Isaiah 45

English Standard Version Anglicised

45 Thus says the Lord to ^(A)his anointed, to Cyrus,
    ^(B)whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
    and ^(C)to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
    that gates may not be closed:
² “I will go before you
    and ^(D)level the exalted places,^[a]
(E)I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
    and cut through the bars of iron,
^3 (F)I will give you the treasures of darkness
    and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
    the God of Israel, ^(G)who call you by your name.
⁴ For the sake of my servant Jacob,
    and Israel my chosen,
^(H)I call you by your name,
    ^(I)I name you, though you do not know me.
^5 (J)I am the Lord, and there is no other,
    besides me there is no God;
    ^(K)I equip you, though you do not know me,
^6 (L)that people may know, from the rising of the sun
    and from the west, that there is none besides me;
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.
⁷ I form light and create darkness,
    I make well-being and ^(M)create calamity,
    I am the Lord, who does all these things.
^8 (N)“Shower, O heavens, from above,
    and ^(O)let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
    let the earth cause them both to sprout;
    I the Lord have created it.
^9 (P)“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
    a pot among earthen pots!
^(Q)Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
    or ‘Your work has no handles’?
¹⁰ Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
    or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labour?’”
¹¹ Thus says ^(R)the Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
^(S)“Ask me of things to come;
    will you command me ^(T)concerning my children and ^(U)the work of my hands?^[b]
12 (V)I made the earth
    and created man on it;
it was my hands ^(W)that stretched out the heavens,
    and ^(X)I commanded all their host.
^13 (Y)I have stirred him up in righteousness,
    ^(Z)and I will make all his ways level;
^(AA)he shall build my city
    ^(AB)and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
    says the Lord of hosts.

¹⁴ Thus says the Lord:
^(AC)“The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,
    and the Sabeans, men of stature,
shall come over to you ^(AD)and be yours;
    they shall follow you;
    they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
They will plead with you, saying:
    ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,
    no god besides him.’”
^15 (AE)Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
    O God of Israel, the Saviour.
^16 (AF)All of them are put to shame and confounded;
    the makers of idols go in confusion together.
¹⁷ But Israel is saved by the Lord
    with everlasting salvation;
^(AG)you shall not be put to shame or confounded
    to all eternity.
^18 (AH)For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
    (he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
    (he established it;
he ^(AI)did not create it empty,
    ^(AJ)he formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
^19 (AK)I did not speak in secret,
    in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
    ^(AL)‘Seek me in vain.’^[c]
I the Lord speak ^(AM)the truth;
    I declare what is right.
^20 (AN)“Assemble yourselves and come;
    draw near together,
    you survivors of the nations!
^(AO)They have no knowledge
    who ^(AP)carry about their wooden idols,
^(AQ)and keep on praying to a god
    that cannot save.
^21 (AR)Declare and present your case;
    let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
    Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
    And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God ^(AS)and a Saviour;
    there is none besides me.
²² “Turn to me and be saved,
    ^(AT)all the ends of the earth!
    For I am God, and there is no other.
^23 (AU)By myself I have sworn;
    from my mouth has gone out in ^(AV)righteousness
    a word that shall not return:
^(AW)‘To me every knee shall bow,
    every tongue shall swear allegiance.’^[d]
24 (AX)“Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
    are righteousness and ^(AY)strength;
to him shall come and be ashamed
    ^(AZ)all who were incensed against him.
²⁵ In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
    shall be justified and shall glory.”