Isaiah 45

New American Standard Bible

God Uses Cyrus

45 This is what the Lord says to ^(A)Cyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken by the right ^(B)hand,
To ^(C)subdue nations before him
And ^[a]to ^(D)undo the weapons belt on the waist of kings;
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
²“I will go before you and ^(E)make the ^[b]rough places smooth;
I will ^(F)shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron ^(G)bars.
³I will give you the ^[c]^(H)treasures of darkness
And hidden wealth of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
The Lord, the God of Israel, who ^(I)calls you by your name.
⁴For the sake of ^(J)Jacob My servant,
And Israel My chosen one,
I have also ^(K)called you by your name;
I have given you a title of honor
Though you have ^(L)not known Me.
⁵I am the Lord, and ^(M)there is no one else;
^(N)There is no God except Me.
I will ^(O)^[d]arm you, though you have not known Me,
⁶So that ^(P)people may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is ^(Q)no one besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no one else,
⁷The One ^(R)forming light and ^(S)creating darkness,
Causing ^[e]well-being and ^(T)creating disaster;
I am the Lord who does all these things.

God’s Supreme Power

⁸“^(U)Drip down, heavens, from above,
And let the clouds pour down righteousness;
Let the ^(V)earth open up and salvation bear fruit,
^(W)And righteousness sprout with it.
I, the Lord, have created it.

⁹“Woe to the one who ^(X)quarrels with ^[f]his Maker—
A piece of pottery ^[g]among the other earthenware pottery pieces!
Will the ^(Y)clay say to the ^[h]potter, ‘What are you doing?’
Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?
¹⁰Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you fathering?’
Or to a woman, ‘To what are you ^[i]giving birth?’”

¹¹This is what the ^(Z)Lord says, the Holy One of Israel and ^[j]his ^(AA)Maker:

“^[k]^(AB)Ask Me about the things to come ^[l]concerning My ^(AC)sons,
And you shall commit to Me ^(AD)the work of My hands.
¹²It is I who ^(AE)made the earth, and created mankind upon it.
I ^(AF)stretched out the heavens with My hands,
And I ^[m]ordained ^(AG)all their ^[n]lights.
¹³I have stirred him in ^(AH)righteousness,
And I will ^(AI)make all his ways smooth.
He will ^(AJ)build My city and let My exiles go ^(AK)free,
Without any payment or reward,” says the Lord of armies.

¹⁴This is what the Lord says:

“The ^[o]products of ^(AL)Egypt and the merchandise of ^[p]^(AM)Cush
And the Sabeans, men of stature,
Will ^(AN)come over to you and will be yours;
They will walk behind you, they will come over in ^(AO)chains
And will ^(AP)bow down to you;
They will plead with you:
‘^[q]^(AQ)God certainly is ^[r]with you, and ^(AR)there is no one else,
No other God.’”
¹⁵Truly, You are a God who ^(AS)hides Himself,
God of Israel, ^(AT)Savior!
¹⁶They will be ^(AU)put to shame and even humiliated, all of them;
The ^(AV)manufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation.
¹⁷Israel has been saved by the Lord
With an ^(AW)everlasting salvation;
You ^(AX)will not be put to shame or humiliated
To all eternity.

¹⁸For this is what the Lord says, He who ^(AY)created the heavens (He is the God who ^(AZ)formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it ^[s]as a ^(BA)waste place, but formed it to be ^(BB)inhabited):

“I am the Lord, and ^(BC)there is no one else.
¹⁹^(BD)I have not spoken in secret,
In ^[t]some dark land;
I did not say to the ^[u]^(BE)offspring of Jacob,
‘^(BF)Seek Me in ^[v]a wasteland’;
I, the Lord, ^(BG)speak righteousness,
^(BH)Declaring things that are right.

²⁰“^(BI)Gather yourselves and come;
Come together, you survivors of the nations!
^(BJ)They have no knowledge,
Who ^(BK)carry around ^[w]their wooden idol
And ^(BL)pray to a god who cannot save.
²¹^(BM)Declare and present your case;
Indeed, let them consult together.
^(BN)Who has announced this long ago?
Who has long since declared it?
Is it not I, the Lord?
And there is ^(BO)no other God besides Me,
A righteous God and a ^(BP)Savior;
There is none except Me.
²²^(BQ)Turn to Me and ^(BR)be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.
²³^(BS)I have sworn by Myself;
The ^(BT)word has gone out from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me ^(BU)every knee will bow, every tongue will ^(BV)swear allegiance.
²⁴They will say of Me, ‘Only ^(BW)in the Lord are righteousness and strength.’
People will come to Him,
And ^(BX)all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.
²⁵In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
Will be ^(BY)justified and will ^(BZ)boast.”