Isaiah 45
1 Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
Cyrus is the one whom Yahweh has appointed [to be the emperor of Persia] and to whom he will give great power [IDM]; Yahweh will enable him to defeat other nations and to take away the power of their kings. He will cause gates of cities to be opened, and no one will ever be able to shut them.
2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
This is what Yahweh says to him: “Cyrus, I will go ahead of you and level the mountains. I will smash down bronze gates and cut through iron bars.
3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call [thee] by thy name, [am] the God of Israel.
I will give you treasures [that people have hidden] in dark secret places [DOU]. I will do that in order that you will know that I am Yahweh, the God to whom the Israelis belong, the God who calls you by your name.
4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
I have summoned you, calling out your name, for the sake of [the people of] Israel [DOU] whom I have chosen, who serve me. Even though you do not know me, I will give you a title which has great honor.
5 I [am] the LORD, and [there is] none else, [there is] no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
I am Yahweh, and there is no other God [DOU]. Even though you do not know me, I will give you power
6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that [there is] none beside me. I [am] the LORD, and [there is] none else.
in order that everyone in the world, from the east to the west, will know that there is no other [God]. I am Yahweh, and there is no other [God].
7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things].
I created the light and the darkness. I cause there to be peace and I cause there to be disasters. I, Yahweh, do all those things.”
8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.
[And Yahweh also says, “I want my] rescue [of my people] [MET] to fall from the sky like rain. Just like the earth opens wide to accept rain, I will rescue/save my people and cause them to be treated justly. I, Yahweh, am the one who will cause both of those things to happen.
9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! [Let] the potsherd [strive] with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
Terrible things will happen to those who argue with me, the one who created them. [They are like] [MET] a clay pot and [I am like] the one who made it; so they certainly cannot [RHQ] criticize me. A lump of clay certainly cannot [RHQ] argue with the one who shapes it [to form a pot], saying, ‘Why are you making me like this?’ The pot cannot say ‘[You have no skill, because] what you made has no handles!’
10 Woe unto him that saith unto [his] father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?
And it would be terrible if an unborn baby would say to its father, ‘Why are you [RHQ] causing me to be born?’ or if it said to its mother, ‘The result of your labor pains will be useless?’”
11 Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.
Yahweh, the Holy One of the Israeli people, the one who created Israel, says this to them: “(Why do you ask questions about [what I do for you], my children?/You should not ask questions about [what I do for you], my children.) [RHQ] (Why do you tell me about the work that I should do?/You should not tell me about the work that I should do.) [RHQ]
12 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, [even] my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
I am the one who created the earth and created people to live on it. I stretched out the sky with my hands, and I put the stars in their places.
13 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts.
And I will appoint Cyrus to do things that are right/just, and I will enable him to do all those things easily [MET]. His [workers] will rebuild my city, and he will free my people who have been (exiled/forced to leave their country). And he will do it without my rewarding/paying him! [Those things will surely happen because] I, the Commander of the armies of angels, have said it.
14 Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, [saying], Surely God [is] in thee; and [there is] none else, [there is] no God.
And this is [also] what [I], Yahweh, say [to you, my people]: ‘You will rule the people of Egypt and Ethiopia, and the tall people of Seba [in Arabia] will become your slaves. They will come to you bringing all the things that they sell, and it will all be yours. [As prisoners], they will have chains on their arms as they follow you. They will prostrate themselves in front of you and say, “God is with/helping you and he is the only God; there is no other God.” '”
15 Verily thou [art] a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.
God, although we cannot see you, you are the one to whom [we] Israeli people belong, the one who saves us.
16 They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together [that are] makers of idols.
All those who make idols will be humiliated. They will all be disgraced together.
17 [But] Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
But you, Yahweh, will rescue [us, your] Israeli people, and we will be free forever. Never again will we again be humiliated and disgraced.
18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I [am] the LORD; and [there is] none else.
Yahweh is God; he is the one who created the sky and created and formed the earth. He did not want it to remain with nothing living on it; he wanted people to live on it. [He says], “I am Yahweh; there is no other [God].
19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
[What I proclaimed], I did not speak secretly or [hide what I was saying by speaking] in a dark place. When I spoke to the descendants of Jacob, I did not tell them ‘It will be useless for you to (seek for/pray to) me!’ I, Yahweh, speak [only] what is true and what is right.
20 Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye [that are] escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god [that] cannot save.
You people who are still alive after experiencing great disasters, should come and gather together [and listen to this]: The people who carry around their wooden idols and pray to them are foolish, because those idols cannot rescue them!
21 Tell ye, and bring [them] near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? [who] hath told it from that time? [have] not I the LORD? and [there is] no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; [there is] none beside me.
Talk among yourselves, and decide what you will say to prove that [your praying to idols is good]. [And when you do that, I will ask you], ‘Who predicted long ago [what has now happened]? Did any idol tell you [that those things would happen] [RHQ]?’ No, it was [RHQ] only I, Yahweh, who told you, because I am the only God; there is no other God. I am a God who acts righteously and saves people; there is no other one [who does these things].
22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I [am] God, and [there is] none else.
Everyone in the world should ask me to save them, because I am the only God who can do that; there is no other one.
23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth [in] righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
I have solemnly declared, using my own name; I [SYN] have spoken what is true, and I will never change what I have said: [Some day], everyone [SYN] will bow in front of me, and they will all solemnly promise to be loyal to me.
24 Surely, shall [one] say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: [even] to him shall [men] come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
They will declare, ‘Yahweh is the one who enables us to live righteously and to be strong.’” And all those who have been angry at him will come to him, and they will be ashamed [for having been angry with him].
25 In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.
Yahweh is the only one who will enable [us] Israeli people in the future to defeat our enemies, [and then] we will boast about what he [has done for us].
