Isa 45 | NASB2020 | STEP | This is what the Lord says to Cyrus His anointed , Whom I have taken by the right hand , To subdue nations before him And to undo the weapons belt on the waist of kings ; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut :

Isaiah 45

God Uses Cyrus

1 This is what the Lord says to ^aCyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken by the right ^bhand,
To ^csubdue nations before him
And ^{▼▼Lit I will loose}to ^eundo the weapons belt on the waist of kings;
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
2 “I will go before you and ^fmake the ^{▼▼Another reading is mountains}rough places smooth;
I will ^hshatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron ⁱbars.
3 “I will give you the ^{▼▼Or hoarded treasures
,} ^ktreasures of darkness
And hidden wealth of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
The Lord, the God of Israel, who ^lcalls you by your name.
4 “For the sake of ^mJacob My servant,
And Israel My chosen one,
I have also ⁿcalled you by your name;
I have given you a title of honor
Though you have ^onot known Me.
5 “I am the Lord, and ^pthere is no one else;
^qThere is no God except Me.
I will ^{▼▼Or embrace
,} ^sarm you, though you have not known Me,
6 So that ^tpeople may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is ^uno one besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no one else,
7 The One ^vforming light and ^wcreating darkness,
Causing ^{▼▼Or peace}well-being and ^ycreating disaster;
I am the Lord who does all these things.

God’s Supreme Power

8 “ ^zDrip down, heavens, from above,
And let the clouds pour down righteousness;
Let the ^aaearth open up and salvation bear fruit,
^abAnd righteousness sprout with it.
I, the Lord, have created it.

9 “Woe to the one who ^acquarrels with ^{▼▼Lit He who formed him}his Maker--
A piece of pottery ^{▼▼Lit with}among the other earthenware pottery pieces!
Will the ^afclay say to the ^{▼▼Lit he who formed him}potter, ‘What are you doing?’
Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?
10 “Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you fathering?’
Or to a woman, ‘To what are you ^{▼▼Lit in labor pains with}giving birth?’”
11 This is what the ^aiLord says, the Holy One of Israel and ^{▼▼Lit He who formed him}his ^akMaker:

“ ^{▼▼Or Will you ask
,} ^amAsk Me about the things to come ^{▼▼Or upon}concerning My ^aosons,
And you shall commit to Me ^apthe work of My hands.
12 “It is I who ^aqmade the earth, and created mankind upon it.
I ^arstretched out the heavens with My hands,
And I ^{▼▼Or commanded}ordained ^atall their ^{▼▼Lit host; i.e., sun, stars, etc.}lights.
13 “I have stirred him in ^avrighteousness,
And I will ^awmake all his ways smooth.
He will ^axbuild My city and let My exiles go ^ayfree,
Without any payment or reward,” says the Lord of armies.
14 This is what the Lord says:

“The ^{▼▼Lit labor}products of ^baEgypt and the merchandise of ^{▼▼Or Ethiopia
,} ^bcCush
And the Sabeans, men of stature,
Will ^bdcome over to you and will be yours;
They will walk behind you, they will come over in ^bechains
And will ^bfbow down to you;
They will plead with you:
‘ ^{▼▼Or God is with you alone
,} ^bhGod certainly is ^{▼▼Or in}with you, and ^bjthere is no one else,
No other God.’”
15 Truly, You are a God who ^bkhides Himself,
God of Israel, ^blSavior!
16 They will be ^bmput to shame and even humiliated, all of them;
The ^bnmanufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation.
17 Israel has been saved by the Lord
With an ^boeverlasting salvation;
You ^bpwill not be put to shame or humiliated
To all eternity.
18 For this is what the Lord says, He who ^bqcreated the heavens (He is the God who ^brformed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it ^{▼▼LXX in vain}as a ^btwaste place, but formed it to be ^buinhabited):

“I am the Lord, and ^bvthere is no one else.
19 “ ^bwI have not spoken in secret,
In ^{▼▼Lit a place of a land of darkness}some dark land;
I did not say to the ^{▼▼Lit seed
,} ^bzoffspring of Jacob,
‘ ^caSeek Me in ^{▼▼Or vain}a wasteland’;
I, the Lord, ^ccspeak righteousness,
^cdDeclaring things that are right.

20 “ ^ceGather yourselves and come;
Come together, you survivors of the nations!
^cfThey have no knowledge,
Who ^cgcarry around ^{▼▼Lit the wood of their carved image}their wooden idol
And ^cipray to a god who cannot save.
21 “ ^cjDeclare and present your case;
Indeed, let them consult together.
^ckWho has announced this long ago?
Who has long since declared it?
Is it not I, the Lord?
And there is ^clno other God besides Me,
A righteous God and a ^cmSavior;
There is none except Me.
22 “ ^cnTurn to Me and ^cobe saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 “ ^cpI have sworn by Myself;
The ^cqword has gone out from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me ^crevery knee will bow, every tongue will ^csswear allegiance.
24 “They will say of Me, ‘Only ^ctin the Lord are righteousness and strength.’
People will come to Him,
And ^cuall who were angry at Him will be put to shame.
25 “In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
Will be ^cvjustified and will ^cwboast.”