lord
and will boast in him.[x]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 45:14 tn Heb “labor,” which stands metonymically for the fruits of labor, either “monetary profit,” or “products.”
- Isaiah 45:14 tn Or perhaps, “merchandise” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “the gain of Ethiopia”; CEV “the treasures of Ethiopia.”
- Isaiah 45:14 tn Heb “they will pass over to you”; NASB, NIV “will come over to you”; CEV “will belong to you.”
- Isaiah 45:14 sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.
- Isaiah 45:14 sn Israel’s vassals are portrayed as so intimidated and awed that they treat Israel as an intermediary to God or sub-deity.
- Isaiah 45:14 tn Or perhaps, “among.” Cf. KJV, ASV “Surely God is in thee.”
- Isaiah 45:14 tn Heb “there is no other” (so NIV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 18, in v. 21, and at the end of v. 22.
- Isaiah 45:16 tn “together they will walk in humiliation, the makers of images.”
- Isaiah 45:17 tn Heb “Israel will be delivered by the Lord [with] a permanent deliverance.”
- Isaiah 45:17 tn Heb “you will not be ashamed and you will not be humiliated for ages of future time.”
- Isaiah 45:18 tn Heb “he [is] the God.” The article here indicates uniqueness.
- Isaiah 45:18 tn Or “unformed.” Gen 1:2 describes the world as “unformed” (תֹהוּ, tohu) prior to God’s creative work, but God then formed the world and made it fit for habitation.
- Isaiah 45:19 tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”
- Isaiah 45:19 tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”
- Isaiah 45:19 tn The translation above assumes that צֶדֶק (tsedeq) and מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim) are adverbial accusatives (see 33:15). If they are taken as direct objects, indicating the content of what is spoken, one might translate, “who proclaims deliverance, who announces justice.”
- Isaiah 45:21 tn Heb “Declare! Bring near!”; NASB “Declare and set forth your case.” See 41:21.
- Isaiah 45:21 tn Or “a righteous God and deliverer”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “a righteous God and a Savior.”
- Isaiah 45:22 tn The Niphal imperative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose after the preceding imperative. The Niphal probably has a tolerative sense, “allow yourselves to be delivered, accept help.”
- Isaiah 45:23 tn Heb “I swear by myself”; KJV, NASB “have sworn.”
- Isaiah 45:23 tn Heb “a word goes out from my mouth [in] truth and will not return.”
- Isaiah 45:23 tn Heb “swear” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “confess allegiance.”
- Isaiah 45:24 tn Heb “‘Yes, in the Lord,’ one says about me, ‘is deliverance and strength.’”
- Isaiah 45:24 tn Heb “will come to him and be ashamed.”
- Isaiah 45:25 tn Heb “In the Lord all the offspring of Israel will be vindicated and boast.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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