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.
The Lord says to the man of his selection, to Cyrus, whom I have taken by the right hand, putting down nations before him, and taking away the arms of kings; making the doors open before him, so that the ways into the towns may 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 make the rough places level: the doors of brass will be broken, and the iron rods cut in two:
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.
And I will give you the stores of the dark, and the wealth of secret places, so that you may be certain that I am the Lord, who gave you your name, even the God of Israel.
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.
Because of Jacob my servant, and Israel whom I have taken for myself, I have sent for you by name, giving you a name of honour, though you had no knowledge of 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 make you ready for war, though you had no knowledge of 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 they may see from the east and from the west that there is no God 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 am the giver of light and the maker of the dark; causing blessing, and sending troubles; I am the Lord, who does 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.
Let righteousness come down, O heavens, from on high, and let the sky send it down like rain: let the earth be open to give the fruit of salvation, causing righteousness to come up with it; I the Lord have made it come about.
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!’
Cursed is he who has an argument with his Maker, the pot which has an argument with the Potter! Will the wet earth say to him who is working with it, What are you doing, that your work has nothing by which it may be gripped?
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?’”
Cursed is he who says to a father, To what are you giving life? or to a woman, What are you in birth-pains with?
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]
The Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, says, Will you put a question to me about the things which are to come, or will you give me orders about my sons, and 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.
I have made the earth, forming man on it: by my hands the heavens have been stretched out, and all the stars put in their ordered places.
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 have sent him out to overcome the nations, and I will make all his ways straight: I will give him the work of building my town, and he will let my prisoners go free, without price or reward, says the Lord of armies.
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.” '”
The Lord says, The workmen of Egypt, and the traders of Ethiopia, and the tall Sabaeans, will come over the sea to you, and they will be yours; they will go after you; in chains they will come over: and they will go down on their faces before you, and will make prayer to you, saying, Truly, God is among you; and 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 have a secret God, the God of Israel is a Saviour!
16 All those who make idols will be humiliated. They will all be disgraced together.
All those who have gone against him will be put to shame; the makers of images will be made low.
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 the Lord will make Israel free with an eternal salvation: you will not be put to shame or made low for ever and ever.
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 this is the word of the Lord who made the heavens; he is God; the maker and designer of the earth; who made it not to be a waste, but as a living-place for man: 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 given my word in secret, in a place in the underworld; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, Go into a waste land to make request of me: I the Lord say what is true, my word is righteousness.
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 together, even come near, you nations who are still living: they have no knowledge who take up their image of wood, and make prayer to a god in whom is no salvation.
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].
Give the word, put forward your cause, let us have a discussion together: who has given news of this in the past? who made it clear in early times? did not I, the Lord? and there is no God but me; a true God and a saviour; there is no other.
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.
Let your hearts be turned to me, so that you may have salvation, 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 have I taken an oath, a true word has gone from my mouth, and will not be changed, that to me every knee will be bent, and every tongue will give honour.
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].
Only in the Lord will Jacob overcome and be strong: together all those who were angry with him will be put to shame and come to destruction.
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 will all the seed of Israel get their rights, and they will give glory to him.
