Isaiah 45–46

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.^*

¹⁴Thus says the Lord:

The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush

and the Sabeans, tall of stature,

shall come over to you and be yours;

they shall follow you;

they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.

They will make supplication to you, saying,

“God is with you alone, and there is no other;

there is no god besides him.”^*

¹⁵Truly, you are a God who hides himself,

O God of Israel, the Savior.^*

¹⁶All of them are put to shame and confounded;

the makers of idols go in disgrace together.^*

¹⁷But Israel is saved by the Lord

with everlasting salvation;

you shall not be put to shame or confounded

ever again.^*

¹⁸For thus says the Lord,

who created the heavens

(he is God!),

who formed the earth and made it

(he established it;

he did not create it a chaos;

he formed it to be inhabited!):

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

¹⁹I did not speak in secret

in a land of darkness;

I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,

“Seek me in chaos.”

I the Lord speak the truth;

I declare what is right.^*

Idols Cannot Save Babylon

²⁰Assemble yourselves and come together;

draw near, you survivors of the nations!

They have no knowledge—

those who carry about their wooden idols

and keep on praying to a god

that cannot save.^*

²¹Declare and present your case;

take counsel together!^m

Who told this long ago?

Who declared it of old?

Was it not I, the Lord?

There is no other god besides me,

a righteous God and a Savior;

there is no one besides me.^*

²²Turn to me and be saved,

all the ends of the earth!

For I am God, and there is no other.^*

²³By myself I have sworn;

from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness

a word that shall not return:

“To me every knee shall bow,

every tongue shall swear.”^*

²⁴Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,

are righteousness and strength;

all who were incensed against him

shall come to him and be ashamed.^*

²⁵In the Lord all the offspring of Israel

shall triumph and glory.^*

⁴⁶Bel bows down; Nebo stoops;

their idols are on beasts and cattle;

these things you carry are loaded

as burdens on weary animals.^*

²They stoop; they bow down together;

they cannot save the burden

but themselves go into captivity.^*

³Listen to me, O house of Jacob,

all the remnant of the house of Israel,

who have been borne by me from your birth,

carried from the womb;^*

⁴even to your old age I am he;

even when you turn gray I will carry you.

I have made, and I will bear;

I will carry and will save.^*

⁵To whom will you liken me and make me equal

and compare me, as though we were alike?^*

⁶Those who lavish gold from the purse

and weigh out silver in the scales—

they hire a goldsmith, who makes it into a god;

then they fall down and worship!^*

⁷They lift it to their shoulders; they carry it;

they set it in its place, and it stands there;

it cannot move from its place.

If one cries out to it, it does not answer

or save anyone from trouble.^*

⁸Remember this and consider;ⁿ

recall it to mind, you transgressors;^*

⁹remember the former things of old,

for I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is no one like me,^*

¹⁰declaring the outcome from the beginning

and from ancient times things not yet done,

saying, “My purpose shall stand,

and I will fulfill my intention,”^*

¹¹calling a bird of prey from the east,

the man for my purpose from a far country.

I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;

I have planned, and I will do it.^*

¹²Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,

you who are far from deliverance:^*

¹³I bring near my deliverance; it is not far off,

and my salvation will not tarry;

I will put salvation in Zion,

for Israel my glory.^*