Isaiah 44:28–45:13

²⁸“It is I who says of ^aCyrus, ‘He is My shepherd!

And all My good pleasure he will complete.’

And saying of Jerusalem, ‘^bShe will be built,’

And of the temple, ‘¹Your foundation will be laid.’”

CHAPTER 45

Cyrus, Yahweh’s Anointed

¹Thus says Yahweh to ^aCyrus His anointed,

Whom I have taken hold of by his right ^bhand,

To ^csubdue nations before him

And ¹to ^dloose the loins of kings,

To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

²“I will go before you and ^amake the ¹rough places smooth;

I will ^bshatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron ^cbars.

³“I will give you the ^1atreasures of darkness

And hidden wealth of secret places,

So that you may know that it is I,

Yahweh, the God of Israel, who ^bcalls you by your name.

⁴“For the sake of ^aJacob My servant,

And Israel My chosen one,

I have also ^bcalled you by your name;

I have given you a title of honor

Though you have ^cnot known Me.

⁵“I am Yahweh, and ^athere is no other;

^bBesides Me there is no God.

I will ^1cgird you, though you have not known Me,

⁶That ^athey may know from the rising to the setting of the sun

That there is ^bno one besides Me.

I am Yahweh, and there is no other,

⁷The One ^aforming light and ^bcreating darkness,

Producing peace and ^ccreating calamity;

I am Yahweh who does all these.

Yahweh the Maker

⁸“^aDrip down, O heavens, from above,

And let the skies pour down righteousness;

Let the ^bearth open up and salvation bear fruit,

^cAnd righteousness ¹spring up with it.

I, Yahweh, have created it.

⁹“Woe to the one who ^acontends with his ¹Maker—

An earthenware vessel ²among the vessels of earth!

Will the ^bclay say to the ³potter, ‘What are you doing?’

Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?

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

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

¹¹Thus says ^aYahweh, the Holy One of Israel, and his ^1bMaker:

“^2cAsk Me about the things that are to come ³concerning My ^dsons,

And you shall ⁴commit to Me ^ethe work of My hands.

¹²“It is I who ^amade the earth and created man upon it.

I ^bstretched out the heavens with My hands,

And I commanded ^call their host.

¹³“I have awakened him in ^arighteousness,

And I will ^bmake all his ways smooth;

He will ^cbuild My city and will ^dlet My exiles go,

Without any payment or reward,” says Yahweh of hosts.