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.
| כה אמר יהוה למשיחו לכורש אשר החזקתי בימינו לרד לפניו גוים ומתני מלכים אפתח--לפתח לפניו דלתים ושערים לא יסגרו |
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.
| אני לפניך אלך והדורים אושר (אישר) דלתות נחושה אשבר ובריחי ברזל אגדע |
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.
| ונתתי לך אוצרות חשך ומטמני מסתרים למען תדע כי אני יהוה הקורא בשמך--אלהי ישראל |
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.
| למען עבדי יעקב וישראל בחירי ואקרא לך בשמך אכנך ולא ידעתני |
5 I am Yahweh, and there is no other God [DOU]. Even though you do not know me, I will give you power
| אני יהוה ואין עוד זולתי אין אלהים אאזרך ולא ידעתני |
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].
| למען ידעו ממזרח שמש וממערבה כי אפס בלעדי אני יהוה ואין עוד |
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.”
| יוצר אור ובורא חשך עשה שלום ובורא רע אני יהוה עשה כל אלה |
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.
| הרעיפו שמים ממעל ושחקים יזלו צדק תפתח ארץ ויפרו ישע וצדקה תצמיח יחד--אני יהוה בראתיו |
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!’
| הוי רב את יצרו--חרש את חרשי אדמה היאמר חמר ליצרו מה תעשה ופעלך אין ידים לו |
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?’”
| הוי אמר לאב מה תוליד ולאשה מה תחילין |
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]
| כה אמר יהוה קדוש ישראל ויצרו האתיות שאלוני על בני ועל פעל ידי תצוני |
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.
| אנכי עשיתי ארץ ואדם עליה בראתי אני ידי נטו שמים וכל צבאם צויתי |
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.
| אנכי העירתהו בצדק וכל דרכיו אישר הוא יבנה עירי וגלותי ישלח--לא במחיר ולא בשחד אמר יהוה צבאות |
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.” '”
| כה אמר יהוה יגיע מצרים וסחר כוש וסבאים אנשי מדה עליך יעברו ולך יהיו אחריך ילכו בזקים יעברו ואליך ישתחוו אליך יתפללו אך בך אל ואין עוד אפס אלהים |
15 God, although we cannot see you, you are the one to whom [we] Israeli people belong, the one who saves us.
| אכן אתה אל מסתתר--אלהי ישראל מושיע |
16 All those who make idols will be humiliated. They will all be disgraced together.
| בושו וגם נכלמו כלם יחדו הלכו בכלמה חרשי צירים |
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.
| ישראל נושע ביהוה תשועת עולמים לא תבשו ולא תכלמו עד עולמי עד |
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].
| כי כה אמר יהוה בורא השמים הוא האלהים יצר הארץ ועשה הוא כוננה--לא תהו בראה לשבת יצרה אני יהוה ואין עוד |
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.
| לא בסתר דברתי במקום ארץ חשך--לא אמרתי לזרע יעקב תהו בקשוני אני יהוה דבר צדק מגיד מישרים |
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!
| הקבצו ובאו התנגשו יחדו פליטי הגוים לא ידעו הנשאים את עץ פסלם ומתפללים אל אל לא יושיע |
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].
| הגידו והגישו אף יועצו יחדו מי השמיע זאת מקדם מאז הגידה הלוא אני יהוה ואין עוד אלהים מבלעדי--אל צדיק ומושיע אין זולתי |
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.
| פנו אלי והושעו כל אפסי ארץ כי אני אל ואין עוד |
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.
| בי נשבעתי--יצא מפי צדקה דבר ולא ישוב כי לי תכרע כל ברך תשבע כל לשון |
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].
| אך ביהוה לי אמר צדקות ועז עדיו יבוא ויבשו כל הנחרים בו |
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].
| ביהוה יצדקו ויתהללו כל זרע ישראל |
