CHAPTER 45
This is what
the LORD
says
to Cyrus
His anointed,
whose right hand
I have grasped
to subdue
nations
before him,
to disarm
kings,
to open
the doors
before him,
so that the gates
will not
be shut:
“I
will go
before you
and level
the mountains;
I will break down
the gates
of bronze
and cut through
the bars
of iron.
I will give
you the treasures
of darkness
and the hidden riches
of secret places,
so that
you may know
that
I am
the LORD,
the God
of Israel,
who calls
you by name.
For the sake
of Jacob
My servant
and Israel
My chosen one,
I call
you by name;
I have given you a title of honor,
though you have not
known Me.
I
am the LORD,
and there is no
other;
there is no
God
but Me.
I will equip you for battle,
though you have not
known Me,
so that
all may know,
from the rising
of the sun
to the place of its setting,
that
there is none
but Me.
I
am the LORD,
and there is no
other.
I form
light
and create
darkness;
I bring
prosperity
and create
calamity.
I,
the LORD,
do
all
these things.
Drip down,
O heavens,
from above,
and let the skies
pour down
righteousness.
Let the earth
open up
that salvation
may sprout
and righteousness
spring up
with it;
I,
the LORD,
have created it.
Woe
to him who quarrels
with his Maker—
one clay pot
among many.
Does the clay
ask
the potter,
‘What
are you making?’
Does your work say,
‘He has no
hands’?
Woe
to him who says
to his father,
‘What
have you begotten?’
or to his mother,
‘What
have you brought forth?’
Thus
says
the LORD,
the Holy
One of Israel,
and its Maker:
“How dare you
question Me
concerning
My sons,
or instruct
Me about
the work
of My hands?
It is I
who made
the earth,
and created
man
upon it.
It was My hands
that stretched out
the heavens,
and I ordained
all
their host.
I
will raise up Cyrus
in righteousness,
and I will make
all
his ways straight.
He
will rebuild
My city
and set My exiles
free,
but not
for payment
or
reward,”
says
the LORD
of Hosts.
This is what
the LORD
says:
“The products
of Egypt
and the merchandise
of Cush,
along with the Sabeans,
men
of stature,
will come over
to you
and will be yours;
they will trudge behind
you;
they will come over
in chains
and bow down
to you.
They will confess
to you:
'God
is indeed with you,
and there is no
other;
there is no
other God.'"
They will all
be put to shame
and
humiliated;
the makers
of idols
will go away
together
in disgrace.
But Israel
will be saved
by the LORD
with an everlasting
salvation;
you will not
be put to shame
or humiliated,
to
ages
everlasting.
For
thus
says
the LORD—
He who created
the heavens;
He
is God;
He formed
the earth
and fashioned it;
He
established it;
He did not
create
it to be empty,
but formed
it to be inhabited—
“I
am the LORD,
and there is no
other.
I have not
spoken
in secret,
from a place
in a land
of darkness.
I did not
say
to the descendants
of Jacob:
‘Seek
Me in a wasteland.’
I,
the LORD,
speak
the truth;
I say
what is right.
Come,
gather together,
and draw near,
you fugitives
of the nations.
Ignorant are
those who carry
idols
of wood
and pray
to
a god
that cannot
save.
Speak up
and present your case—
yes,
let them take counsel
together.
Who
foretold
this
long ago?
Who announced it
from ancient times?
Was it not
I,
the LORD?
There is no
other
God
but Me,
a righteous
God
and Savior;
there is none
but Me.
By Myself I have sworn;
truth
has gone out
from My mouth,
a word
that will not
be revoked:
Every
knee
will bow
before Me,
every
tongue
will confess allegiance.
Surely
they will say of Me,
‘In the LORD
alone
are righteousness
and strength.’”
All
who rage against Him
will come
to Him
and be put to shame.