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Cyrus, the Lord’s Chosen One

45 This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his anointed one,
    whose right hand he will empower.
Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear.
    Their fortress gates will be opened,
    never to shut again.
This is what the Lord says:

“I will go before you, Cyrus,
    and level the mountains.[a]
I will smash down gates of bronze
    and cut through bars of iron.
And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—
    secret riches.
I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord,
    the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.

“And why have I called you for this work?
    Why did I call you by name when you did not know me?
It is for the sake of Jacob my servant,
    Israel my chosen one.
I am the Lord;
    there is no other God.
I have equipped you for battle,
    though you don’t even know me,
so all the world from east to west
    will know there is no other God.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
    I create the light and make the darkness.
I send good times and bad times.
    I, the Lord, am the one who does these things.

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Footnotes

  1. 45:2 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads the swellings.

Cyrus as God’s anointed

45 The Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus,
    whom I have grasped by the strong hand,
    to conquer nations before him,
    disarming kings,
    and opening doors before him,
    so no gates will be shut:
I myself will go before you,
    and I will level mountains.
I will shatter bronze doors;
    I will cut through iron bars.
I will give you hidden treasures of secret riches,
    so you will know that I am the Lord,
    the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
For the sake of my servant Jacob and Israel my chosen,
    I called you by name.
I gave you an honored title,
    though you didn’t know me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
    besides me there is no God.
I strengthen you—
    though you don’t know me—
so all will know, from the rising of the sun to its setting,
    that there is nothing apart from me.
I am the Lord; there’s no other.
    I form light and create darkness,
    make prosperity and create doom;
    I am the Lord, who does all these things.

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