< Isaiah 45 >
1 Thus saith Jehovah to his anointed, To Cyrus, whom I hold by his right hand, To subdue nations before him, And ungird the loins of kings; To open before him the two-leaved gates, And the doors shall not be shut.
2 I will go before thee, And make the high places plain; I will break in pieces the gates of brass, And cut in sunder the bars of iron.
3 I will give thee the treasures of darkness, And hidden riches of secret places, That thou mayst know that I am Jehovah Who calleth thee by name, the God of Israel.
4 For the sake of Jacob, my servant, And Israel, my chosen, I have called thee by thy name; I have spoken to thee as a friend, though thou hast not known me.
5 I am Jehovah, and none else; There is no God besides me; I have girded thee, though thou hast not known me.
6 That men may know from the rising of the sun, And from the West, that there is none besides me; I am Jehovah, and none else.
7 I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I, Jehovah, do all these things.
8 Pour forth, ye heavens, from above; Ye clouds, shower down prosperity! Let the earth open, and bring forth salvation; Yea, let righteousness spring up together! I, Jehovah, create it.
9 Woe to him that contendeth with his Maker! A potsherd of the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? Or thy work say of thee, He hath no hands?
10 Woe to him that saith to his father, Why dost thou beget? Or to his mother, Why dost thou bring forth?
11 Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask of me concerning things to come; My children, the work of my hands, leave them to me!
12 I made the earth, And created man upon it; My hands spread out the heavens, And all their host did I arrange.
13 I have raised him up for salvation, And I will make all his ways plain; He shall build my city, and release my captives, Not for price, and not for ransom, Saith Jehovah of hosts.
14 Thus saith Jehovah: The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of the Ethiopians and Sabeans, men of stature, Shall come over to thee, and be thine; They shall follow thee; in chains shall they pass along; They shall fall down to thee, and make supplication to thee: “In thee alone is God, and there is none else; There is no other God.”
15 Truly thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the saviour!
16 They shall all be ashamed and confounded, They shall go to confusion together, That are makers of idols.
17 But Israel shall be saved by Jehovah with an everlasting salvation; Ye shall never be ashamed, nor confounded.
18 For thus saith Jehovah, who created the heavens; The God that formed the earth and made it; he that made it firm; He created it not in vain; he formed it to be inhabited: I am Jehovah, and none else.
19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth; I have not said to the race of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain! I, Jehovah, speak truth; I declare that which is right.
20 Assemble yourselves and come; Gather yourselves together, ye that are escaped of the nations! They are without understanding, who carry about with them the wood of their graven image, And pray to a god that cannot save.
21 Proclaim ye, and bring them near, And let them take counsel together: Who hath made this known from ancient time? Who hath declared it of old? Is it not I, Jehovah, besides whom there is no God? A God that uttereth truth, and giveth salvation; there is none besides me.
22 Look to me, and be saved, all ye ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is none else.
23 By myself have I sworn, The truth hath gone from my mouth, The word, that shall not return, That to me every knee shall bow, That to me every tongue shall swear.
24 “Only in Jehovah,” shall men say, “Is salvation and strength; To him shall come and be put to shame, All that are incensed against him.”
25 Through Jehovah shall all the race of Israel be delivered, And in him shall they glory.
