God Chooses Cyrus to Free Israel
45 This is what the Lord says to Cyrus [44:28], his ·appointed king [anointed one; messiah]:
“I hold your right hand
and will help you ·defeat [subdue] nations
and ·take away other kings’ power [or remove kings’ armor; L open the loins of kings].
I will open doors for you
so city gates will not ·stop you [be shut].
2 I will go before you
and ·make the mountains flat [level mountains; 40:4].
I will ·break down [shatter; smash] the bronze gates of the cities
and cut through their iron bars.
3 I will give you the ·wealth that is stored away [L treasures of darkness]
and the ·hidden riches [hoards in secret places]
so you will know I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
4 I do these things for ·my servants, the people of Jacob [L the sake of Jacob my servant],
and for ·my chosen people, the Israelites [Israel, my chosen].
·Cyrus, I call [L I call] you by name,
and I give you a title of honor even though you don’t know me.
5 I am the Lord. There is no other God;
I am the only God.
I will ·make you strong [or arm you for battle; L gird you],
even though you don’t know me,
6 so that everyone will know
there is ·no other God [none besides me].
From the ·east [rising of the sun] to ·the west [its setting] they will know
I alone am the Lord.
7 I make the light
and create the darkness.
I bring ·peace [prosperity; wholeness; C Hebrew shalom], and I ·cause [create] ·troubles [disaster; calamity].
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8 “·Sky [Heavens] above, make ·victory [or righteousness] fall like rain;
clouds, pour down ·victory [or righteousness].
Let the earth ·receive it [open up],
and let salvation grow,
and let ·victory [or righteousness] grow with it.
I, the Lord, have created it.
9 “·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] those who argue with ·the God who made them [their Maker].
·They are like a piece of broken pottery [L A potsherd] among ·many pieces [L potsherds of the earth].
·The clay does not [L Does the clay…?] ask the potter [64:8; Rom. 9:20],
‘What are you doing?’
The thing that is made doesn’t say to its maker,
‘You have no ·hands [or skill].’
10 ·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] the child who says to his father,
‘·Why are you giving me life [or What have you fathered]?’
·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] the child who says to his mother,
‘·Why are you giving birth to me [or What have you given birth to]?’”
11 This is what the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel [1:4], and its Maker, says:
“You ask me about what will happen.
·You [or Do you…?; or How dare you…!] question me about my children.
·You [or Do you…?; or How dare you…!] give me orders about ·what I have made [the work of my hands].
12 I made the earth
and all the people living on it.
With my own hands I stretched out the ·skies [heavens],
and I commanded all ·the armies in the sky [or the stars in the sky; T their host].
13 I will ·bring [raise/stir up] ·Cyrus [L him; 44:28] ·to do good things [or for my righteous purpose; in my righteousness],
and I will make his ·work easy [ways/paths straight].
He will rebuild my city
and set my ·people [L exiles] free
without any payment or ·reward [gift; or bribe].
The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says this.”
14 The Lord says,
“The ·goods made in [L labor of] Egypt and the ·products [merchandise; or revenue] of ·Cush [Ethiopia]
and the tall people of Seba [43:3]
will ·come to [or be brought to] you
and will become yours.
·The Sabeans [L They] will walk behind you,
coming along in chains [C Israel is depicted as a great empire, receiving tribute from other nations].
They will bow down before you
and pray to you [C because they recognize Israel as God’s representative], saying,
‘God is with you,
and there is no other God.’”
15 God and Savior of Israel,
·you are [or how, then, can you be…?] a God ·that people cannot see [L who hides himself].
16 All the people who make idols will be put to great shame;
they will go off together in ·disgrace [humiliation; or confusion].
17 But Israel will be saved by the Lord,
and that salvation will continue forever.
Never again will Israel be ·put to shame [shamed; disgraced].
18 The Lord created the heavens.
He is the God who formed the earth and made it.
He did not ·want [create] it to be ·empty [or formless; chaotic; Gen. 1:2],
but he ·wanted life on the earth [L formed it to be inhabited].
This is what the Lord says:
“I am the Lord. There is no other God.
19 I did not speak in secret
or hide my words in some dark place.
I did not tell the ·family [descendants; offspring; seed] of Jacob
to ·look for me in empty places [or seek me in vain].
I am the Lord, and I speak the truth;
I say what is right.
20 “You ·people who have escaped [fugitives; refugees] from other nations,
gather together and come before me;
come near together.
People who carry idols of wood ·don’t know what they are doing [know nothing; or are fools].
They pray to a god who cannot save them.
21 ·Tell these people to come to me [or Declare and bring your case].
Let them ·talk about these things [take counsel] together.
Who told you long ago that this would happen?
Who told about it long ago?
I, the Lord, said these things.
There is no other God besides me.
I am the only good God. I am the Savior.
There is no other God.
22 “All ·people everywhere [the ends of the earth],
·follow [turn] and be saved.
I am God. There is no other God.
23 I ·will make a promise by my own power [L have sworn by myself],
and ·my promise is true [L a righteous/right/true word goes out of my mouth];
what I say will not ·be changed [be revoked; L return].
·I promise that everyone will bow before me [L For to me every knee will bow]
and ·will promise to follow me [L every tongue will swear; C allegiance; Rom. 14:11; Phil. 2:10].
24 People will say about me, ‘·Goodness [Righteousness; or Deliverance] and ·power [strength]
come only from the Lord.’”
Everyone who has been angry with him
will come to him and be ashamed.
25 But with the Lord’s help, the ·people [descendants; offspring; seed] of Israel
will be ·found to be good [justified; vindicated; or victorious],
and they will ·praise [boast/glory in] him.