Isaiah 44:28–45:13

²⁸who 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

45Thus 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,

^3uI 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.

⁴For 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.

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

besides me there is no God;

^yI equip you, though you do not know me,

^6zthat 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.

⁷I form light and create darkness;

I make well-being and ^acreate calamity;

I am the Lord, who does all these things.

^8b“Shower, O heavens, from above,

and ^clet the clouds rain down righteousness;

let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;

let the earth cause them both to sprout;

I the Lord have created it.

^9d“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,

a pot among earthen pots!

^eDoes the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’

or ‘Your work has no handles’?

¹⁰Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’

or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’ ”

¹¹Thus says ^fthe Lord,

the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:

^g“Ask me of things to come;

will you command me ^hconcerning my children and ⁱthe work of my hands?²

^12jI made the earth

and created man on it;

it was my hands ^kthat stretched out the heavens,

and ^lI commanded all their host.

^13mI have stirred him up in righteousness,

ⁿand I will make all his ways level;

^ohe shall build my city

^pand set my exiles free,

not for price or reward,”

says the Lord of hosts.