24 Thus says the Lord, your aRedeemer, and the one who bformed you from the womb,

“I, the Lord, am the maker of all things,

cStretching out the heavens by Myself

And spreading out the earth 1all alone,

25 aCausing the 1omens of boasters to fail,

2Making fools out of diviners,

bCausing wise men to draw back

And 3turning their knowledge into foolishness,

26 aConfirming the word of His servant

And 1performing the purpose of His messengers.

It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’

And of the bcities of Judah, ‘cThey shall be built.’

And I will raise up her ruins again.

27 “It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’

And I will make your rivers adry.

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

And he will perform all My desire.’

And 1he declares of Jerusalem, ‘bShe will be built,’

And of the temple, ‘2Your foundation will be laid.’ ”

Chapter 45

God Uses Cyrus

1 Thus says the Lord to aCyrus His anointed,

Whom I have taken by the 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,

The Lord, 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 the Lord, and athere is no other;

bBesides Me there is no God.

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

6 That 1amen may know from the rising to the setting of the sun

That there is bno one besides Me.

I am the Lord, and there is no other,

7 The One aforming light and bcreating darkness,

Causing 1well-being and ccreating calamity;

I am the Lord who does all these.

God’s Supreme Power

8 “aDrip down, O heavens, from above,

And let the clouds pour down righteousness;

Let the bearth open up and salvation bear fruit,

cAnd righteousness spring up with it.

I, the Lord, have created it.

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

An earthenware vessel 2among the vessels of earth!

Will the bclay say to the 1potter, ‘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, ‘To what are you 1giving birth?’ ”

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

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

And you shall commit 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 1ordained call their host.

13 “I have aroused him in arighteousness

And I will bmake all his ways smooth;

He will cbuild My city and will let My exiles go dfree,

Without any payment or reward,” says the Lord of hosts.

14 Thus says the Lord,

“The 1products of aEgypt and the merchandise of 2bCush

And the Sabeans, men of stature,

Will ccome over to you and will be yours;

They will walk behind you, they will come over in dchains

And will ebow down to you;

They will make supplication to you:

‘3Surely, fGod is 4with you, and gthere is none else,

No other God.’ ”

15 Truly, You are a God who ahides Himself,

O God of Israel, bSavior!

16 They will be aput to shame and even humiliated, all of them;

The bmanufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation.

17 Israel has been saved by the Lord

With an aeverlasting salvation;

You bwill not be put to shame or humiliated

To all eternity.

18 For thus says the Lord, who acreated the heavens (He is the God who bformed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it 1a cwaste place, but formed it to be dinhabited),

“I am the Lord, and ethere is none else.

19 “aI have not spoken in secret,

In 1some dark land;

I did not say to the 2boffspring of Jacob,

‘cSeek Me in 3a waste place’;

I, the Lord, dspeak righteousness,

eDeclaring things that are upright.

20 “aGather yourselves and come;

Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations;

bThey have no knowledge,

Who ccarry about 1their wooden idol

And dpray to a god who cannot save.

21 “aDeclare and set forth your case;

Indeed, let them consult together.

bWho has announced this from of old?

Who has long since declared it?

Is it not I, the Lord?

And there is cno other God besides Me,

A righteous God and a dSavior;

There is none except Me.

22 “aTurn to Me and bbe saved, all the ends of the earth;

For I am God, and there is no other.

23 “aI have sworn by Myself,

The bword has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness

And will not turn back,

That to Me cevery knee will bow, every tongue will dswear allegiance.

24 “They will say of Me, ‘Only ain the Lord are righteousness and strength.’

Men will come to Him,

And ball who were angry at Him will be put to shame.

25 “In the Lord all the offspring of Israel

Will be ajustified and will bglory.”