Isaiah 44:28–45:13

²⁸who says of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd,

and he shall carry out all my purpose”;

and who says of Jerusalem, “It shall be rebuilt,”

and of the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”^*

Cyrus, God’s Instrument

⁴⁵Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,

whose right hand I have grasped

to subdue nations before him

and to strip kings of their robes,

to open doors before him—

and the gates shall not be closed:^*

²I will go before you

and level the mountains;^h

I will break in pieces the doors of bronze

and cut through the bars of iron;^*

³I will give you the treasures of darkness

and riches hidden in secret places,

so that you may know that it is I, the Lord,

the God of Israel, who call you by your name.^*

⁴For the sake of my servant Jacob

and Israel my chosen,

I call you by your name;

I give you a title, though you do not know me.^*

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

besides me there is no god.

I arm you, though you do not know me,^*

⁶so that they may know, from the rising of the sun

and from the west, that there is no one besides me;

I am the Lord, and there is no other.^*

⁷I form light and create darkness,

I make weal and create woe;

I the Lord do all these things.^*

⁸Shower, O heavens, from above,

and let the skies rain down righteousness;

let the earth open, that salvation may spring up,ⁱ

and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also;

I the Lord have created it.^*

⁹Woe to those who strive with their Maker,

earthen vessels with the potter!^j

Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, “What are you making”?

or “Your work has no handles”?^*

¹⁰Woe to anyone who says to a father, “What are you fathering?”

or to a woman, “With what are you in labor?”

¹¹Thus says the Lord,

the Holy One of Israel and its Maker:

Will you question me^k about my children

or command me concerning the work of my hands?^*

¹²I made the earth

and created humankind upon it;

it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,

and I commanded all their host.^*

¹³I have aroused Cyrus^l in righteousness,

and I will make all his paths straight;

he shall build my city

and set my exiles free,

not for price or reward,

says the Lord of hosts.^*