English Standard Version

New Living Translation

Cyrus, God’s Instrument

Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:

1

Cyrus, the LORD’s Chosen One

This is what the LORD says to Cyrus, his anointed one,
whose right hand he will empower.
Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear.
Their fortress gates will be opened,
never to shut again.

2

“I will go before you
and level the exalted places,a
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,

2

This is what the LORD says:
“I will go before you, Cyrus,
and level the mountains.a
I will smash down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.

3

I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.

3

And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness —
secret riches.
I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD,
the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.

4

For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I name you, though you do not know me.

4

“And why have I called you for this work?
Why did I call you by name when you did not know me?
It is for the sake of Jacob my servant,
Israel my chosen one.

5

I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,

5

I am the LORD;
there is no other God.
I have equipped you for battle,
though you don’t even know me,

6

that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.

6

so all the world from east to west
will know there is no other God.
I am the LORD, and there is no other.

7

I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.

7

I create the light and make the darkness.
I send good times and bad times.
I, the LORD, am the one who does these things.

8

“Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the Lord have created it.

8

“Open up, O heavens,
and pour out your righteousness.
Let the earth open wide
so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together.
I, the LORD, created them.

9

“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
a pot among earthen pots!
Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
or ‘Your work has no handles’?

9

“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator.
Does a clay pot argue with its maker?
Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying,
‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’
Does the pot exclaim,
‘How clumsy can you be?’

10

Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”

10

How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father,
‘Why was I born?’
or if it said to its mother,
‘Why did you make me this way?’”

11

Thus says the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
“Ask me of things to come;
will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?b

11

This is what the LORD says —
the Holy One of Israel and your Creator:
“Do you question what I do for my children?
Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?

12

I made the earth
and created man on it;
it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host.

12

I am the one who made the earth
and created people to live on it.
With my hands I stretched out the heavens.
All the stars are at my command.

13

I have stirred him up in righteousness,
and I will make all his ways level;
he shall build my city
and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
says the Lord of hosts.

13

I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose,
and I will guide his actions.
He will restore my city and free my captive people —
without seeking a reward!
I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”

14

The Lord, the Only Savior

Thus says the Lord:
“The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,
and the Sabeans, men of stature,
shall come over to you and be yours;
they shall follow you;
they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
They will plead with you, saying:
‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,
no god besides him.’”

14

Future Conversion of Gentiles

This is what the LORD says:
“You will rule the Egyptians,
the Ethiopians,b and the Sabeans.
They will come to you with all their merchandise,
and it will all be yours.
They will follow you as prisoners in chains.
They will fall to their knees in front of you and say,
‘God is with you, and he is the only God.
There is no other.’”

15

Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.

15

Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior,
you work in mysterious ways.

16

All of them are put to shame and confounded;
the makers of idols go in confusion together.

16

All craftsmen who make idols will be humiliated.
They will all be disgraced together.

17

But Israel is saved by the Lord
with everlasting salvation;
you shall not be put to shame or confounded
to all eternity.

17

But the LORD will save the people of Israel
with eternal salvation.
Throughout everlasting ages,
they will never again be humiliated and disgraced.

18

For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he did not create it empty,
he formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.

18

For the LORD is God,
and he created the heavens and earth
and put everything in place.
He made the world to be lived in,
not to be a place of empty chaos.
“I am the LORD,” he says,
“and there is no other.

19

I did not speak in secret,
in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
‘Seek me in vain.’c
I the Lord speak the truth;
I declare what is right.

19

I publicly proclaim bold promises.
I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.
I would not have told the people of Israelc to seek me
if I could not be found.
I, the LORD, speak only what is true
and declare only what is right.

20

“Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations!
They have no knowledge
who carry about their wooden idols,
and keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.

20

“Gather together and come,
you fugitives from surrounding nations.
What fools they are who carry around their wooden idols
and pray to gods that cannot save!

21

Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none besides me.

21

Consult together, argue your case.
Get together and decide what to say.
Who made these things known so long ago?
What idol ever told you they would happen?
Was it not I, the LORD?
For there is no other God but me,
a righteous God and Savior.
There is none but me.

22

“Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.

22

Let all the world look to me for salvation!
For I am God; there is no other.

23

By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.’d

23

I have sworn by my own name;
I have spoken the truth,
and I will never go back on my word:
Every knee will bend to me,
and every tongue will declare allegiance to me.d”

24

“Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and strength;
to him shall come and be ashamed
all who were incensed against him.

24

The people will declare,
“The LORD is the source of all my righteousness and strength.”
And all who were angry with him
will come to him and be ashamed.

25

In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
shall be justified and shall glory.”

25

In the LORD all the generations of Israel will be justified,
and in him they will boast.

Parallel

English Standard Version

New Living Translation

Isaiah 45

Isaiah 45