Isaiah 44:28–45:13

²⁸that saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and he shall perform all my pleasure; even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

Chapter 45

¹Thus saith Jehovah to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him—and I will loose the loins of kings; to open before him the two-leaved doors, and the gates shall not be shut: ²I will go before thee, and make the elevated places plain; I will break in pieces the brazen doors, and cut asunder the bars of iron; ³and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places; that thou mayest know that I, Jehovah, who call thee by name, am the God of Israel. ⁴For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have called thee by thy name; I surnamed thee, though thou didst not know me;

⁵I am Jehovah, and there is none else; there is no God beside me: I girded thee, and thou hast not known me; ⁶—that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the going down, that there is none beside me. I am Jehovah, and there is none else; ⁷forming the light and creating darkness, making peace and creating evil: I, Jehovah, do all these things. ⁸Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and with it let righteousness spring up. I, Jehovah, have created it. ⁹Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let a potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that formeth it, What makest thou? Or thy work, He hath no hands? ¹⁰Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? Or to his mother, What hast thou brought forth?

¹¹Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: Ask me of the things to come; concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me. ¹²It is I that have made the earth, and created man upon it; it is I, my hands, that have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. ¹³It is I that have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith Jehovah of hosts.