Isaiah 45

ENGWEBEnglish25 verses

1Yahweh says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him, and strip kings of their armor; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut:

2“I will go before you, and make the rough places smooth. I will break the doors of brass in pieces, and cut apart the bars of iron.

3I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that it is I, Yahweh, who call you by your name, even the God of Israel.

4For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called you by your name. I have given you a title, though you have not known me.

5I am Yahweh, and there is no one else. Besides me, there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not known me;

6that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is no one besides me. I am Yahweh, and there is no one else.

7I form the light, and create darkness. I make peace, and create calamity. I am Yahweh, who does all these things.

8Rain, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open, that it may produce salvation, and let it cause righteousness to spring up with it. I, Yahweh, have created it.

9Woe to him who strives with his Maker— a clay pot among the clay pots of the earth! Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, ‘What are you making?’ or your work, ‘He has no hands?’

10Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What have you become the father of?’ or to a mother, ‘To what have you given birth?’”

11Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker says: “You ask me about the things that are to come, concerning my sons, and you command me concerning the work of my hands!

12I have made the earth, and created man on it. I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens; and I have commanded all their army.

13I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make straight all his ways. He shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward,” says Yahweh of Armies.

14Yahweh says: “The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you, and they shall be yours. They will go after you. They shall come over in chains; and they will bow down to you. They will make supplication to you: ‘Surely God is in you; and there is no one else. There is no other god.

15Most certainly you are a God who hidden yourself, God of Israel, the Savior.’”

16They will be disappointed, yes, confounded, all of them. Those who are makers of idols will go into confusion together.

17Israel will be saved by Yahweh with an everlasting salvation. You will not be disappointed nor confounded to ages everlasting.

18For Yahweh who created the heavens, the God who formed the earth and made it, who established it and didn’t create it a waste, who formed it to be inhabited says: “I am Yahweh; and there is no other.

19I have not spoken in secret, in a place of the land of darkness. I didn’t say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I, Yahweh, speak righteousness. I declare things that are right.

20“Assemble yourselves and come. Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations. Those have no knowledge who carry the wood of their engraved image, and pray to a god that can’t save.

21Declare and present it. Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has shown this from ancient time? Who has declared it of old? Haven’t I, Yahweh? There is no other God besides me, a just God and a Savior; There is no one besides me.

22“Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.

23I have sworn by myself. The word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and will not be revoked, that to me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath.

24They will say of me, ‘There is righteousness and strength only in Yahweh.’” Even to him shall men come; and all those who raged against him shall be disappointed.

25All the offspring of Israel will be justified in Yahweh, and will rejoice!

Commentary

45:1-4 Cyrus is called God's anointed; he was designed and qualified for his great service by the counsel of God. The gates of Babylon which led to the river, were left open the night that Cyrus marched his army into the empty channel. The Lord went before him, giving entrance to the cities he besieged. He gave him also treasures, which had been hidden in secret places. The true God was to Cyrus an unknown God; yet God foreknew him; he called him by his name. The exact fulfilment of this must have shown Cyrus that Jehovah was the only true God, and that it was for the sake of Israel that he was prospered. In all the changes of states and kingdoms, God works out the good of his church.

45:1 His anointed - His king, whom God has designed, and separated, and fitted, in all respects, for this work. Loose - I will take away their girdle, which was about their loins; their power and authority, whereof that was an ensign. Gates - The great and magnificent gates of their cities and palaces, which shall be opened to him as conqueror.

CHAPTER 45Isa 45:1-25. The Subject of the Deliverance by Cyrus Is Followed Up.Isa 45:1-7. These seven verses should have been appended to previous chapter, and the new chapter should begin with Isa 45:8, "Drop down," &c. [Horsley]. Reference to the deliverance by Messiah often breaks out from amidst the local and temporary details of the deliverance from Babylon, as the great ultimate end of the prophecy.1. his anointed—Cyrus is so called as being set apart as king, by God's providence, to fulfil His special purpose. Though kings were not anointed in Persia, the expression is applied to him in reference to the Jewish custom of setting apart kings to the regal office by anointing.right hand … holden—image from sustaining a feeble person by holding his right hand (Isa 42:6).subdue nations—namely, the Cilicians, Syrians, Babylonians, Lydians, Bactrians, &c. his empire extended from Egypt and the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, and from Ethiopia to the Euxine Sea.loose … girdle loins—that is, the girdle off the loins; and so enfeeble them. The loose outer robe of the Orientals, when girt fast round the loins, was the emblem of strength and preparedness for action; ungirt, was indicative of feebleness (Job 38:3; 12:21); "weakeneth the strength of the mighty" (Margin), "looseth the girdle of the strong." The joints of (Belshazzar's) loins, we read in Da 5:6, were loosed during the siege by Cyrus, at the sight of the mysterious handwriting on the palace walls. His being taken by surprise, unaccoutred, is here foretold.to open … gates—In the revelry in Babylon on the night of its capture, the inner gates, leading from the streets to the river, were left open; for there were walls along each side of the Euphrates with gates, which, had they been kept shut, would have hemmed the invading hosts in the bed of the river, where the Babylonians could have easily destroyed them. Also, the gates of the palace were left open, so that there was access to every part of the city; and such was its extent, that they who lived in the extremities were taken prisoners before the alarm reached the center of the palace. [Herodotus, 1.191].

"\nThus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,.... Cyrus is called the Lord's anointed, not because he was anointed with material oil, as the kings of Israel and Judah were; but because he was appointed by the Lord to be a king, and was qualified by him for that office; and was raised up by him to be an instrument of doing great things in the world, and particularly of delivering the Jews from their captivity, and restoring them to their own land:\n\nwhose right hand I have holden; whom he raised up, supported, strengthened, guided, and directed to do what he did:\n\nto subdue nations before him; which was accordingly done. Xenophon {y} relates, that he subdued the Syrians, Assyrians, Arabians, Cappadocians, both the countries of Phrygia, the Lydians, Carians, Phoenicians, and Babylonians; also the Bactrians, Indians, Cilicians, the Sacae, Paphlagonians, and Megadinians; likewise the Greeks that inhabit Asia, Cyprians and Egyptians. Herodotus {z} says, that he ruled over all Asia: all which the Lord subdued under him; for it was he that did it rather than Cyrus; it was he that clothed him with strength and courage, gave him skill in military affairs, and success and victory:\n\nI will loose the loins of kings; as Croesus king of Lydia, and Belshazzar king of Babylon, by divesting them of their dignity, power, and government; and particularly this was true of the latter, when, by the handwriting on the wall, he was thrown into a panic; "and the joints of his loins were loosed", Da 5:6, "to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut"; the gates of cities and palaces wherever he came, which were opened to receive him as their conqueror and sovereign; this was very remarkably true of the gates of the palace of the king of Babylon, when the army of Cyrus by a stratagem had got into the city, and were come up to the king's palace, they found the gates shut; but a clamour and noise being made, the king ordered to see what was the matter; the gates being opened for that purpose, the soldiers of Cyrus rushed in to the king, and slew him {a}; but, what is more remarkable, the gates of brass, which shut up the descents from the keys to the river, were left open that night Babylon was taken, while the inhabitants were feasting and revelling; which, had they been shut {b}, would have defeated the enterprise of Cyrus; but God in his providence ordered it to be so.\n\n{y} Cyropaedia, l. 1. p. 2. {z} Clio, sive l. 1. c. 130. {a} Cyropaedia, l. 7. c. 22, 23. {b} Herodot. l. 1. c. 191.\n\n\n\n "

"\nI will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight,.... Or, "level the hilly places" {c}; as pioneers do.

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Translations8 · 5

AMHEVG እግዚአብሔር ለቀባሁት፥ አሕዛብንም በፊቱ አስገዛ ዘንድ የነገሥታትንም ወገብ እፈታ ዘንድ፥ በሮቹም እንዳይዘጉ መዝጊያዎቹን በፊቱ እከፍት ዘንድ፥ ቀኝ እጁን ለያዝሁት ለቂሮስ እንዲህ ይላል፦ አማርኛ ENGNIV “This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and… English BCV እግዚኣብሄር ንዝቐባእኹዎ፥ ህዝብታት ኣብ ቅድሚኡ ኸግዝአሉ፥ ሕቘ ነገስታት ከፍትሕ፥ ደገታቱ ኸይዕፀዉ፥ መዓፁኡ ኣብ ቅድሚኡ ንኽኸፍት፥ የማነይቲ ኢዱ ንዝሓዝኩዎ ብዛዕባ ቂሮስ እግዚኣብሄር ከ… ትግርኛ GAZBIB Waaqayyo, inni Qiirosin moosise, “Qiiros saba lafa irraa harka isaa jala akka galfatuuf, moototas mi'a waraanaa akka hi… Afaan Oromoo BCV GIZ ከመዝ ይቤ እግዚአብሔር አምላክ ለመሢሕየ ቂሮስ ዘአኀዝክዎ በእዴየ ከመ ኣግርሮመ ለአሕዛብ በቅድሜሁ፤ ወእነፅኅ ኀይለ ነገሥት ወኣርኁ አናቅጸ በቅድሜሁ ወኢይትዐጽዋ አህጉር፦ giz GAZGAZ Waaqayyo, inni Qiirosin moosise, “Qiiros saba lafa irraa harka isaa jala akka galfatuuf, moototas mi'a waraanaa akka hi… Afaan Oromoo BCV aksum እግዚኣብሄር ንዝቐባእኹዎ፥ ህዝብታት ኣብ ቅድሚኡ ኸግዝአሉ፥ ሕቘ ነገስታት ከፍትሕ፥ ደገታቱ ኸይዕፀዉ፥ መዓፁኡ ኣብ ቅድሚኡ ንኽኸፍት፥ የማነይቲ ኢዱ ንዝሓዝኩዎ ብዛዕባ ቂሮስ እግዚኣብሄር ከ… ትግርኛ AMHNIV “ለቀባሁት፣ ቀኝ እጁን ለያዝሁት፣ ነገሥታትን ትጥቅ አስፈታ ዘንድ፣ ሕዝብን ሁሉ ላስገዛለት፣ ደጆች እንዳይዘጉ፣ በሮቹን በፊቱ ለምከፍትለት፣ ለቂሮስ እግዚአብሔር እንዲህ ይላል፤ አማርኛ