24  Thus says the Lord, eyour Redeemer,

fwho formed you from the womb:

g“I am the Lord, who made all things,

hwho alone stretched out the heavens,

who spread out the earth by myself,

25  who frustrates the signs of liars

and makes fools of diviners,

iwho turns wise men back

and makes their knowledge foolish,

26  jwho confirms the word of his servant

and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,

who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’

kand of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,

and I will raise up their ruins’;

27  lwho says to the deep, ‘Be dry;

I will dry up your rivers’;

28  who says of mCyrus, ‘He is nmy shepherd,

and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;

saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’

oand of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’ ”

Cyrus, God’s Instrument

45 Thus says the Lord to phis anointed, to Cyrus,

qwhose right hand I have grasped,

to subdue nations before him

and rto loose the belts of kings,

to open doors before him

that gates may not be closed:

2  “I will go before you

and slevel the exalted places,1

tI will break in pieces the doors of bronze

and cut through the bars of iron,

3  uI will give you the treasures of darkness

and the hoards in secret places,

that you may know that it is I, the Lord,

the God of Israel, vwho call you by your name.

4  For the sake of my servant Jacob,

and Israel my chosen,

vI call you by your name,

wI name you, though you do not know me.

5  xI am the Lord, and there is no other,

besides me there is no God;

yI equip you, though you do not know me,

6  zthat people may know, from the rising of the sun

and from the west, that there is none besides me;

I am the Lord, and there is no other.

7  I form light and create darkness;

I make well-being and acreate calamity;

I am the Lord, who does all these things.