Isaiah 45
1 Thus saith the Lord to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have taken hold of, to subdue nations before his face, and to turn the backs of kings, and to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be 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 will go before thee, and will humble the great ones of the earth: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and will burst the bars of iron.
I will go ahead of you and level the mountains. I will break down bronze gates and cut through iron bars.
3 And I will give thee hidden treasures, and the concealed riches of secret places: that thou mayest know that I am the Lord who call thee by thy name, 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 Israel my elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have made a likeness of 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 the Lord, and there is none else: there is no God, besides me: I girded 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 That they may know who are from the rising of the sun, and they who are from the west, that there is none besides me. I am the Lord, 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 I form the light, and create darkness, I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord that do 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 down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just: let the earth be opened, and bud forth a saviour: and let justice spring up together: I the Lord have created him.
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 that gainsayeth his maker, a sherd of the earthen pots: shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it: What art thou making, and thy work is without 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 that saith to his father: Why begettest thou? and to the woman: Why 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 saith the Lord the Holy One of Israel, his maker: Ask me of things to come, concerning my children, and concerning the work of my hands give ye charge to 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 the earth: and I created man upon it: my hand stretched forth the heavens, and I have commanded all their host.
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 raised him up to justice, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and let go my captives, not for ransom, nor for presents, saith the Lord the God 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 saith the Lord: The labour of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and of Sabaim, men of stature shall come over to thee, and shall be thins: they shall walk after thee, they shall go bound with manacles: and they shall worship thee, and shall make supplication to thee: only in thee is God, and there is no God besides thee.
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 Verily thou art a hidden God, the God of Israel the saviour.
Yet you are a God who hides himself, God of Israel, Savior.
16 They are all confounded and ashamed: the forgers of errors are gone together into confusion.
Everyone who makes idols are ashamed and humiliated, all of them are disgraced.
17 Israel is saved in the Lord with as eternal salvation: you shall not be confounded, and you shall not be ashamed for ever and ever.
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 saith the Lord that created the heavens, God himself that formed the earth, and made it, the very maker thereof: he did not create it in vain: he formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is no other.
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 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I have not said to the seed of Jacob: Seek me in vain. I am the Lord that speak justice, that declare right things.
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 Assemble yourselves, and come, and draw near together, ye that are saved of the Gentiles: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven work, and pray to a god that cannot save.
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 Tell ye, and come, and consult together: who hath declared this from the beginning, who hath foretold this from that time? Have not I the Lord, and there is no God else besides me? A just God and a saviour, there is none besides 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 Be converted to me, and you shall be saved, all ye ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is no other.
Everyone on earth, come to me and be saved, for I am God and there is no God apart from me.
23 I have sworn by myself, the word of justice shall go out of my mouth, and shall not return: For every knee shall be bowed to me, and every tongue shall 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 Therefore shall he say: In the Lord are my justices and empire: they shall come to him, and all that resist him shall be confounded.
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 the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and praised.
But in the Lord all the descendants of Israel will be made right, and they will glory in him.
