Isaiah 45

45Thus says Yahweh to his anointed one,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped

to subjugate nations before him,

and I uncover^a the loins of kings

to open doors before him,

and the gates shall not be shut:

²“I myself will go before you,

and I will level the mountains.^b

I will break the doors of bronze

and cut through the bars of iron.

³And I will give you the treasures of darkness

and treasures of secret places

so that you may know that I am Yahweh,

the one who calls you by your name, the God of Israel,

⁴for the sake of my servant Jacob,

and Israel my chosen one.

And I call you by your name;

I give you a name of honor, though^c you do not know me.

⁵I am Yahweh, and there is none besides me;

besides me there is no god.

I gird you though^d you do not know me,

⁶so that they may know from the rising of the sun

and from the west that there is none besides me;

I am Yahweh and there is none besides me.

⁷I form light and I create darkness;

I make peace and I create evil;

I am Yahweh; I do all these things.

⁸Trickle, O heavens, from above,

and let clouds trickle with righteousness;

let the earth open so that^e salvation may be fruitful,

and let it cause righteousness to sprout along with it.^f

I myself, Yahweh, have created it.

⁹Woe to the one who strives with his maker,^g

a potsherd among^h potsherds of earth!

Does the clay say to the one who fashions it,

‘What are you making?’

and ‘Your work has no hands’?

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

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

¹¹Thus says Yahweh, the holy one of Israel,

and its maker:^j

“Ask me of the things to come about^k my children,

and you command me about the work of my hands.

¹²I myself made the earth,

and I created humankind upon it.

I, my hands, stretched out the heavens,

and I commanded all their host.

¹³I myself have stirred him up in righteousness,

and I will make all his paths smooth.

He himself shall build my city,

and he shall set my exiles free,

not for price or a gift,” says Yahweh of hosts.

Yahweh the Only Savior

¹⁴Thus says Yahweh:

“The acquisition of Egypt

and the merchandise of Cush

and the Sabeans, tall men,

shall pass over to you;

they shall be yours,

and they shall walk behind you.

They shall pass over in chains,

and they shall bow down to you;

they will pray to you:

‘Surely God is with you, and there is no other.

Besides him there is no God.’ ”

¹⁵Surely you are a God who keeps yourself hidden,

God of Israel, the savior.

¹⁶All of them are ashamed and indeed humiliated;

the craftsmen of idols go together in insult.

¹⁷Israel is saved by Yahweh with everlasting salvation;

you shall not be ashamed,

and you shall not be humiliated to all eternity.^l

¹⁸For thus says Yahweh, who created^m the heavens,

he is God, who formedⁿ the earth

and who made^o it.

He himself established it;

he did not create it as emptiness—

he formed it for inhabiting.

“I am Yahweh and there is none besides me.

¹⁹I have spoken not in secrecy, in a place, a land, of darkness,

I have not said to the descendants of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain!’^p

I, Yahweh, am speaking righteousness,

declaring uprightness.

²⁰Assemble and come;

draw near together, survivors of the nations!

They do not know, those who carry their wooden idols^q

and pray to a god who cannot save.

²¹Declare and present your case,

also let them consult together!

Who made this known^r from former times,^s

declared it from of old?^t

Was it not I, Yahweh?

And there is no other god besides me,

a righteous God besides me,

and no savior besides me.

²²Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth,

for I am God and there is none besides me.

²³I have sworn by myself;

a word that^u shall not return has gone forth from my mouth in righteousness:

‘Every knee shall kneel down to me;

every tongue shall swear.’

²⁴‘Only in Yahweh,’ one shall say to me, ‘are righteousness and strength.’

He shall come to him, and all those who were angry with him shall be ashamed.

²⁵In Yahweh all the offspring of Israel shall be in the right,

and they shall boast.”