Isaiah 45–46

¹Thus said Jehovah, To His anointed, to Cyrus, Whose right hand I have laid hold on, To subdue nations before him, Yea, loins of kings I loose, To open before him two-leaved doors, Yea, gates are not shut: ²‘I go before thee, and crooked places make straight, Two-leaved doors of brass I shiver, And bars of iron I cut asunder, ³And have given to thee treasures of darkness, Even treasures of secret places, So that thou knowest that I, Jehovah, Who am calling on thy name—am the God of Israel. ⁴For the sake of my servant Jacob, And of Israel My chosen, I call also thee by thy name, I surname thee, And thou hast not known Me.

⁵I am Jehovah, and there is none else, Except Me there is no God, I gird thee, and thou hast not known Me. ⁶So that they know from the rising of the sun, And from the west, that there is none besides Me, I am Jehovah, and there is none else, ⁷Forming light, and preparing darkness, Making peace, and preparing evil, I am Jehovah, doing all these things.’ ⁸Drop, ye heavens, from above, And clouds do cause righteousness to flow, Earth openeth, and they are fruitful, Salvation and righteousness spring up together, I, Jehovah, have prepared it. ⁹Woe to him who is striving with his Former, (A potsherd with potsherds of the ground!) Doth clay say to its Framer, ‘What dost thou?’ And thy work, ‘He hath no hands?’ ¹⁰Woe to him who is saying to a father, ‘What dost thou beget?’ Or to a wife, ‘What dost thou bring forth?

¹¹Thus said Jehovah, The Holy One of Israel, and his Former: Ask Me of the things coming concerning My sons, Yea, concerning the work of My hands, ye command Me.’ ¹²I made earth, and man on it prepared, I—My hands stretched out the heavens, And all their host I have commanded. ¹³I have stirred him up in righteousness, And all his ways I make straight, He doth build My city, and My captivity doth send out, Not for price, nor for bribe, said Jehovah of Hosts. ¹⁴Thus said Jehovah, ‘The labour of Egypt, And the merchandise of Cush, And of the Sebaim—men of measure, Unto thee pass over, and thine they are, After thee they go, in fetters they pass over, And unto thee they bow themselves, Unto thee they pray: Only in thee is God, And there is none else, no other God. ¹⁵Surely Thou art a God hiding Thyself, God of Israel—Saviour! ¹⁶They have been ashamed, And they have even blushed—all of them, Together gone in confusion have those carving images. ¹⁷Israel hath been saved in Jehovah, A salvation age-during! Ye are not ashamed nor confounded Unto the ages of eternity! ¹⁸For thus said Jehovah, Creator of heaven, He is God, Former of earth, and its Maker, He established it—not empty He prepared it, For inhabiting He formed it: ‘I am Jehovah, and there is none else. ¹⁹Not in secret have I spoken, in a dark place of the earth, I have not said to the seed of Jacob, In vain seek ye Me, I am Jehovah, speaking righteousness, Declaring uprightness.

²⁰Be gathered, and come in, Come nigh together, ye escaped of the nations, They have not known, Who are lifting up the wood of their graven image, And praying unto a god that saveth not. ²¹Declare ye, and bring near, Yea, they take counsel together, Who hath proclaimed this from of old? From that time hath declared it? Is it not I—Jehovah? And there is no other god besides Me, A God righteous and saving, there is none save Me. ²²Turn to Me, and be saved, all ends of the earth, For I am God, and there is none else. ²³By Myself I have sworn, Gone out from my mouth in righteousness hath a word, And it turneth not back, That to Me, bow doth every knee, every tongue swear. ²⁴Only in Jehovah, said hath one, Have I righteousness and strength, Unto Him he cometh in, And ashamed are all those displeased with Him. ²⁵In Jehovah are all the seed of Israel justified, And they boast themselves.’

Chapter 46

¹Bowed down hath Bel, stooping is Nebo, Their idols have been for the beast and for cattle, Your burdens are loaded, a burden to the weary. ²They have stooped, they have bowed together, They have not been able to deliver the burden, And themselves into captivity have gone. ³Hearken unto Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of Israel, Who are borne from the belly, Who are carried from the womb, ⁴Even to old age I am He, and to grey hairs I carry, I made, and I bear, yea, I carry and deliver.

⁵To whom do ye liken Me, and make equal? And compare Me, that we may be like? ⁶ —They are pouring out gold from a bag, And silver on the beam they weigh, They hire a refiner, and he maketh it a god, They fall down, yea, they bow themselves. ⁷They lift him up on the shoulder, They carry him, and cause him to rest in his place, And he standeth, from his place he moveth not, Yea, one crieth unto him, and he answereth not, From his adversity he saveth him not. ⁸Remember this, and shew yourselves men, Turn it back, O transgressors, to the heart. ⁹Remember former things of old, For I am Mighty, and there is none else, God—and there is none like Me. ¹⁰Declaring from the beginning the latter end, And from of old that which hath not been done, Saying, ‘My counsel doth stand, And all My delight I do.’ ¹¹Calling from the east a ravenous bird, From a far land the man of My counsel, Yea, I have spoken, yea, I bring it in, I have formed it, yea, I do it. ¹²Hearken unto Me, ye mighty in heart, Who are far from righteousness. ¹³I have brought near My righteousness, It is not far off, And My salvation—it doth not tarry, And I have given in Zion salvation, To Israel My glory!

Chapter 47