# Chapter 45
1. The Lord says this to Cyrus, his anointed,
whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him
and disarm kings,
to open doors before him,
and even city gates will not be shut:

2. "I will go before you
and level the uneven places;
I will shatter the bronze doors
and cut the iron bars in two.

3. I will give you the treasures of darkness
and riches from secret places,
so that you may know that 
I am the Lord.
I am the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.

4. I call you by your name,
for the sake of my servant Jacob
and 
Israel my chosen one.
I give a name to you,
though you do not know me.

5. 

I am the Lord, and there is no other;
there is no God but me.
I will strengthen you,
though you do not know me,

6. so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
that there is no one but me.


I am the Lord, and there is no other.

7. I form light and create darkness,
I make success and create disaster;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.

8. "Heavens, sprinkle from above,
and let the skies shower righteousness.

Let the earth open up
so that salvation will sprout
and righteousness will spring up with it.


I, the Lord, have created it.

9. "Woe to the one who argues with his Maker--
one clay pot among many.
Does clay say to the one forming it,
'What are you making?'
Or does your work say,
'He has no hands'?

10. Woe to the one who says to his father,
'What are you fathering?'
or to his mother,
'What are you giving birth to?'"

11. This is what the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel and its Maker, says:
"Ask me what is to happen to my sons,
and instruct me about the work of my hands.

12. I made the earth,
and created humans on it.
It was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded everything in them.

13. I have stirred him up in righteousness,
and will level all roads for him.
He will rebuild my city,
and set my exiles free,
not for a price or a bribe,"
says the Lord of Armies.

God Alone Is the Savior


14. This is what the Lord says:
"The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush
and the Sabeans, men of stature,
will come over to you
and will be yours;
they will follow you,
they will come over in chains
and bow down to you.
They will confess to you,
'God is indeed with you, and there is no other;
there is no other God.'"

15. Yes, you are a God who hides,
God of Israel, Savior.

16. All of them are put to shame, even humiliated;
the makers of idols go in humiliation together.

17. Israel will be saved by the Lord
with an everlasting salvation;
you will not be put to shame or humiliated
for all eternity.

18. For this is what the Lord says--
the Creator of the heavens,
the God who formed the earth and made it,
the one who established it
(he did not create it to be a wasteland,
but formed it to be inhabited)--
he says, "
I am the Lord,
and there is no other.

19. I have not spoken in secret,
somewhere in a land of darkness.
I did not say to the descendants of Jacob:
Seek me in a wasteland.


I am the Lord, who speaks righteously,
who declares what is right.

20. "Come, gather together,
and approach, you fugitives of the nations.

Those who carry their wooden idols
and pray to a god who cannot save
have no knowledge.

21. Speak up and present your case--
yes, let them consult each other.
Who predicted this long ago?
Who announced it from ancient times?
Was it not 
I, the Lord?
There is no other God but me,
a righteous God and Savior;
there is no one 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. By myself I have sworn;
truth has gone from my mouth,
a word that will not be revoked:
Every knee will bow to me,
every tongue will swear allegiance.

24. It will be said about me, 'Righteousness and strength
are found only in the Lord.'"
All who are enraged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.

25. All the descendants of Israel
will be justified and boast in the Lord.




