Cyrus, God’s Instrument
1“Thus says the Lord to His anointed,
To Cyrus, whose right hand I have 45:1 strengthened or sustainedheld—
To subdue nations before him
And loose the armor of kings,
To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut:
2‘I will go before you
And45:2 Tg. I will trample down the walls; Vg. I will humble the great ones of the earth make the 45:2 DSS, LXX mountainscrooked places straight;
I will break in pieces the gates of bronze
And cut the bars of iron.
3I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
That you may know that I, the Lord,
Who call you by your name,
Am the God of Israel.
4For Jacob My servant’s sake,
And Israel My elect,
I have even called you by your name;
I have named you, though you have not known Me.
There is no God besides Me.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
6That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
That there is none besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
7I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the Lord, do all these things.’
8“Rain 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 his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?
10Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’
Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?’ ”
11Thus says the Lord,
The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:
“Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons;
And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.
12I have made the earth,
And created man on it.
I—My hands—stretched out the heavens,
And all their host I have commanded.
13I have raised him up in righteousness,
And I will 45:13 Or make all his ways straightdirect all his ways;
He shall build My city
And let My exiles go free,
Not for price nor reward,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
The Lord, the Only Savior
14Thus says the Lord:
“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 in chains;
And they shall bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying, ‘Surely God is in you,
And there is no other;
There is no other God.’ ”
15Truly You are God, who hide Yourself,
O God of Israel, the Savior!
16They shall be ashamed
And also disgraced, all of them;
They shall go in confusion together,
Who are makers of idols.
With an everlasting salvation;
You shall not be ashamed or disgraced
Forever and ever.
18For thus says the Lord,
Who created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it 45:18 Or empty, a wastein vain,
Who formed it to be inhabited:
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19I have not spoken in secret,
In a dark place of the earth;
I did not say to the seed of Jacob,
‘Seek Me 45:19 Or in a waste placein vain’;
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.
They have no knowledge,
Who carry the wood of their carved image,
And pray to a god that cannot save.
21Tell and bring forth your case;
Yes, let them take counsel together.
Who has declared this from ancient time?
Who has told it from that time?
Have not I, the Lord?
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,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23I have sworn by Myself;
The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness,
And shall not return,
That to Me every knee shall bow,
Every tongue shall take an oath.
24He shall say,
45:24 Or Only in the Lord are all righteousness and strength‘Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength.
To Him men shall come,
And all shall be ashamed
Who are incensed against Him.
25In the Lord all the descendants of Israel
Shall be justified, and shall glory.’ ”
New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
