Isaiah 45:1–13

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.