Isaiah 45
1 Thus 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:
This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, the one he has anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to direct him to defeat nations and to make kings weak, to open doors before him and gates that will not be 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,
I will go ahead of you and level the mountains. I will break down bronze gates and cut through iron bars.
3 And 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.
I will give you hidden treasure, treasure concealed in secret places, so that you can know for sure that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.
4 For 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.
I call you by name and I have given you a title of honor, for the sake of Jacob my servant, and Israel the one I chose, even though you don't know me.
5 I [am] Jehovah, and there is none else, Except Me there is no God, I gird thee, and thou hast not known Me.
I am the Lord, there is no God apart from me. Apart from me there is no God. I will make you strong, even though you don't know me,
6 So 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,
so that everyone, from the east to the west, will know that there is no God apart from me, that I am the Lord, and there is none apart from me.
7 Forming light, and preparing darkness, Making peace, and preparing evil, I [am] Jehovah, doing all these things.'
I create light, and I make darkness, I bring peace and I bring about disaster. I am the Lord and I do all this.
8 Drop, 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.
Let the rain fall from the sky above, let goodness fall from the clouds, let the earth open up to receive goodness and salvation so they can grow together. I, the Lord, created them.
9 Woe [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?'
What trouble people face when they fight with their Creator—they're just pots among all the other pots on earth! Does the clay tell the potter who is shaping it, “What are you doing?” or “What you're making is so bad it's like you have no hands!”
10 Woe [to] him who is saying to a father, 'What dost thou beget?' Or to a wife, 'What dost thou bring forth?
How bad it would be if you said to your father, “Why did you have me?” or to your mother, “Why was I ever born?”!
11 Thus 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.'
This is what the Lord says, the Holy One of Israel, your Creator: You can ask me about things to come. But are you going to lecture me about my children and what I do?
12 I made earth, and man on it prepared, I — My hands stretched out the heavens, And all their host I have commanded.
I'm the one who made the earth, and I created human beings to live there. It was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I ordered all the stars to come into being.
13 I 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.
Because I do what's right, I will encourage him and smooth out all the roads he takes. He will rebuild my city and will set my exiles free without being paid or bribed to do so, says the Lord Almighty.
14 Thus 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.
This is what the Lord says: “The productive Egyptians and the Ethiopian traders, as well as the tall Sabean people, will come over to you and will belong to you. They will walk behind you in chains and bow down to you, pleading with you, saying, ‘God is certainly with you, and there is no other God besides him.’”
15 Surely Thou [art] a God hiding Thyself, God of Israel — Saviour!
Yet you are a God who hides himself, God of Israel, Savior.
16 They have been ashamed, And they have even blushed — all of them, Together gone in confusion have those carving images.
Everyone who makes idols are ashamed and humiliated, all of them are disgraced.
17 Israel hath been saved in Jehovah, A salvation age-during! Ye are not ashamed nor confounded Unto the ages of eternity!
But Israel will be saved by the Lord with a salvation that lasts forever. You will never be ashamed or disgraced for all eternity.
18 For 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.
For this is what the Lord says, the God who created the heavens, who formed and made the earth, he founded it. He didn't make it to be left empty, but formed it to be inhabited. He is the one who says, I am the Lord, and there is no God apart from me.
19 Not 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.
I haven't been talking in secret in an obscure place. I didn't tell the descendants of Jacob: Look for me in a place where no one can be found. I, the Lord, tell the truth—I say what's right.
20 Be 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.
Gather yourselves together, and come, come close, you refugees of the nations. Aren't they stupid, these people who carry around their wooden idols, and who pray to a god that can't save them?
21 Declare 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.
Discuss this together, and then speak up, present your case. Who predicted this long ago? Who said what would happen in the future back in the past? Wasn't that me, the Lord? There is no other God except me, no other God who does what is right, and who saves. There is no God apart from me.
22 Turn to Me, and be saved, all ends of the earth, For I [am] God, and there is none else.
Everyone on earth, come to me and be saved, for I am God and there is no God apart from me.
23 By 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.
I have sworn by my own self, I have spoken what is right, and I won't ever go back on it. Everyone shall bow before me; everyone shall acknowledge me.
24 Only in Jehovah, said hath one, Have I righteousness and strength, Unto Him he cometh in, And ashamed are all those displeased with Him.
They will say about me, “Salvation and strength can only be found in the Lord.” Everyone who has fought against him will come to him and will be ashamed.
25 In Jehovah are all the seed of Israel justified, And they boast themselves.'
But in the Lord all the descendants of Israel will be made right, and they will glory in him.
