Isaiah 44:24–45:13

24  Thus saith the Lord, zthy redeemer,

And ahe that formed thee from the womb,

I am the Lord that maketh all things;

bcThat stretcheth forth the heavens alone;

cdThat spreadeth abroad the earth cby myself;

25  That frustrateth the tokens of fthe liars,

gAnd hmaketh idiviners mad;

That turneth wise men backward,

And kmaketh their knowledge foolish;

26  That confirmeth the word of lhis servant,

And performeth the counsel of his messengers;

That saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited;

And mto the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built,

And I will raise up the †decayed places thereof:

27  nThat saith to the deep, Be dry,

And I will dry up thy rivers:

28  That saith of oCyrus, He is my shepherd,

And shall perform pall my pleasure:

Even saying qto Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built;

And to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

45 Thus saith the Lord to ahis anointed, to Cyrus,

Whose bright hand I ||have holden,

cTo subdue nations before him;

And dI will loose the loins of kings,

To open before him the two leaved gates;

And the gates shall not be shut;

2  I will go before thee,

And emake the crooked places straight:

fI will break in pieces the gates of brass,

fAnd cut in sunder the bars of iron:

3  And I will give thee gthe treasures of darkness,

And hhidden riches of secret places,

That thou mayest know that I, the Lord, iwhich call thee kby thy name, am lthe God of Israel.

4  For mJacob my servant’s sake, and mIsrael mine elect,

I have even icalled thee kby thy name:

I have nsurnamed thee, though thou hast onot known me.

5  pI am the Lord, and pthere is none else,

There is no God beside me:

qI girded thee, othough thou hast not known me:

6  rThat they may know sfrom the rising of the sun, and from the west,

That pthere is none beside me.

pI am the Lord, and there is none else.

7  I form the light, and tcreate darkness:

I make peace, and ucreate evil:

I the Lord do all these things.

8  vDrop down, ye heavens, from above,

And vlet the skies pour down wrighteousness:

Let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation,

And let wrighteousness spring up together;

I the Lord have created it.

9  xWoe unto him that ystriveth with zhis Maker!

Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth.

zShall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou?

Or thy work, He hath no hands?

10  Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou?

Or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?

11  Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker,

Ask me of athings to come concerning bmy sons,

And concerning cthe work of my hands command ye me.

12  dI have made the earth,

And ecreated man upon it:

I, even my hands, fhave stretched out the heavens,

And gall their host have I commanded.

13  hI have raised him up in righteousness,

And I will ||direct all his ways:

iHe shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives,

kNot for price nor reward,

Saith the Lord of hosts.