Isaiah 45–46

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

to Cyrus,^y whose right hand I take hold^z of

to subdue nations^a before him

and to strip kings of their armor,

to open doors before him

so that gates will not be shut:

²I will go before you^b

and will level^c the mountains^a;

I will break down gates^d of bronze

and cut through bars of iron.^e

³I will give you hidden treasures,^f

riches stored in secret places,^g

so that you may know^h that I am the Lord,

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

⁴For 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 acknowledge^k me.

⁵I 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,

⁶so that from the rising of the sun

to the place of its setting^o

people may know^p there is none besides me.^q

I am the Lord, and there is no other.

⁷I 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, rain^t down my righteousness;^u

let the clouds shower it down.

Let the earth open wide,

let salvation^v spring up,

let righteousness flourish with it;

I, the Lord, have created it.

⁹“Woe to those who quarrel^w with their Maker,^x

those who are nothing but potsherds^y

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

¹⁰Woe 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 One^c 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

¹²It is I who made the earth^f

and created mankind on it.

My own hands stretched out the heavens;^g

I marshaled their starry hosts.^h

¹³I will raise up Cyrus^bi in my righteousness:

I will make all his ways straight.^j

He will rebuild my city^k

and set my exiles free,

but not for a price or reward,^l

says the Lord Almighty.”

¹⁴This is what the Lord says:

“The products^m of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,^c

and those tall Sabeansⁿ—

they will come over to you^o

and will be yours;

they will trudge behind you,^p

coming over to you in chains.^q

They will bow down before you

and plead^r with you, saying,

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

there is no other god.^t’ ”

¹⁵Truly you are a God who has been hiding^u himself,

the God and Savior^v of Israel.

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

they will go off into disgrace together.

¹⁷But Israel will be saved^x by the Lord

with an everlasting salvation;^y

you will never be put to shame or disgraced,^z

to ages everlasting.

¹⁸For 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 inhabited^c—

he says:

“I am the Lord,

and there is no other.^d

¹⁹I have not spoken in secret,^e

from somewhere in a land of darkness;^f

I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,^g

‘Seek^h me in vain.’

I, the Lord, speak the truth;

I declare what is right.ⁱ

²⁰“Gather together^j and come;

assemble, you fugitives from the nations.

Ignorant^k are those who carry^l about idols of wood,

who pray to gods that cannot save.^m

²¹Declare 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 God^q and a Savior;^r

there is none but me.

²²“Turn^s to me and be saved,^t

all you ends of the earth;^u

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

²³By myself I have sworn,^w

my mouth has uttered in all integrity^x

a word that will not be revoked:^y

Before me every knee will bow;^z

by me every tongue will swear.^a

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

are deliverance^b and strength.^c’ ”

All who have raged against him

will come to him and be put to shame.^d

²⁵But all the descendants^e of Israel

will find deliverance^f in the Lord

and will make their boast in him.^g

Gods of Babylon

46Bel^h bows down, Nebo stoops low;

their idolsⁱ are borne by beasts of burden.^a

The images that are carried^j about are burdensome,

a burden for the weary.

²They stoop and bow down together;

unable to rescue the burden,

they themselves go off into captivity.^k

³“Listen^l to me, you descendants of Jacob,

all the remnant^m of the people of Israel,

you whom I have upheld since your birth,ⁿ

and have carried^o since you were born.^p

⁴Even to your old age and gray hairs^q

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

I have made you and I will carry you;

I will sustain^s 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

⁶Some pour out gold from their bags

and weigh out silver on the scales;

they hire a goldsmith^u to make it into a god,

and they bow down and worship it.^v

⁷They lift it to their shoulders and carry^w 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 save^z them from their troubles.

⁸“Remember^a this, keep it in mind,

take it to heart, you rebels.^b

⁹Remember 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

¹⁰I 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.’

¹¹From the east I summon^j 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

¹²Listenⁿ to me, you stubborn-hearted,^o

you who are now far from my righteousness.^p

¹³I am bringing my righteousness^q near,

it is not far away;

and my salvation^r will not be delayed.

I will grant salvation to Zion,^s

my splendor^t to Israel.