Isaiah 45
1 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.
This is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates will not be shut:
2 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.
“I will go before you and level the mountains; I will break down the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.
3 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.
I will give you the treasures of darkness and the riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
4 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.
For the sake of Jacob My servant and Israel My chosen one, I call you by name; I have given you a title of honor, though you have not known Me.
5 I am Yahweh, and there is no other God [DOU]. Even though you do not know me, I will give you power
I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me,
6 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].
so that all may know, from where the sun rises to where it sets, that there is none but Me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
7 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.”
I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.
8 [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.
Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open up that salvation may sprout and righteousness spring up with it; I, the LORD, have created it.
9 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!’
Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker— one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?
10 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?’”
Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought forth?’”
11 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]
Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: “How dare you question Me about My sons, or instruct Me in the work of My hands?
12 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.
It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. It was My hands that stretched out the heavens, and I ordained all their host.
13 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.
I will raise up Cyrus in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild My city and set My exiles free, but not for payment or reward, says the LORD of Hosts.”
14 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.” '”
This is what the LORD says: “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, along with the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge behind you; they will come over in chains and bow down to you. They will confess to you: ‘God is indeed with you, and there is no other; there is no other God.’”
15 God, although we cannot see you, you are the one to whom [we] Israeli people belong, the one who saves us.
Truly You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 All those who make idols will be humiliated. They will all be disgraced together.
They will all be put to shame and humiliated; the makers of idols will depart together in disgrace.
17 But you, Yahweh, will rescue [us, your] Israeli people, and we will be free forever. Never again will we again be humiliated and disgraced.
But Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will not be put to shame or humiliated, to ages everlasting.
18 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].
For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens—He is God; He formed the earth and fashioned it; He established it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.
19 [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.
I have not spoken in secret, from a place in a land of darkness. I did not say to the descendants of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in a wasteland.’ I, the LORD, speak the truth; I say what is right.
20 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!
Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.
21 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].
Speak up and present your case— yes, let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, the LORD? There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but Me.
22 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.
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
23 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.
By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance.
24 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].
Surely they will say of Me, ‘In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’” All who rage against Him will come to Him and be put to shame.
25 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].
In the LORD all descendants of Israel will be justified and will exult.
