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.”
Isaiah 45:14-25
New Living Translation
Future Conversion of Gentiles
14 This is what the Lord says:
“You will rule the Egyptians,
the Ethiopians,[a] and the Sabeans.
They will come to you with all their merchandise,
and it will all be yours.
They will follow you as prisoners in chains.
They will fall to their knees in front of you and say,
‘God is with you, and he is the only God.
There is no other.’”
15 Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior,
you work in mysterious ways.
16 All craftsmen who make idols will be humiliated.
They will all be disgraced together.
17 But the Lord will save the people of Israel
with eternal salvation.
Throughout everlasting ages,
they will never again be humiliated and disgraced.
18 For the Lord is God,
and he created the heavens and earth
and put everything in place.
He made the world to be lived in,
not to be a place of empty chaos.
“I am the Lord,” he says,
“and there is no other.
19 I publicly proclaim bold promises.
I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.
I would not have told the people of Israel[b] to seek me
if I could not be found.
I, the Lord, speak only what is true
and declare only what is right.
20 “Gather together and come,
you fugitives from surrounding nations.
What fools they are who carry around their wooden idols
and pray to gods that cannot save!
21 Consult together, argue your case.
Get together and decide what to say.
Who made these things known so long ago?
What idol ever told you they would happen?
Was it not I, the Lord?
For there is no other God but me,
a righteous God and Savior.
There is none but me.
22 Let all the world look to me for salvation!
For I am God; there is no other.
23 I have sworn by my own name;
I have spoken the truth,
and I will never go back on my word:
Every knee will bend to me,
and every tongue will declare allegiance to me.[c]”
24 The people will declare,
“The Lord is the source of all my righteousness and strength.”
And all who were angry with him
will come to him and be ashamed.
25 In the Lord all the generations of Israel will be justified,
and in him they will boast.
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