Isaiah 45-47

New King James Version

⁸ “Rain^(P) down, you heavens, from above,
And let the skies pour down righteousness;
Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation,
And let righteousness spring up together.
I, the Lord, have created it.

⁹ “Woe to him who strives with ^(Q)his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
^(R)Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?
¹⁰ Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’
Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?’ ”

¹¹ Thus says the Lord,
The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:
^(S)“Ask Me of things to come concerning ^(T)My sons;
And concerning ^(U)the work of My hands, you command Me.
^12 (V)I have made the earth,
And ^(W)created man on it.
I—My hands—stretched out the heavens,
And ^(X)all their host I have commanded.
^13 (Y)I have raised him up in righteousness,
And I will ^[d]direct all his ways;
He shall ^(Z)build My city
And let My exiles go free,
^(AA)Not for price nor reward,”
Says the Lord of hosts.

^(AB)“The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush
And of the Sabeans, men of stature,
Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours;
They shall walk behind you,
They shall come over ^(AC)in chains;
And they shall bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying, ^(AD)‘Surely God is in you,
And there is no other;
^(AE)There is no other God.’ ”

¹⁵ Truly You are God, ^(AF)who hide Yourself,
O God of Israel, the Savior!
¹⁶ They shall be ^(AG)ashamed
And also disgraced, all of them;
They shall go in confusion together,
Who are makers of idols.
^17 (AH)But Israel shall be saved by the Lord
With an ^(AI)everlasting salvation;
You shall not be ashamed or ^(AJ)disgraced
Forever and ever.

¹⁸ For thus says the Lord,
^(AK)Who created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it ^[e]in vain,
Who formed it to be ^(AL)inhabited:
^(AM)“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
¹⁹ I have not spoken in ^(AN)secret,
In a dark place of the earth;
I did not say to the seed of Jacob,
‘Seek Me ^[f]in vain’;
^(AO)I, the Lord, speak righteousness,
I declare things that are right.

²⁰ “Assemble yourselves and come;
Draw near together,
You who have escaped from the nations.
^(AP)They have no knowledge,
Who carry the wood of their carved image,
And pray to a god that cannot save.
²¹ Tell and bring forth your case;
Yes, let them take counsel together.
^(AQ)Who has declared this from ancient time?
Who has told it from that time?
Have not I, the Lord?
^(AR)And there is no other God besides Me,
A just God and a Savior;
There is none besides Me.

²² “Look to Me, and be saved,
^(AS)All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
^23 (AT)I have sworn by Myself;
The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness,
And shall not return,
That to Me every ^(AU)knee shall bow,
^(AV)Every tongue shall take an oath.
²⁴ He shall say,
^[g]‘Surely in the Lord I have ^(AW)righteousness and strength.
To Him men shall come,
And ^(AX)all shall be ashamed
Who are incensed against Him.
^25 (AY)In the Lord all the descendants of Israel
Shall be justified, and ^(AZ)shall glory.’ ”

³ “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob,
And all the remnant of the house of Israel,
^(BD)Who have been upheld by Me from ^[h]birth,
Who have been carried from the womb:
⁴ Even to your old age, ^(BE)I am He,
And even to gray hairs ^(BF)I will carry you!
I have made, and I will bear;
Even I will carry, and will deliver you.

⁵ “To^(BG) whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal
And compare Me, that we should be alike?
^6 (BH)They lavish gold out of the bag,
And weigh silver on the scales;
They hire a ^(BI)goldsmith, and he makes it a god;
They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship.
^7 (BJ)They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it
And set it in its place, and it stands;
From its place it shall not move.
Though ^(BK)one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer
Nor save him out of his trouble.

⁸ “Remember this, and ^[i]show yourselves men;
^(BL)Recall to mind, O you transgressors.
^9 (BM)Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and ^(BN)there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
^10 (BO)Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ^(BP)‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
¹¹ Calling a bird of prey ^(BQ)from the east,
The man ^(BR)who executes My counsel, from a far country.
Indeed ^(BS)I have spoken it;
I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it;
I will also do it.

¹² “Listen to Me, you ^(BT)stubborn-hearted,
^(BU)Who are far from righteousness:
^13 (BV)I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off;
My salvation ^(BW)shall not ^[j]linger.
And I will place ^(BX)salvation in Zion,
For Israel My glory.

⁴ As for ^(CE)our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name,
The Holy One of Israel.

⁵ “Sit in ^(CF)silence, and go into darkness,
O daughter of the Chaldeans;
^(CG)For you shall no longer be called
The Lady of Kingdoms.
^6 (CH)I was angry with My people;
^(CI)I have profaned My inheritance,
And given them into your hand.
You showed them no mercy;
^(CJ)On the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily.
⁷ And you said, ‘I shall be ^(CK)a lady forever,’
So that you did not ^(CL)take these things to heart,
^(CM)Nor remember the latter end of them.

⁸ “Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures,
Who dwell securely,
Who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me;
I shall not sit as a widow,
Nor shall I know the loss of children’;
⁹ But these two things shall come to you
^(CN)In a moment, in one day:
The loss of children, and widowhood.
They shall come upon you in their fullness
Because of the multitude of your sorceries,
For the great abundance of your enchantments.

¹⁰ “For you have trusted in your wickedness;
You have said, ‘No one ^(CO)sees me’;
Your wisdom and your knowledge have ^[l]warped you;
And you have said in your heart,
‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’
¹¹ Therefore evil shall come upon you;
You shall not know from where it arises.
And trouble shall fall upon you;
You will not be able ^[m]to put it off.
And ^(CP)desolation shall come upon you ^(CQ)suddenly,
Which you shall not know.

¹² “Stand now with your enchantments
And the multitude of your sorceries,
In which you have labored from your youth—
Perhaps you will be able to profit,
Perhaps you will prevail.
^13 (CR)You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels;
Let now ^(CS)the^[n] astrologers, the stargazers,
And ^[o]the monthly prognosticators
Stand up and save you
From what shall come upon you.
¹⁴ Behold, they shall be ^(CT)as stubble,
The fire shall ^(CU)burn them;
They shall not deliver themselves
From the power of the flame;
It shall not be a coal to be warmed by,
Nor a fire to sit before!
¹⁵ Thus shall they be to you
With whom you have labored,
^(CV)Your merchants from your youth;
They shall wander each one to his ^[p]quarter.
No one shall save you.