Isa 45-47 | ESV | STEP | 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 Thus says the Lord to ^ahis anointed, to Cyrus,
^bwhose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and ^cto loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
2 “I will go before you
and ^dlevel the exalted places, ^{▼▼Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint level the mountains}
^fI will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3 ^gI 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, ^hwho call you by your name.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
ⁱI call you by your name,
^jI name you, though you do not know me.
5 ^kI am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
^lI equip you, though you do not know me,
6 ^mthat 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.
7 I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and ⁿcreate calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8 ^o“Shower, O heavens, from above,
and ^plet 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.
9 ^q“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
a pot among earthen pots!
^rDoes the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
or ‘Your work has no handles’?
10 Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”
11 Thus says ^sthe Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
^t“Ask me of things to come;
will you command me ^uconcerning my children and ^vthe work of my hands? ^{▼▼A slight emendation yields will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands?}
12 ^xI made the earth
and created man on it;
it was my hands ^ythat stretched out the heavens,
and ^zI commanded all their host.
13 ^aaI have stirred him up in righteousness,
^aband I will make all his ways level;
^ache shall build my city
^adand set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
says the Lord of hosts.

The Lord, the Only Savior

14 Thus says the Lord:
^ae“The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,
and the Sabeans, men of stature,
shall come over to you ^afand 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.’”
15 ^agTruly, you are a God who hides himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 ^ahAll of them are put to shame and confounded;
the makers of idols go in confusion together.
17 But Israel is saved by the Lord
with everlasting salvation;
^aiyou shall not be put to shame or confounded
to all eternity.
18 ^ajFor thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he ^akdid not create it empty,
^alhe formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 ^amI did not speak in secret,
in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
^an‘Seek me in vain.’ ^{▼▼Hebrew in emptiness}
I the Lord speak ^apthe truth;
I declare what is right.
20 ^aq“Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations!
^arThey have no knowledge
who ^ascarry about their wooden idols,
^atand keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.
21 ^auDeclare 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 ^avand a Savior;
there is none besides me.
22 “Turn to me and be saved,
^awall the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 ^axBy myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in ^ayrighteousness
a word that shall not return:
^az‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.’ ^{▼▼Septuagint every tongue shall confess to God}
24 ^bb“Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and ^bcstrength;
to him shall come and be ashamed
^bdall who were incensed against him.
25 In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
shall be justified and shall glory.”

Isaiah 46

The Idols of Babylon and the One True God

1 ^beBel bows down; Nebo stoops;
their idols are on beasts and livestock;
these things you carry are borne
as burdens on weary beasts.
2 They stoop; they bow down together;
they cannot save the burden,
but ^bfthemselves go into captivity.
3 “Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
^bgwho have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
4 ^bheven to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
5 ^bi“To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike?
6 ^bjThose who lavish gold from the purse,
and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
^bkthen they fall down and worship!
7 ^blThey lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,
they set it in its place, and it stands there;
^bmit cannot move from its place.
If one cries to it, it does not answer
or save him from his trouble.
8 “Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, ^bnyou transgressors,
9 remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
10 ^bodeclaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ^bp‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
11 ^bqcalling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
^brI have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.
12 “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,
you who are far from righteousness:
13 ^bsI bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
and my salvation will not delay;
^btI will put salvation in Zion,
for Israel my glory.”

Isaiah 47

The Humiliation of Babylon

1 ^buCome down and sit in the dust,
O virgin ^bvdaughter of Babylon;
^bwsit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of ^bxthe Chaldeans!
^byFor you shall no more be called
tender and delicate.
2 Take the millstones and ^bzgrind flour,
^caput off your veil,
strip off your robe, uncover your legs,
pass through the rivers.
3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
and your disgrace shall be seen.
I will take vengeance,
and I will spare no one.
4 ^cbOur Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name—
is the Holy One of Israel.
5 ^ccSit in silence, and go into darkness,
O daughter of ^cdthe Chaldeans;
for you shall no more be called
^cethe mistress of kingdoms.
6 ^cfI was angry with my people;
I profaned my heritage;
I gave them into your hand;
^cgyou showed them no mercy;
on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.
7 You said, “I shall be ^chmistress forever,”
so that you did not lay these things to heart
or remember their end.
8 Now therefore hear this, ^ciyou lover of pleasures,
^cjwho sit securely,
who say in your heart,
^ck“I am, and there is no one besides me;
^clI shall not sit as a widow
or know the loss of children”:
9 ^cmThese two things shall come to you
in a moment, ^cnin one day;
the loss of children and widowhood
shall come upon you in full measure,
^coin spite of your many sorceries
and the great power of your enchantments.
10 You felt secure in your wickedness;
you said, “No one sees me”;
your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray,
and you said in your heart,
^cp“I am, and there is no one besides me.”
11 But evil shall come upon you,
which you will not know how to charm away;
disaster shall fall upon you,
for which you will not be able to atone;
^cqand ruin shall come upon you suddenly,
of which you know nothing.
12 ^crStand fast in your enchantments
and your many sorceries,
with which you have labored from your youth;
perhaps you may be able to succeed;
perhaps you may inspire terror.
13 You are wearied with your many counsels;
let them stand forth and save you,
^csthose who divide the heavens,
who gaze at the stars,
who at the new moons make known
what shall come upon you.
14 Behold, ^ctthey are like stubble;
^cuthe fire consumes them;
they cannot deliver themselves
from the power of the flame.
No coal for warming oneself is this,
no fire to sit before!
15 Such to you are those with whom you have labored,
who have done business with you from your youth;
they wander about, each in his own direction;
there is no one to save you.