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 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 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 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 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 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 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, I have called thee by thy name; I have spoken to thee as a friend, though thou hast 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 Jehovah, and none else; There is no God besides me; I have girded thee, though thou hast 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].
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 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 darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I, Jehovah, 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.
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 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 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 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 that saith to his father, Why dost thou beget? Or to his mother, Why dost thou 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 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 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 the earth, And created man upon it; My hands spread out the heavens, And all their host did I arrange.
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 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 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 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 God, although we cannot see you, you are the one to whom [we] Israeli people belong, the one who saves us.
Truly thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the saviour!
16 All those who make idols will be humiliated. They will all be disgraced together.
They shall all be ashamed and confounded, They shall go to confusion together, That are makers of idols.
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 shall be saved by Jehovah with an everlasting salvation; Ye shall never be ashamed, nor confounded.
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 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 [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 race of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain! I, Jehovah, speak truth; I declare that which 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!
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 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].
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 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.
Look to me, and be saved, all ye 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.
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 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 Jehovah,” shall men say, “Is salvation and strength; To him shall come and be put to shame, All that are incensed against him.”
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].
Through Jehovah shall all the race of Israel be delivered, And in him shall they glory.
