Isaiah 44:28–45:13

^28*I say to Cyrus, ‘You are the one who will rule for me;

you will do what I want you to do:

you will order Jerusalem to be rebuilt

and the Temple foundations to be laid.’ ”

The Appoints Cyrus

45The Lord has chosen Cyrus to be king!

He has appointed him to conquer nations;

he sends him to strip kings of their power;

the Lord will open the gates of cities for him.

To Cyrus the Lord says,

²“I myself will prepare your way,

levelling mountains and hills.

I will break down bronze gates

and smash their iron bars.

³I will give you treasures from dark, secret places;

then you will know that I am the Lord,

and that the God of Israel has called you by name.

⁴I appoint you to help my servant Israel,

the people that I have chosen.

I have given you great honour,

although you do not know me.

⁵“I am the Lord; there is no other god.

I will give you the strength you need,

although you do not know me.

⁶I do this so that everyone

from one end of the world to the other

may know that I am the Lord

and that there is no other god.

⁷I create both light and darkness;

I bring both blessing and disaster.

I, the Lord, do all these things.

⁸I will send victory from the sky like rain;

the earth will open to receive it

and will blossom with freedom and justice.

I, the Lord, will make this happen.”

The of Creation and History

⁹Does a clay pot dare to argue with its maker,

a pot that is like all the others?

Does the clay ask the potter what he is doing?

Does the pot complain that its maker has no skill?

¹⁰Does anyone dare to say to his parents,

“Why did you make me like this?”

¹¹The Lord, the holy God of Israel, the one who shapes the future, says:

“You have no right to question me about my children

or to tell me what I ought to do!

¹²I am the one who made the earth

and created the human race to live there. By my power I stretched out the heavens;

I control the sun, the moon, and the stars.

¹³I myself have stirred Cyrus to action

to fulfil my purpose and put things right.

I will straighten every road that he travels.

He will rebuild my city, Jerusalem,

and set my captive people free.

No one has hired him or bribed him to do this.”

The Lord Almighty has spoken.