1 Cyrus, Yahweh’s Anointed Thus says Yahweh to Cyrus His anointed,Whom I have taken hold of by his right hand,To subdue nations before himAnd 45:1 Lit I will open, cf. 45:1 b to loose the loins of kings,To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
2 “I will go before you and make the 45:2Or mountains rough places smooth;I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.
3 “I will give you the 45:3Or hoarded treasures treasures of darknessAnd hidden wealth of secret places,So that you may know that it is I,Yahweh, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.
4 “For the sake of Jacob My servant,And Israel My chosenone,I have also called you by your name;I have given you a title of honorThough you have not known Me.
5 “I am Yahweh, and there is no other;Besides Me there is no God.I will 45:5Or arm gird you, though you have not known Me,
6 That they may know from the rising to the setting of the sunThat there is no one besides Me.I am Yahweh, and there is no other,
7 The One forming light and creating darkness,Producing peace and creating calamity;I am Yahweh who does all these.Yahweh the Maker
8 ¶“Drip down, O heavens, from above,And let the skies pour down righteousness;Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit,And righteousness 45:8Or branch forth, cf.61:11 spring up with it.I, Yahweh, have created it.
9 ¶“Woe tothe onewho contends with his 45:9Lit Fashioner Maker—An earthenware vessel 45:9Lit with among the vessels of earth!Will the clay say to the 45:9Lit Fashioner potter, ‘What are you doing?’Or the thing you are makingsay, ‘He has no hands’?
10 “Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’Or to a woman, ‘Withwhat are you in labor pains?’ ”
11 Thus says Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, and his 45:11Lit Fashioner Maker:“ 45:11Or Will you ask...? Ask Me about the things that are to come 45:11Or upon concerning My sons,And you shall 45:11Lit command commit to Me the work of My hands.
12 “It is I who made the earth and created man upon it.I stretched out the heavens with My hands,And I commanded all their host.
13 “I have awakened him in righteousness,And I will make all his ways smooth;He will build My city and will let My exiles go,Without any payment or reward,” says Yahweh of hosts.
14 Thus says Yahweh,“The fruit of the labor of Egypt and the profit of 45:14Or Cush, cf. Gen 10:6 EthiopiaAnd the Sabeans, men of stature,Will come over to you and will be yours;They will walk behind you; they will come over in chainsAnd will bow down to you;They will make supplication to you:‘ 45:14Or God is with you alone Surely, God is 45:14Or in with you, and there is none else,No other God.’ ”
15 Truly, You are a God who hides Himself,O God of Israel, Savior!
16 They will be put to shame and even dishonored, all of them;The craftsmen of idols will go away together in dishonor.
17 Israel has been saved by YahwehWith an everlasting salvation;You will not be put to shame or dishonoredTo all eternity.
18 For thus says Yahweh, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it; He established itanddid not create it 45:18Or in vain a formless place,butformed it to be inhabited),“I am Yahweh, and there is none else.
19 “I have not spoken in secret,In 45:19Lit a place of a land of darkness some dark land;I did not say to the seed of Jacob,‘Seek Me in 45:19Or vain a formless place’;I, Yahweh, speak righteousness,Declaring things that are upright.
20 ¶“Gather yourselves and come;Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations;They do not know,Who carry about their graven image of woodAnd pray to a god who cannot save.
21 “Declare and draw nearwith your case;Indeed, let them consult together.Who has made this heard from of old?Who has long since declared it?Is it not I, Yahweh?And there is no other God besides Me,A righteous God and a Savior;There is none except Me.
22 “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;For I am God, and there is no other.
23 “I have sworn by Myself,The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousnessAnd will not turn back,That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swearallegiance.
24 “They will say of Me, ‘Only in Yahweh are righteousness and strength.’Men will come to Him,And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.
25 “In Yahweh all the seed of IsraelWill be justified and will boast.”