Beginning
God Chooses Cyrus to Free Israel
45 This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his appointed king:
“I hold your right hand.
I will help you defeat nations.
I will help you take other kings’ power away.
I will open doors for you
so city gates will not stop you.
2 I will go before you.
And I will make the mountains flat.
I will break down the bronze gates of the cities.
I will cut through the iron bars on the gates.
3 I will give you the wealth that is stored away.
And I will give you hidden riches.
I will do this so you will know I am the Lord.
I, the God of Israel, call you by name.
4 I do these things for my servants, the people of Jacob.
I do these things for my chosen people, the Israelites.
Cyrus, I call you by name.
I give you a title of honor even though you don’t know me.
5 I am the Lord. There is no other God.
I am the only God.
I will make you strong
even though you don’t know me.
6 I do these things so everyone will know
there is no other God.
From the east to the west they will know
I alone am the Lord.
7 I made the light and the darkness.
I bring peace, and I cause troubles.
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8 “Sky above, make victory fall like rain.
Clouds, pour down victory.
May the earth receive it.
May salvation grow.
May victory grow with it.
I, the Lord, have created it.
9 “How terrible it will be for those who argue with the God who made them.
They are like one piece of broken pottery among many pieces.
The clay does not ask the potter,
‘What are you doing?’
The thing that is made doesn’t say to its maker,
‘You have no hands.’
10 How terrible it will be for the child who says to his father,
‘Why are you giving me life?’
How terrible it will be for the child who says to his mother,
‘Why are you giving birth to me?’”
11 The Lord is the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker.
He says this:
“You ask me about what will happen.
You question me about my children.
You give me orders about what I have made.
12 I made the earth.
And I made all the people living on it.
With my own hands I stretched out the skies.
I command all the armies in the sky.
13 I will bring Cyrus to do good things.
And I will make his work easy.
Cyrus will rebuild my city,
and he will set my people free.
Cyrus has not been paid to do these things.
The Lord of heaven’s armies says this.”
14 The Lord says,
“The things made in Egypt and Cush
and the tall people of Seba
will come to you.
They will become yours.
The Sabeans will walk behind you.
They will come along in chains.
They will bow down before you.
They will pray to you, saying,
‘God is with you.
And there is no other God.’”
15 You are a God that people cannot see.
You are the God and Savior of Israel.
16 All the people who make idols will be put to great shame.
They will go off together in disgrace.
17 But Israel will be saved by the Lord.
That salvation will continue forever.
Never again will Israel be put to shame.
18 The Lord created the heavens.
He is the God
who formed the earth.
He made the earth.
But he did not want it to be empty.
He wanted life to be on the earth.
This is what the Lord says:
“I am the Lord. There is no other God.
19 I did not speak in secret.
I did not hide my words somewhere in a dark place.
I did not tell the family of Jacob
to look for me in empty places.
I am the Lord, and I speak the truth.
I say what is right.
20 “You people have escaped from other nations.
So gather together and come before me.
Come near together.
People who carry idols of wood don’t know what they are doing.
They pray to a god who cannot save them.
21 Tell these people to come to me.
Let them talk about these things together.
Who told you long ago that this would happen?
Who told about it long ago?
I, the Lord, said these things.
There is no other God besides me.
I am the only good God. I am the Savior.
There is no other God.
22 “All people everywhere,
follow me and be saved.
I am God. There is no other God.
23 I will make a promise by my own power.
And my promise is true.
What I say will not be changed.
I promise that everyone will bow before me.
Everyone will promise to follow me.
24 People will say, ‘Goodness and power
come only from the Lord.’”
Everyone who has been angry with the Lord
will come to him and be ashamed.
25 But with the Lord’s help, the people of Israel
will be found to be good.
And they will praise him.
False Gods Are Useless
46 Bel and Nebo bow down.
Their idols are carried by animals.
The statues are only heavy loads that must be carried.
They only make people tired.
2 These false gods will all bow down.
They cannot save themselves.
They will all be carried away like prisoners.
3 “Family of Jacob, listen to me!
All you people from Israel who are still alive, listen!
I have carried you since you were born.
I have taken care of you from your birth.
4 Even when you are old, I will take care of you.
Even when your hair has turned gray, I will take care of you.
I made you and will take care of you.
I will carry you, and I will save you.
5 “Can you compare me to anyone?
No one is equal to me or like me.
6 Some people are rich with gold.
They weigh their silver on the scales.
They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god.
Then they bow down and worship it.
7 They put it on their shoulders and carry it.
They set it in its place, and there it stands.
It cannot move from its place.
People may yell at it, but it cannot answer.
It cannot save people from their troubles.
8 “Remember this, and do not forget it!
Think about these things, you who turn against God.
9 Remember what happened long ago.
Remember that I am God. There is no other God.
I am God. There is no one like me.
10 From the beginning I told you what would happen in the end.
A long time ago I told you things that have not yet happened.
When I plan something, it happens.
I do the things I want to do.
11 I am calling a man from the east to carry out my plan.
He will come like a hawk from a country far away.
I will make what I have said come true.
I will do what I have planned.
12 Listen to me, you stubborn people.
You are far from what is right.
13 I will soon do the things that are right.
I will bring salvation soon.
I will save Jerusalem.
And I will bring glory to Israel.”
God Will Destroy Babylon
47 The Lord says, “City of Babylon,
go down and sit in the dirt.
People of Babylon, sit on the ground.
You are no longer the ruler.
You will no longer be called
tender or beautiful.
2 You must use large stones to grind grain into flour.
Remove your veil and your nice skirts.
Uncover your legs and cross the rivers.
3 Men will see your nakedness.
They will see your shame.
I will punish you.
I will punish every one of you.”
4 Our Savior is named the Lord of heaven’s armies.
He is the Holy One of Israel.
5 “Babylon, sit in darkness and say nothing.
You will no longer be called the queen of kingdoms.
6 I was angry with my people.
So I rejected those people who belonged to me.
I gave them to you,
but you showed them no mercy.
You even made the old people
work very hard.
7 You said, ‘I will live forever.
I will always be the queen.’
You did not think about these things.
You did not think about what would happen.
8 “Now, listen, you lover of pleasure.
You think you are safe.
You tell yourself,
‘I am the only important person.
I will never be a widow.
I will never lose my children.’
9 Two things will happen to you
suddenly in a single day.
You will lose your children and your husband.
These things will truly happen to you.
All your magic and powerful tricks
will not save you.
10 You do evil things, but you feel safe.
You say, ‘No one sees what I do.’
Your wisdom and knowledge
have fooled you.
You say to yourself,
‘I am God. No one is equal to me.’
11 But troubles will come to you.
You will not know how to stop them.
Disaster will fall on you.
And you will not be able to keep it away.
You will be destroyed quickly.
You will not even see it coming.
12 “Keep on using your tricks.
Continue doing all your magic.
You have done these things since you were young.
Maybe they will help you.
Maybe you will be able to scare someone.
13 You are tired of the advice you have received.
So let those who study the sky come.
They tell the future by looking at the stars.
So let them save you from what is about to happen to you.
14 But they are like straw.
Fire will quickly burn them up.
They cannot save themselves
from the power of the fire.
They are not like coals that give warmth.
They are not like a fire you may sit beside.
15 You have worked with these people.
They have been with you since you were young.
But they will not be able to help you.
Everyone will go his own way.
And there will be no one left to save you.”
God Controls the Future
48 The Lord says, “Family of Jacob, listen to me.
You are called Israel.
You come from the family of Judah.
You use the Lord’s name to make promises.
You praise the God of Israel,
but you are not honest or sincere.
2 You call yourselves people of the holy city.
You depend on the God of Israel.
He is named the Lord of heaven’s armies.
3 Long ago I told you what would happen.
I said these things and made them known.
Suddenly I acted, and these things happened.
4 I did that because I knew you were stubborn.
Your neck was like an iron muscle.
It was as if your head were made of bronze.
5 So a long time ago I told you about these things.
I told you about them before they happened.
I did this so you couldn’t say, ‘My idols did this.
My wooden and metal statues made these things happen.’
6 “You heard and saw all the things that happened.
So you should tell this news to others.
Now I will tell you about new things.
These are hidden things that you don’t know yet.
7 These things are happening now, not long ago.
You have not heard about them before today.
So you cannot say, ‘We already knew about that.’
8 But you have not heard me. You have not understood.
Even long ago you did not listen to me.
I knew you would surely turn against me.
You have fought against me since you were born.
9 But for my own sake I will be patient.
People will praise me for not becoming angry
and destroying you.
10 I have made you pure, but not by fire, as silver is made pure.
I have purified you by giving you troubles.
11 I do this for myself, for my own sake.
I will not let people speak evil against me.
I will not let some false god take my glory.
Israel Will Be Free
12 “People of Jacob, listen to me.
People of Israel, I have called you to be my people.
I am God.
I am the beginning and the end.
13 I made the earth with my own hands.
With my right hand I spread out the skies.
When I call them,
they come together before me.
14 “All of you, come together and listen.
None of the false gods said these things would happen.
I, the Lord, have chosen someone
to attack the Babylonians.
He will carry out my wishes against Babylon.
15 I have spoken. I have called him.[a]
I have brought him, and I will make him successful.
16 Come to me and listen to this.
From the beginning I have spoken openly.
From the time it began, I was there.”
Now, the Lord God
has sent me with his Spirit.
17 The Lord is your close relative who saves you, the Holy One of Israel.
The Lord says,
“I am the Lord your God.
I teach you to do what is good.
I lead you in the way you should go.
18 If you had obeyed me,
you would have had peace like a full-flowing river.
Good things would have flowed to you like the waves of the sea.
19 You would have had many children.
They would have been as many as the grains of sand.
They would never have died out.
They would not have been destroyed.”
20 My people, leave Babylon!
Run from the Babylonians!
Tell this news with shouts of joy to the people.
Spread it everywhere on earth.
Say, “The Lord has saved
his servants, the people of Jacob.”
21 They did not become thirsty when he led them through the deserts.
He made water flow from a rock for them.
He split the rock,
and water flowed out.
22 “There is no peace for evil people,” says the Lord.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.