Isaiah 45:18-46:13

Amplified Bible

¹⁸For the Lord, who created the heavens ^[a](He is God, who formed the earth and made it; He established it and did not create it to be a wasteland, but formed it to be inhabited) says this,

“I am the Lord, and there is no one else.
¹⁹
“I have not spoken in secret,
In a corner of a land of darkness;
I did not say to the descendants of Jacob,
‘Seek Me in vain [with no benefit for yourselves].’
I, the Lord, speak righteousness [the truth—trustworthy, a straightforward correlation between deeds and words],
Declaring things that are upright.^(A)

²⁰
“Assemble yourselves and come;
Come together, you survivors of the nations!
They are ignorant,
Who carry around their wooden idols [in religious processions or into battle]
And keep on praying to a god that cannot save them.
²¹
“Declare and present your defense of idols;
Indeed, let them consult together.
Who announced this [rise of Cyrus and his conquests] long before it happened?
Who declared it long ago?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other God besides Me,
A [consistently and uncompromisingly] just and righteous God and a Savior;
There is none except Me.
²²
“Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.
²³
“I have sworn [an oath] by Myself,
The word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness
And shall not return,
That to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear [allegiance].^(B)
²⁴
“It shall be said of Me, ‘Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength.’
To Him people will come,
And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.^(C)
²⁵
“In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
Will be justified (declared free of guilt) and will glory [in God].”

Babylon’s Idols and the True God

46 Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;
Their idols are on the beasts [of burden] and on the cattle.
Your burdens [of idols] are loaded [on them],
Burdens on the weary animals.
²
They stooped over, they have bowed down together;
They could not rescue the burden [of their own idols],
But have themselves gone into captivity.

³
“Listen to Me,” [says the Lord], “O house of Jacob,
And all the remnant of the house of Israel,
You who have been carried by Me from your birth
And have been carried [in My arms] from the womb,
⁴
Even to your old age I am He,
And even to your advanced old age I will carry you!
I have made you, and I will carry you;
Be assured I will carry you and I will save you.

⁵
“To whom would you liken Me
And make Me equal and compare Me,
That we may be alike?^(D)
⁶
“Those who lavish gold from the bag
And weigh out silver on the scales
Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
They bow down, indeed they worship it.
⁷
“They lift it on their shoulders [in religious processions or into battle] and carry it;
They set it in its place and there it remains standing.
It cannot move from its place.
Even if one cries to it [for help], the idol cannot answer;
It cannot save him from his distress.

⁸
“Remember this, and take courage;
Take it to heart, you rebellious and disloyal people.
⁹
“Remember [carefully] the former things [which I did] from ages past;
For I am God, and there is no one else;
I am God, and there is no one like Me,
¹⁰
Declaring the end and the result from the beginning,
And from ancient times the things which have not [yet] been done,
Saying, ‘My purpose will be established,
And I will do all that pleases Me and fulfills My purpose,’
¹¹
Calling a bird of prey from the east,
From a far country, the man (Cyrus) of My purpose.
Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.
I have planned it, be assured I will do it.

¹²
“Listen to Me, you stiff-necked people,
You who are far from righteousness (right standing with God).
¹³
“I bring near My righteousness [in the salvation of Israel], it is not far away;
And My salvation will not delay.
And I will grant salvation in Zion,
And My glory for Israel.

Footnotes

Isaiah 45:18 Longer parenthetical passages such as this one are in the Hebrew text, and should not be confused with the general use of parentheses as a way to define or modify the previous word or group of words.