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Isaiah 45-48
English Standard Version
Isaiah 45-48
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.”
The Idols of Babylon and the One True God
46 (BA)Bel bows down; Nebo stoops;
their idols are on beasts and livestock;
these things you carry are borne
as burdens on weary beasts.
2 They stoop; they bow down together;
they cannot save the burden,
but (BB)themselves go into captivity.
3 “Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
(BC)who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
4 (BD)even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
5 (BE)“To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike?
6 (BF)Those who lavish gold from the purse,
and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
(BG)then they fall down and worship!
7 (BH)They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,
they set it in its place, and it stands there;
(BI)it cannot move from its place.
If one cries to it, it does not answer
or save him from his trouble.
8 “Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, (BJ)you transgressors,
9 remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
10 (BK)declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, (BL)‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
11 (BM)calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
(BN)I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.
12 “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,
you who are far from righteousness:
13 (BO)I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
and my salvation will not delay;
(BP)I will put salvation in Zion,
for Israel my glory.”
The Humiliation of Babylon
47 (BQ)Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin (BR)daughter of Babylon;
(BS)sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of (BT)the Chaldeans!
(BU)For you shall no more be called
tender and delicate.
2 Take the millstones and (BV)grind flour,
(BW)put off your veil,
strip off your robe, uncover your legs,
pass through the rivers.
3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
and your disgrace shall be seen.
I will take vengeance,
and I will spare no one.
4 (BX)Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name—
is the Holy One of Israel.
5 (BY)Sit in silence, and go into darkness,
O daughter of (BZ)the Chaldeans;
for you shall no more be called
(CA)the mistress of kingdoms.
6 (CB)I was angry with my people;
I profaned my heritage;
I gave them into your hand;
(CC)you showed them no mercy;
on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.
7 You said, “I shall be (CD)mistress forever,”
so that you did not lay these things to heart
or remember their end.
8 Now therefore hear this, (CE)you lover of pleasures,
(CF)who sit securely,
who say in your heart,
(CG)“I am, and there is no one besides me;
(CH)I shall not sit as a widow
or know the loss of children”:
9 (CI)These two things shall come to you
in a moment, (CJ)in one day;
the loss of children and widowhood
shall come upon you in full measure,
(CK)in spite of your many sorceries
and the great power of your enchantments.
10 You felt secure in your wickedness;
you said, “No one sees me”;
your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray,
and you said in your heart,
(CL)“I am, and there is no one besides me.”
11 But evil shall come upon you,
which you will not know how to charm away;
disaster shall fall upon you,
for which you will not be able to atone;
(CM)and ruin shall come upon you suddenly,
of which you know nothing.
12 (CN)Stand fast in your enchantments
and your many sorceries,
with which you have labored from your youth;
perhaps you may be able to succeed;
perhaps you may inspire terror.
13 You are wearied with your many counsels;
let them stand forth and save you,
(CO)those who divide the heavens,
who gaze at the stars,
who at the new moons make known
what shall come upon you.
14 Behold, (CP)they are like stubble;
(CQ)the fire consumes them;
they cannot deliver themselves
from the power of the flame.
No coal for warming oneself is this,
no fire to sit before!
15 Such to you are those with whom you have labored,
who have done business with you from your youth;
they wander about, each in his own direction;
there is no one to save you.
Israel Refined for God's Glory
48 Hear this, O house of Jacob,
(CR)who are called by the name of Israel,
and (CS)who came from the waters of Judah,
(CT)who swear by the name of the Lord
and confess the God of Israel,
but not in truth or right.
2 For they call themselves after the holy city,
(CU)and stay themselves on the God of Israel;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
3 “The former things (CV)I declared of old;
they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;
then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
4 Because I know that (CW)you are obstinate,
and your neck is an iron sinew
and your forehead brass,
5 (CX)I declared them to you from of old,
before they came to pass I announced them to you,
lest you should say, (CY)‘My idol did them,
my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’
6 “You have heard; now see all this;
and will you not declare it?
From this time forth (CZ)I announce to you new things,
hidden things that you have not known.
7 They are created now, not long ago;
before today you have never heard of them,
lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
8 You have never heard, you have never known,
from of old your ear has not been opened.
For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously,
and that (DA)from before birth you were called a rebel.
9 (DB)“For my name's sake I defer my anger;
for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
that I may not cut you off.
10 Behold, I have refined you, (DC)but not as silver;
(DD)I have tried[e] you in the furnace of affliction.
11 (DE)For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for how should my name[f] be profaned?
(DF)My glory I will not give to another.
The Lord's Call to Israel
12 “Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I called!
I am he; (DG)I am the first,
and I am the last.
13 My hand (DH)laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand (DI)spread out the heavens;
(DJ)when I call to them,
they stand forth together.
14 “Assemble, all of you, and listen!
(DK)Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;
(DL)he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,
and his arm shall be against (DM)the Chaldeans.
15 (DN)I, even I, have spoken and called him;
I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.
16 (DO)Draw near to me, hear this:
from the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
from the time it came to be I have been there.”
And now (DP)the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.
17 Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you to profit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18 (DQ)Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
(DR)Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;
19 (DS)your offspring would have been like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me.”
20 (DT)Go out from Babylon, flee from (DU)Chaldea,
declare this (DV)with a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it out to the end of the earth;
say, (DW)“The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
21 (DX)They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
(DY)he made water flow for them from the rock;
he split the rock and the water gushed out.
22 (DZ)“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
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 48:10 Or I have chosen
- Isaiah 48:11 Hebrew lacks my name
Isaiah 45-48
New International Version
Isaiah 45-48
New International Version
45 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,(A)
to Cyrus,(B) whose right hand I take hold(C) of
to subdue nations(D) before him
and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut:
2 I will go before you(E)
and will level(F) the mountains[a];
I will break down gates(G) of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.(H)
3 I will give you hidden treasures,(I)
riches stored in secret places,(J)
so that you may know(K) that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.(L)
4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,(M)
of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge(N) me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;(O)
apart from me there is no God.(P)
I will strengthen you,(Q)
though you have not acknowledged me,
6 so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting(R)
people may know(S) there is none besides me.(T)
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form the light and create darkness,(U)
I bring prosperity and create disaster;(V)
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8 “You heavens above, rain(W) down my righteousness;(X)
let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
let salvation(Y) spring up,
let righteousness flourish with it;
I, the Lord, have created it.
9 “Woe to those who quarrel(Z) with their Maker,(AA)
those who are nothing but potsherds(AB)
among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,(AC)
‘What are you making?’(AD)
Does your work say,
‘The potter has no hands’?(AE)
10 Woe to the one who says to a father,
‘What have you begotten?’
or to a mother,
‘What have you brought to birth?’
11 “This is what the Lord says—
the Holy One(AF) of Israel, and its Maker:(AG)
Concerning things to come,
do you question me about my children,
or give me orders about the work of my hands?(AH)
12 It is I who made the earth(AI)
and created mankind on it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;(AJ)
I marshaled their starry hosts.(AK)
13 I will raise up Cyrus[b](AL) in my righteousness:
I will make all his ways straight.(AM)
He will rebuild my city(AN)
and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,(AO)
says the Lord Almighty.”
14 This is what the Lord says:
“The products(AP) of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,[c]
and those tall Sabeans(AQ)—
they will come over to you(AR)
and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,(AS)
coming over to you in chains.(AT)
They will bow down before you
and plead(AU) with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you,(AV) and there is no other;
there is no other god.(AW)’”
15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding(AX) himself,
the God and Savior(AY) of Israel.
16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;(AZ)
they will go off into disgrace together.
17 But Israel will be saved(BA) by the Lord
with an everlasting salvation;(BB)
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,(BC)
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,(BD)
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,(BE)
but formed it to be inhabited(BF)—
he says:
“I am the Lord,
and there is no other.(BG)
19 I have not spoken in secret,(BH)
from somewhere in a land of darkness;(BI)
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,(BJ)
‘Seek(BK) me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
I declare what is right.(BL)
20 “Gather together(BM) and come;
assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant(BN) are those who carry(BO) about idols of wood,
who pray to gods that cannot save.(BP)
21 Declare what is to be, present it—
let them take counsel together.
Who foretold(BQ) this long ago,
who declared it from the distant past?(BR)
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no God apart from me,(BS)
a righteous God(BT) and a Savior;(BU)
there is none but me.
22 “Turn(BV) to me and be saved,(BW)
all you ends of the earth;(BX)
for I am God, and there is no other.(BY)
23 By myself I have sworn,(BZ)
my mouth has uttered in all integrity(CA)
a word that will not be revoked:(CB)
Before me every knee will bow;(CC)
by me every tongue will swear.(CD)
24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
are deliverance(CE) and strength.(CF)’”
All who have raged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.(CG)
25 But all the descendants(CH) of Israel
will find deliverance(CI) in the Lord
and will make their boast in him.(CJ)
Gods of Babylon
46 Bel(CK) bows down, Nebo stoops low;
their idols(CL) are borne by beasts of burden.[d]
The images that are carried(CM) about are burdensome,
a burden for the weary.
2 They stoop and bow down together;
unable to rescue the burden,
they themselves go off into captivity.(CN)
3 “Listen(CO) to me, you descendants of Jacob,
all the remnant(CP) of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,(CQ)
and have carried(CR) since you were born.(CS)
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs(CT)
I am he,(CU) I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain(CV) you and I will rescue you.
5 “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?(CW)
6 Some pour out gold from their bags
and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith(CX) to make it into a god,
and they bow down and worship it.(CY)
7 They lift it to their shoulders and carry(CZ) it;
they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
From that spot it cannot move.(DA)
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;(DB)
it cannot save(DC) them from their troubles.
8 “Remember(DD) this, keep it in mind,
take it to heart, you rebels.(DE)
9 Remember the former things,(DF) those of long ago;(DG)
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.(DH)
10 I make known the end from the beginning,(DI)
from ancient times,(DJ) what is still to come.(DK)
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,(DL)
and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon(DM) a bird of prey;(DN)
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned,(DO) that I will do.(DP)
12 Listen(DQ) to me, you stubborn-hearted,(DR)
you who are now far from my righteousness.(DS)
13 I am bringing my righteousness(DT) near,
it is not far away;
and my salvation(DU) will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,(DV)
my splendor(DW) to Israel.
The Fall of Babylon
47 “Go down, sit in the dust,(DX)
Virgin Daughter(DY) Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
queen city of the Babylonians.[e](DZ)
No more will you be called
tender or delicate.(EA)
2 Take millstones(EB) and grind(EC) flour;
take off your veil.(ED)
Lift up your skirts,(EE) bare your legs,
and wade through the streams.
3 Your nakedness(EF) will be exposed
and your shame(EG) uncovered.
I will take vengeance;(EH)
I will spare no one.(EI)”
5 “Sit in silence,(EN) go into darkness,(EO)
queen city of the Babylonians;(EP)
no more will you be called
queen(EQ) of kingdoms.(ER)
6 I was angry(ES) with my people
and desecrated my inheritance;(ET)
I gave them into your hand,(EU)
and you showed them no mercy.(EV)
Even on the aged
you laid a very heavy yoke.
7 You said, ‘I am forever(EW)—
the eternal queen!’(EX)
But you did not consider these things
or reflect(EY) on what might happen.(EZ)
8 “Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
lounging in your security(FA)
and saying to yourself,
‘I am, and there is none besides me.(FB)
I will never be a widow(FC)
or suffer the loss of children.’
9 Both of these will overtake you
in a moment,(FD) on a single day:
loss of children(FE) and widowhood.(FF)
They will come upon you in full measure,
in spite of your many sorceries(FG)
and all your potent spells.(FH)
10 You have trusted(FI) in your wickedness
and have said, ‘No one sees me.’(FJ)
Your wisdom(FK) and knowledge mislead(FL) you
when you say to yourself,
‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
11 Disaster(FM) will come upon you,
and you will not know how to conjure it away.
A calamity will fall upon you
that you cannot ward off with a ransom;
a catastrophe you cannot foresee
will suddenly(FN) come upon you.
12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells
and with your many sorceries,(FO)
which you have labored at since childhood.
Perhaps you will succeed,
perhaps you will cause terror.
13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!(FP)
Let your astrologers(FQ) come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
let them save(FR) you from what is coming upon you.
14 Surely they are like stubble;(FS)
the fire(FT) will burn them up.
They cannot even save themselves
from the power of the flame.(FU)
These are not coals for warmth;
this is not a fire to sit by.
15 That is all they are to you—
these you have dealt with
and labored(FV) with since childhood.
All of them go on in their error;
there is not one that can save(FW) you.
Stubborn Israel
48 “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,
you who are called by the name of Israel(FX)
and come from the line of Judah,(FY)
you who take oaths(FZ) in the name of the Lord(GA)
and invoke(GB) the God of Israel—
but not in truth(GC) or righteousness—
2 you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city(GD)
and claim to rely(GE) on the God of Israel—
the Lord Almighty is his name:(GF)
3 I foretold the former things(GG) long ago,
my mouth announced(GH) them and I made them known;
then suddenly(GI) I acted, and they came to pass.
4 For I knew how stubborn(GJ) you were;
your neck muscles(GK) were iron,
your forehead(GL) was bronze.
5 Therefore I told you these things long ago;
before they happened I announced(GM) them to you
so that you could not say,
‘My images brought them about;(GN)
my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
6 You have heard these things; look at them all.
Will you not admit them?
“From now on I will tell you of new things,(GO)
of hidden things unknown to you.
7 They are created(GP) now, and not long ago;(GQ)
you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
‘Yes, I knew(GR) of them.’
8 You have neither heard nor understood;(GS)
from of old your ears(GT) have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous(GU) you are;
you were called a rebel(GV) from birth.
9 For my own name’s sake(GW) I delay my wrath;(GX)
for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
so as not to destroy you completely.(GY)
10 See, I have refined(GZ) you, though not as silver;
I have tested(HA) you in the furnace(HB) of affliction.
11 For my own sake,(HC) for my own sake, I do this.
How can I let myself be defamed?(HD)
I will not yield my glory to another.(HE)
Israel Freed
12 “Listen(HF) to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I have called:(HG)
I am he;(HH)
I am the first and I am the last.(HI)
13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,(HJ)
and my right hand spread out the heavens;(HK)
when I summon them,
they all stand up together.(HL)
14 “Come together,(HM) all of you, and listen:
Which of the idols has foretold(HN) these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally(HO)
will carry out his purpose(HP) against Babylon;(HQ)
his arm will be against the Babylonians.[f]
15 I, even I, have spoken;
yes, I have called(HR) him.
I will bring him,
and he will succeed(HS) in his mission.
16 “Come near(HT) me and listen(HU) to this:
“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;(HV)
at the time it happens, I am there.”
17 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer,(HZ) the Holy One(IA) of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches(IB) you what is best for you,
who directs(IC) you in the way(ID) you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention(IE) to my commands,
your peace(IF) would have been like a river,(IG)
your well-being(IH) like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants(II) would have been like the sand,(IJ)
your children like its numberless grains;(IK)
their name would never be blotted out(IL)
nor destroyed from before me.”
20 Leave Babylon,
flee(IM) from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy(IN)
and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;(IO)
say, “The Lord has redeemed(IP) his servant Jacob.”
21 They did not thirst(IQ) when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow(IR) for them from the rock;
he split the rock
and water gushed out.(IS)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 45:2 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
- Isaiah 45:13 Hebrew him
- Isaiah 45:14 That is, the upper Nile region
- Isaiah 46:1 Or are but beasts and cattle
- Isaiah 47:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 5
- Isaiah 48:14 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 20
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
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