14 This is what the Lord says:

“The products(A) of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,[a]
    and those tall Sabeans(B)
they will come over to you(C)
    and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,(D)
    coming over to you in chains.(E)
They will bow down before you
    and plead(F) with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you,(G) and there is no other;
    there is no other god.(H)’”

15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding(I) himself,
    the God and Savior(J) of Israel.
16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;(K)
    they will go off into disgrace together.
17 But Israel will be saved(L) by the Lord
    with an everlasting salvation;(M)
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,(N)
    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,(O)
    he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,(P)
    but formed it to be inhabited(Q)
he says:
“I am the Lord,
    and there is no other.(R)
19 I have not spoken in secret,(S)
    from somewhere in a land of darkness;(T)
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,(U)
    ‘Seek(V) me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
    I declare what is right.(W)

20 “Gather together(X) and come;
    assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant(Y) are those who carry(Z) about idols of wood,
    who pray to gods that cannot save.(AA)
21 Declare what is to be, present it—
    let them take counsel together.
Who foretold(AB) this long ago,
    who declared it from the distant past?(AC)
Was it not I, the Lord?
    And there is no God apart from me,(AD)
a righteous God(AE) and a Savior;(AF)
    there is none but me.

22 “Turn(AG) to me and be saved,(AH)
    all you ends of the earth;(AI)
    for I am God, and there is no other.(AJ)
23 By myself I have sworn,(AK)
    my mouth has uttered in all integrity(AL)
    a word that will not be revoked:(AM)
Before me every knee will bow;(AN)
    by me every tongue will swear.(AO)
24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
    are deliverance(AP) and strength.(AQ)’”
All who have raged against him
    will come to him and be put to shame.(AR)
25 But all the descendants(AS) of Israel
    will find deliverance(AT) in the Lord
    and will make their boast in him.(AU)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 45:14 That is, the upper Nile region

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]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 45:14 tn Heb “labor,” which stands metonymically for the fruits of labor, either “monetary profit,” or “products.”
  2. Isaiah 45:14 tn Or perhaps, “merchandise” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “the gain of Ethiopia”; CEV “the treasures of Ethiopia.”
  3. Isaiah 45:14 tn Heb “they will pass over to you”; NASB, NIV “will come over to you”; CEV “will belong to you.”
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Isaiah 45:14 tn Or perhaps, “among.” Cf. KJV, ASV “Surely God is in thee.”
  7. 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.
  8. Isaiah 45:16 tn “together they will walk in humiliation, the makers of images.”
  9. Isaiah 45:17 tn Heb “Israel will be delivered by the Lord [with] a permanent deliverance.”
  10. Isaiah 45:17 tn Heb “you will not be ashamed and you will not be humiliated for ages of future time.”
  11. Isaiah 45:18 tn Heb “he [is] the God.” The article here indicates uniqueness.
  12. 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.
  13. Isaiah 45:19 tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”
  14. Isaiah 45:19 tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”
  15. 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.”
  16. Isaiah 45:21 tn Heb “Declare! Bring near!”; NASB “Declare and set forth your case.” See 41:21.
  17. Isaiah 45:21 tn Or “a righteous God and deliverer”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “a righteous God and a Savior.”
  18. 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.”
  19. Isaiah 45:23 tn Heb “I swear by myself”; KJV, NASB “have sworn.”
  20. Isaiah 45:23 tn Heb “a word goes out from my mouth [in] truth and will not return.”
  21. Isaiah 45:23 tn Heb “swear” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “confess allegiance.”
  22. Isaiah 45:24 tn Heb “‘Yes, in the Lord,’ one says about me, ‘is deliverance and strength.’”
  23. Isaiah 45:24 tn Heb “will come to him and be ashamed.”
  24. Isaiah 45:25 tn Heb “In the Lord all the offspring of Israel will be vindicated and boast.”