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.
Thus said YHWH, To His anointed, to Cyrus, Whose right hand I have laid hold on, To subdue nations before him, Indeed, I loose loins of kings, To open double doors before him, Indeed, gates are not 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 go before you, and make crooked places straight, I shatter doors of bronze, And I cut bars of iron apart,
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 have given to you treasures of darkness, Even treasures of secret places, So that you know that I, YHWH, Who am calling on your name—[am] 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.
For the sake of My servant Jacob, And of Israel My chosen, I also call you by your name, I surname you, And 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] YHWH, and there is none else, There is no God except Me, I gird you, and 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 they know from the rising of the sun, And from the west, that there is none besides Me, I [am] YHWH, and there is none else,
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.”
Forming light, and creating darkness, Making peace, and creating calamity, I [am] YHWH, doing 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.
Drop, you heavens, from above, And clouds cause righteousness to flow, Earth opens, and they are fruitful, Salvation and righteousness spring up together, I, YHWH, 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 is striving with his Former (A potsherd with potsherds of the ground!) Does clay say to its Framer, What [are] you doing? And your work, 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 is saying to a father, What do you beget? Or to a wife, What do you bring 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 said YHWH, The Holy One of Israel, and his Former: “Ask Me of the things coming concerning My sons, Indeed, concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.
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 made earth, and created man on it, My hands stretched out the heavens, And I have commanded 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 have stirred him up in righteousness, And I make all his ways straight, He builds My city, and sends out My captivity, Not for price, nor for bribe,” said YHWH 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.” '”
Thus said YHWH: “The labor of Egypt, And the merchandise of Cush, And of the Sebaim—men of measure, Pass over to you, and they are yours, They go after you, they pass over in chains, And they bow themselves to you, They pray to you: Surely God [is] in you, And there is none else, 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.
Surely You [are] a God hiding Yourself, God of Israel—Savior!
16 All those who make idols will be humiliated. They will all be disgraced together.
They have been ashamed, And they have even blushed—all of them, Those carving images have gone together in confusion.
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.
Israel has been saved in YHWH, A perpetual salvation! You are not ashamed nor confounded For all ages of eternity!
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 said YHWH, Creator of the heavens, He is God, Former of earth, and its Maker, He established it—He did not create it empty, For He formed it to be inhabited: “I [am] YHWH, and there is none else.
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, in a dark place of the earth, I have not said to the seed of Jacob, Seek Me in vain, I [am] YHWH, speaking righteousness, Declaring uprightness.
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!
Be gathered, and come in, Come near together, you escaped of the nations, They have not known, Who are lifting up the wood of their carved image, And praying to a god [that] does not 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].
Declare, and bring near, Indeed, they take counsel together, Who has proclaimed this from of old? [Who] has declared it from that time? Is it not I—YHWH? And there is no other god besides Me, A God righteous and saving, there is none except 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 none else.
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.
I have sworn by Myself, A word has gone out from My mouth in righteousness, And it does not return, That to Me, every knee bows, every tongue swears.
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 YHWH, one has said, Do I have righteousness and strength, He comes to Him, And all those displeased with Him are ashamed.
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 YHWH are all the seed of Israel justified, And they boast themselves.”
