45
God Uses Cyrus
Thus says the Loʀᴅ to ACyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken by the right Bhand,
To Csubdue nations before him
And 1to Dloose the loins of kings;
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
“I will go before you and Amake the 1rough places smooth;
I will Bshatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron Cbars.
“I will give you the 1Atreasures of darkness
And hidden wealth of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
The Loʀᴅ, the God of Israel, who Bcalls you by your name.
“For the sake of AJacob My servant,
And Israel My chosen one,
I have also Bcalled you by your name;
I have given you a title of honor
Though you have Cnot known Me.
“I am the Loʀᴅ, and Athere is no other;
BBesides Me there is no God.
I will 1Cgird you, though you have not known Me;
That 1Amen may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is Bno one besides Me.
I am the Loʀᴅ, and there is no other,
The One Aforming light and Bcreating darkness,
Causing 1well-being and Ccreating calamity;
I am the Loʀᴅ who does all these.
 
God’s Supreme Power
ADrip down, O heavens, from above,
And let the clouds pour down righteousness;
Let the Bearth open up and salvation bear fruit,
CAnd righteousness spring up with it.
I, the Loʀᴅ, have created it.
 
Woe to the one who Aquarrels with his 1Maker
An earthenware vessel 2among the vessels of earth!
Will the Bclay say to the 1potter, ‘What are you doing?’
Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?
10 Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
Or to a woman, ‘To what are you 1giving birth?’ ”
11  Thus says the ALoʀᴅ, the Holy One of Israel, and his 1BMaker:
2CAsk Me about the things to come 3concerning My Dsons,
And you shall commit to Me Ethe work of My hands.
12 “It is I who Amade the earth, and created man upon it.
I Bstretched out the heavens with My hands
And I 1ordained Call their host.
13 “I have aroused him in Arighteousness
And I will Bmake all his ways smooth;
He will Cbuild My city and will let My exiles go Dfree,
Without any payment or reward,” says the Loʀᴅ of hosts.
14  Thus says the Loʀᴅ,
“The 1products of AEgypt and the merchandise of 2BCush
And the Sabeans, men of stature,
Will Ccome over to you and will be yours;
They will walk behind you, they will come over in Dchains
And will Ebow down to you;
They will make supplication to you:
3Surely, FGod is 4with you, and Gthere is none else,
No other God.’ ”
15  Truly, You are a God who Ahides Himself,
O God of Israel, BSavior!
16 They will be Aput to shame and even humiliated, all of them;
The Bmanufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation.
17  Israel has been saved by the Loʀᴅ
With an Aeverlasting salvation;
You Bwill not be put to shame or humiliated
To all eternity.
18 For thus says the Loʀᴅ, who Acreated the heavens (He is the God who Bformed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it 1a Cwaste place, but formed it to be Dinhabited),
“I am the Loʀᴅ, and Ethere is none else.
19 AI have not spoken in secret,
In 1some dark land;
I did not say to the 2Boffspring of Jacob,
CSeek Me in 3a waste place’;
I, the Loʀᴅ, Dspeak righteousness,
EDeclaring things that are upright.
 
20 AGather yourselves and come;
Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations;
BThey have no knowledge,
Who Ccarry about 1their wooden idol
And Dpray to a god who cannot save.
21 ADeclare and set forth your case;
Indeed, let them consult together.
BWho has announced this from of old?
Who has long since declared it?
Is it not I, the Loʀᴅ?
And there is Cno other God besides Me,
A righteous God and a DSavior;
There is none except Me.
22 ATurn to Me and Bbe saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 AI have sworn by Myself,
The Bword has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me Cevery knee will bow, every tongue will Dswear allegiance.
24 “They will say of Me, ‘Only Ain the Loʀᴅ are righteousness and strength.’
Men will come to Him,
And Ball who were angry at Him will be put to shame.
25 “In the Loʀᴅ all the offspring of Israel
Will be Ajustified and will Bglory.”
A 45:1 Is 44:28 B 45:1 Ps 73:23; Is 41:13; 42:6 C 45:1 Is 41:2, 25; Jer 50:3, 35; 51:11, 20, 24 1 45:1 Lit I will loose D 45:1 Job 12:21; Is 45:5 A 45:2 Is 40:4 1 45:2 Another reading is mountains B 45:2 Ps 107:16 C 45:2 Jer 51:30 1 45:3 Or hoarded treasures A 45:3 Jer 41:8; 50:37 B 45:3 Ex 33:12, 17; Is 43:1; 49:1 A 45:4 Is 41:8, 9; 44:1 B 45:4 Is 43:1 C 45:4 Acts 17:23 A 45:5 Is 45:6, 14, 18, 21; 46:9 B 45:5 Is 44:6, 8 1 45:5 Or arm C 45:5 Ps 18:39 1 45:6 Lit they A 45:6 Ps 102:15; Mal 1:11 B 45:6 Is 45:5 A 45:7 Is 42:16 B 45:7 Ps 104:20; 105:28 1 45:7 Or peace C 45:7 Is 31:2; 47:11; Amos 3:6 A 45:8 Ps 72:6; Hos 10:12; 14:5; Joel 3:18 B 45:8 Ps 85:11 C 45:8 Is 60:21; 61:11 A 45:9 Job 15:25; 40:8, 9; Ps 2:2, 3; Prov 21:30; Jer 50:24 1 45:9 Lit Fashioner 2 45:9 Lit with B 45:9 Is 29:16; 64:8; Jer 18:6; Rom 9:20, 21 1 45:9 Lit Fashioner 1 45:10 Lit in labor pains with A 45:11 Is 43:15; 48:17; Ezek 39:7 1 45:11 Lit Fashioner B 45:11 Is 44:2; 54:5 2 45:11 Or Will you ask C 45:11 Is 8:19 3 45:11 Or upon D 45:11 Jer 31:9 E 45:11 Is 19:25; 29:23; 60:21; 64:8 A 45:12 Is 42:5; 45:18; Jer 27:5 B 45:12 Ps 104:2; Is 42:5; 44:24 1 45:12 Or commanded C 45:12 Gen 2:1; Neh 9:6 A 45:13 Is 41:2 B 45:13 Is 45:2 C 45:13 2 Chr 36:22, 23; Is 44:28 D 45:13 Is 52:3 1 45:14 Lit labor A 45:14 Ps 68:31; Is 19:21 2 45:14 Or Ethiopia B 45:14 Is 18:1; 43:3 C 45:14 Is 14:1, 2; 49:23; 54:3 D 45:14 Ps 149:8 E 45:14 Is 49:23; 60:14 3 45:14 Or God is with you alone F 45:14 Jer 16:19; Zech 8:20-23; 1 Cor 14:25 4 45:14 Or in G 45:14 Is 45:5 A 45:15 Ps 44:24; Is 1:15; 8:17; 57:17 B 45:15 Is 43:3 A 45:16 Is 42:17; 44:9 B 45:16 Is 44:11 A 45:17 Is 26:4; 51:6; Rom 11:26 B 45:17 Is 49:23; 50:7; 54:4 A 45:18 Is 42:5 B 45:18 Is 45:12 1 45:18 Or in vain C 45:18 Gen 1:2 D 45:18 Gen 1:26; Ps 115:16 E 45:18 Is 45:5 A 45:19 Is 48:16 1 45:19 Lit a place of a land of darkness 2 45:19 Lit seed B 45:19 Is 45:25; 65:9 C 45:19 2 Chr 15:2; Ps 78:34; Jer 29:13, 14 3 45:19 Or vain D 45:19 Ps 19:8; Is 45:23; 63:1 E 45:19 Is 43:12; 44:8 A 45:20 Is 43:9 B 45:20 Is 44:18, 19; 48:5-7 C 45:20 Is 46:1, 7; Jer 10:5 1 45:20 Lit the wood of their graven image D 45:20 Is 44:17; 46:6, 7 A 45:21 Is 41:23; 43:9 B 45:21 Is 41:26; 44:7; 48:14 C 45:21 Is 45:5 D 45:21 Is 43:3, 11 A 45:22 Num 21:8, 9; 2 Chr 20:12; Mic 7:7; Zech 12:10 B 45:22 Is 30:15; 49:6, 12; 52:10 A 45:23 Gen 22:16; Is 62:8; Heb 6:13 B 45:23 Is 55:11 C 45:23 Rom 14:11; Phil 2:10 D 45:23 Deut 6:13; Ps 63:11; Is 19:18; 65:16 A 45:24 Jer 33:16 B 45:24 Is 41:11 A 45:25 1 Kin 8:32; Is 53:11 B 45:25 Is 41:16; 60:19