45 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,x

to Cyrus,y whose right hand I take holdz of

to subdue nationsa before him

and to strip kings of their armor,

to open doors before him

so that gates will not be shut:

2 I will go before youb

and will levelc the mountainsa;

I will break down gatesd of bronze

and cut through bars of iron.e

3 I will give you hidden treasures,f

riches stored in secret places,g

so that you may knowh that I am the Lord,

the God of Israel, who summons you by name.i

4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,j

of Israel my chosen,

I summon you by name

and bestow on you a title of honor,

though you do not acknowledgek me.

5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;l

apart from me there is no God.m

I will strengthen you,n

though you have not acknowledged me,

6 so that from the rising of the sun

to the place of its settingo

people may knowp there is none besides me.q

I am the Lord, and there is no other.

7 I form the light and create darkness,r

I bring prosperity and create disaster;s

I, the Lord, do all these things.

8 “You heavens above, raint down my righteousness;u

let the clouds shower it down.

Let the earth open wide,

let salvationv spring up,

let righteousness flourish with it;

I, the Lord, have created it.

9 “Woe to those who quarrelw with their Maker,x

those who are nothing but potsherdsy

among the potsherds on the ground.

Does the clay say to the potter,z

‘What are you making?’a

Does your work say,

‘The potter has no hands’?b

10 Woe to the one who says to a father,

‘What have you begotten?’

or to a mother,

‘What have you brought to birth?’

11 “This is what the Lord says—

the Holy Onec of Israel, and its Maker:d

Concerning things to come,

do you question me about my children,

or give me orders about the work of my hands?e

12 It is I who made the earthf

and created mankind on it.

My own hands stretched out the heavens;g

I marshaled their starry hosts.h

13 I will raise up Cyrusb i in my righteousness:

I will make all his ways straight.j

He will rebuild my cityk

and set my exiles free,

but not for a price or reward,l

says the Lord Almighty.”

14 This is what the Lord says:

“The productsm of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,c

and those tall Sabeansn—

they will come over to youo

and will be yours;

they will trudge behind you,p

coming over to you in chains.q

They will bow down before you

and pleadr with you, saying,

‘Surely God is with you,s and there is no other;

there is no other god.t’ ”

15 Truly you are a God who has been hidingu himself,

the God and Saviorv of Israel.

16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;w

they will go off into disgrace together.

17 But Israel will be savedx by the Lord

with an everlasting salvation;y

you will never be put to shame or disgraced,z

to ages everlasting.

18 For this is what the Lord says—

he who created the heavens,

he is God;

he who fashioned and made the earth,a

he founded it;

he did not create it to be empty,b

but formed it to be inhabitedc—

he says:

“I am the Lord,

and there is no other.d

19 I have not spoken in secret,e

from somewhere in a land of darkness;f

I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,g

‘Seekh me in vain.’

I, the Lord, speak the truth;

I declare what is right.i

20 “Gather togetherj and come;

assemble, you fugitives from the nations.

Ignorantk are those who carryl about idols of wood,

who pray to gods that cannot save.m

21 Declare what is to be, present it—

let them take counsel together.

Who foretoldn this long ago,

who declared it from the distant past?o

Was it not I, the Lord?

And there is no God apart from me,p

a righteous Godq and a Savior;r

there is none but me.

22 “Turns to me and be saved,t

all you ends of the earth;u

for I am God, and there is no other.v

23 By myself I have sworn,w

my mouth has uttered in all integrityx

a word that will not be revoked:y

Before me every knee will bow;z

by me every tongue will swear.a

24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone

are deliveranceb and strength.c’ ”

All who have raged against him

will come to him and be put to shame.d

25 But all the descendantse of Israel

will find deliverancef in the Lord

and will make their boast in him.g

Gods of Babylon

46 Belh bows down, Nebo stoops low;

their idolsi are borne by beasts of burden.a

The images that are carriedj about are burdensome,

a burden for the weary.

2 They stoop and bow down together;

unable to rescue the burden,

they themselves go off into captivity.k

3 “Listenl to me, you descendants of Jacob,

all the remnantm of the people of Israel,

you whom I have upheld since your birth,n

and have carriedo since you were born.p

4 Even to your old age and gray hairsq

I am he,r I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;

I will sustains you and I will rescue you.

5 “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?

To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?t

6 Some pour out gold from their bags

and weigh out silver on the scales;

they hire a goldsmithu to make it into a god,

and they bow down and worship it.v

7 They lift it to their shoulders and carryw it;

they set it up in its place, and there it stands.

From that spot it cannot move.x

Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;y

it cannot savez them from their troubles.

8 “Remembera this, keep it in mind,

take it to heart, you rebels.b

9 Remember the former things,c those of long ago;d

I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me.e

10 I make known the end from the beginning,f

from ancient times,g what is still to come.h

I say, ‘My purpose will stand,i

and I will do all that I please.’

11 From the east I summonj a bird of prey;k

from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.

What I have said, that I will bring about;

what I have planned,l that I will do.m

12 Listenn to me, you stubborn-hearted,o

you who are now far from my righteousness.p

13 I am bringing my righteousnessq near,

it is not far away;

and my salvationr will not be delayed.

I will grant salvation to Zion,s

my splendort to Israel.