Isaiah 44:28–45:13

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

¹Thus 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;

⁶That ^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,

⁷The 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 potter, ‘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?’ ”

¹¹Thus 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.