Cyrus, Yahweh’s Anointed

1Thus says Yahweh to Cyrus His anointed,

Whom I have taken hold of by his right hand,

To subdue nations before him

And [†]to loose the loins of kings,

To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

2“I will go before you and make the [†]rough places smooth;

I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.

3I will give you the [†]treasures of darkness

And hidden wealth of secret places,

So that you may know that it is I,

Yahweh, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.

4For the sake of Jacob My servant,

And Israel My chosen one,

I have also called you by your name;

I have given you a title of honor

Though you have not known Me.

5I am Yahweh, and there is no other;

Besides Me there is no God.

I will [†]gird you, though you have not known Me,

6That they may know from the rising to the setting of the sun

That there is no one besides Me.

I am Yahweh, and there is no other,

7The One forming light and creating darkness,

Producing peace and creating calamity;

I am Yahweh who does all these.

Yahweh the Maker

8“Drip down, O heavens, from above,

And let the skies pour down righteousness;

Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit,

And righteousness [†]spring up with it.

I, Yahweh, have created it.

9“Woe to the one who contends with his [†]Maker—

An earthenware vessel [†]among the vessels of earth!

Will the clay say to the [†]potter, ‘What are you doing?’

Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?

10Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’

Or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor pains?’”

11Thus says Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, and his [†]Maker:

“[†]Ask Me about the things that are to come [†]concerning My sons,

And you shall [†]commit to Me the work of My hands.

12It is I who made the earth and created man upon it.

I stretched out the heavens with My hands,

And I commanded all their host.

13I have awakened him in righteousness,

And I will make all his ways smooth;

He will build My city and will let My exiles go,

Without any payment or reward,” says Yahweh of hosts.

14Thus says Yahweh,

“The fruit of the labor of Egypt and the profit of [†]Ethiopia

And the Sabeans, men of stature,

Will come over to you and will be yours;

They will walk behind you; they will come over in chains

And will bow down to you;

They will make supplication to you:

‘[†]Surely, God is [†]with you, and there is none else,

No other God.’”

15Truly, You are a God who hides Himself,

O God of Israel, Savior!

16They will be put to shame and even dishonored, all of them;

The craftsmen of idols will go away together in dishonor.

17Israel has been saved by Yahweh

With an everlasting salvation;

You will not be put to shame or dishonored

To all eternity.

18For thus says Yahweh, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it; He established it and did not create it [†]a formless place, but formed it to be inhabited),

“I am Yahweh, and there is none else.

19I have not spoken in secret,

In [†]some dark land;

I did not say to the seed of Jacob,

‘Seek Me in [†]a formless place’;

I, Yahweh, speak righteousness,

Declaring things that are upright.

20“Gather yourselves and come;

Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations;

They do not know,

Who carry about their graven image of wood

And pray to a god who cannot save.

21Declare and draw near with your case;

Indeed, let them consult together.

Who has made this heard from of old?

Who has long since declared it?

Is it not I, Yahweh?

And there is no other God besides Me,

A righteous God and a Savior;

There is none except Me.

22Turn 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 forth from My mouth in righteousness

And will not turn back,

That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.

24They will say of Me, ‘Only in Yahweh are righteousness and strength.’

Men will come to Him,

And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.

25In Yahweh all the seed of Israel

Will be justified and will boast.”