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Isaiah 45-46
New King James Version
Isaiah 45-46
New King James Version
Cyrus, God’s Instrument
45 “Thus says the Lord to His anointed,
To (A)Cyrus, whose (B)right hand I have [a]held—
(C)To subdue nations before him
And (D)loose the armor of kings,
To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut:
2 ‘I will go before you
(E)And[b] make the [c]crooked places straight;
(F)I will break in pieces the gates of bronze
And cut the bars of iron.
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
(G)That you may know that I, the Lord,
Who (H)call you by your name,
Am the God of Israel.
4 For (I)Jacob My servant’s sake,
And Israel My elect,
I have even called you by your name;
I have named you, though you have not known Me.
5 I (J)am the Lord, and (K)there is no other;
There is no God besides Me.
(L)I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
6 (M)That they may (N)know from the rising of the sun to its setting
That there is none besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and (O)create calamity;
I, the Lord, do all these things.’
8 “Rain(P) down, you heavens, from above,
And let the skies pour down righteousness;
Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation,
And let righteousness spring up together.
I, the Lord, have created it.
9 “Woe to him who strives with (Q)his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
(R)Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?
10 Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’
Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?’ ”
11 Thus says the Lord,
The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:
(S)“Ask Me of things to come concerning (T)My sons;
And concerning (U)the work of My hands, you command Me.
12 (V)I have made the earth,
And (W)created man on it.
I—My hands—stretched out the heavens,
And (X)all their host I have commanded.
13 (Y)I have raised him up in righteousness,
And I will [d]direct all his ways;
He shall (Z)build My city
And let My exiles go free,
(AA)Not for price nor reward,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
The Lord, the Only Savior
14 Thus says the Lord:
(AB)“The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush
And of the Sabeans, men of stature,
Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours;
They shall walk behind you,
They shall come over (AC)in chains;
And they shall bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying, (AD)‘Surely God is in you,
And there is no other;
(AE)There is no other God.’ ”
15 Truly You are God, (AF)who hide Yourself,
O God of Israel, the Savior!
16 They shall be (AG)ashamed
And also disgraced, all of them;
They shall go in confusion together,
Who are makers of idols.
17 (AH)But Israel shall be saved by the Lord
With an (AI)everlasting salvation;
You shall not be ashamed or (AJ)disgraced
Forever and ever.
18 For thus says the Lord,
(AK)Who created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it [e]in vain,
Who formed it to be (AL)inhabited:
(AM)“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in (AN)secret,
In a dark place of the earth;
I did not say to the seed of Jacob,
‘Seek Me [f]in vain’;
(AO)I, the Lord, speak righteousness,
I declare things that are right.
20 “Assemble yourselves and come;
Draw near together,
You who have escaped from the nations.
(AP)They have no knowledge,
Who carry the wood of their carved image,
And pray to a god that cannot save.
21 Tell and bring forth your case;
Yes, let them take counsel together.
(AQ)Who has declared this from ancient time?
Who has told it from that time?
Have not I, the Lord?
(AR)And there is no other God besides Me,
A just God and a Savior;
There is none besides Me.
22 “Look to Me, and be saved,
(AS)All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 (AT)I have sworn by Myself;
The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness,
And shall not return,
That to Me every (AU)knee shall bow,
(AV)Every tongue shall take an oath.
24 He shall say,
[g]‘Surely in the Lord I have (AW)righteousness and strength.
To Him men shall come,
And (AX)all shall be ashamed
Who are incensed against Him.
25 (AY)In the Lord all the descendants of Israel
Shall be justified, and (AZ)shall glory.’ ”
Dead Idols and the Living God
46 Bel (BA)bows down, Nebo stoops;
Their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle.
Your carriages were heavily loaded,
(BB)A burden to the weary beast.
2 They stoop, they bow down together;
They could not deliver the burden,
(BC)But have themselves gone into captivity.
3 “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob,
And all the remnant of the house of Israel,
(BD)Who have been upheld by Me from [h]birth,
Who have been carried from the womb:
4 Even to your old age, (BE)I am He,
And even to gray hairs (BF)I will carry you!
I have made, and I will bear;
Even I will carry, and will deliver you.
5 “To(BG) whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal
And compare Me, that we should be alike?
6 (BH)They lavish gold out of the bag,
And weigh silver on the scales;
They hire a (BI)goldsmith, and he makes it a god;
They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship.
7 (BJ)They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it
And set it in its place, and it stands;
From its place it shall not move.
Though (BK)one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer
Nor save him out of his trouble.
8 “Remember this, and [i]show yourselves men;
(BL)Recall to mind, O you transgressors.
9 (BM)Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and (BN)there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
10 (BO)Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, (BP)‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
11 Calling a bird of prey (BQ)from the east,
The man (BR)who executes My counsel, from a far country.
Indeed (BS)I have spoken it;
I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it;
I will also do it.
12 “Listen to Me, you (BT)stubborn-hearted,
(BU)Who are far from righteousness:
13 (BV)I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off;
My salvation (BW)shall not [j]linger.
And I will place (BX)salvation in Zion,
For Israel My glory.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 45:1 strengthened or sustained
- Isaiah 45:2 Tg. I will trample down the walls; Vg. I will humble the great ones of the earth
- Isaiah 45:2 DSS, LXX mountains
- Isaiah 45:13 Or make all his ways straight
- Isaiah 45:18 Or empty, a waste
- Isaiah 45:19 Or in a waste place
- Isaiah 45:24 Or Only in the Lord are all righteousness and strength
- Isaiah 46:3 Lit. the belly
- Isaiah 46:8 be men, take courage
- Isaiah 46:13 delay
Isaiah 45-46
New International Version
Isaiah 45-46
New International Version
45 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,(A)
to Cyrus,(B) whose right hand I take hold(C) of
to subdue nations(D) before him
and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut:
2 I will go before you(E)
and will level(F) the mountains[a];
I will break down gates(G) of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.(H)
3 I will give you hidden treasures,(I)
riches stored in secret places,(J)
so that you may know(K) that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.(L)
4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,(M)
of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge(N) me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;(O)
apart from me there is no God.(P)
I will strengthen you,(Q)
though you have not acknowledged me,
6 so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting(R)
people may know(S) there is none besides me.(T)
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form the light and create darkness,(U)
I bring prosperity and create disaster;(V)
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8 “You heavens above, rain(W) down my righteousness;(X)
let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
let salvation(Y) spring up,
let righteousness flourish with it;
I, the Lord, have created it.
9 “Woe to those who quarrel(Z) with their Maker,(AA)
those who are nothing but potsherds(AB)
among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,(AC)
‘What are you making?’(AD)
Does your work say,
‘The potter has no hands’?(AE)
10 Woe to the one who says to a father,
‘What have you begotten?’
or to a mother,
‘What have you brought to birth?’
11 “This is what the Lord says—
the Holy One(AF) of Israel, and its Maker:(AG)
Concerning things to come,
do you question me about my children,
or give me orders about the work of my hands?(AH)
12 It is I who made the earth(AI)
and created mankind on it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;(AJ)
I marshaled their starry hosts.(AK)
13 I will raise up Cyrus[b](AL) in my righteousness:
I will make all his ways straight.(AM)
He will rebuild my city(AN)
and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,(AO)
says the Lord Almighty.”
14 This is what the Lord says:
“The products(AP) of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,[c]
and those tall Sabeans(AQ)—
they will come over to you(AR)
and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,(AS)
coming over to you in chains.(AT)
They will bow down before you
and plead(AU) with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you,(AV) and there is no other;
there is no other god.(AW)’”
15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding(AX) himself,
the God and Savior(AY) of Israel.
16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;(AZ)
they will go off into disgrace together.
17 But Israel will be saved(BA) by the Lord
with an everlasting salvation;(BB)
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,(BC)
to ages everlasting.
18 For this is what the Lord says—
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,(BD)
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,(BE)
but formed it to be inhabited(BF)—
he says:
“I am the Lord,
and there is no other.(BG)
19 I have not spoken in secret,(BH)
from somewhere in a land of darkness;(BI)
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,(BJ)
‘Seek(BK) me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
I declare what is right.(BL)
20 “Gather together(BM) and come;
assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant(BN) are those who carry(BO) about idols of wood,
who pray to gods that cannot save.(BP)
21 Declare what is to be, present it—
let them take counsel together.
Who foretold(BQ) this long ago,
who declared it from the distant past?(BR)
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no God apart from me,(BS)
a righteous God(BT) and a Savior;(BU)
there is none but me.
22 “Turn(BV) to me and be saved,(BW)
all you ends of the earth;(BX)
for I am God, and there is no other.(BY)
23 By myself I have sworn,(BZ)
my mouth has uttered in all integrity(CA)
a word that will not be revoked:(CB)
Before me every knee will bow;(CC)
by me every tongue will swear.(CD)
24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
are deliverance(CE) and strength.(CF)’”
All who have raged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.(CG)
25 But all the descendants(CH) of Israel
will find deliverance(CI) in the Lord
and will make their boast in him.(CJ)
Gods of Babylon
46 Bel(CK) bows down, Nebo stoops low;
their idols(CL) are borne by beasts of burden.[d]
The images that are carried(CM) about are burdensome,
a burden for the weary.
2 They stoop and bow down together;
unable to rescue the burden,
they themselves go off into captivity.(CN)
3 “Listen(CO) to me, you descendants of Jacob,
all the remnant(CP) of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,(CQ)
and have carried(CR) since you were born.(CS)
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs(CT)
I am he,(CU) I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain(CV) you and I will rescue you.
5 “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?(CW)
6 Some pour out gold from their bags
and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith(CX) to make it into a god,
and they bow down and worship it.(CY)
7 They lift it to their shoulders and carry(CZ) it;
they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
From that spot it cannot move.(DA)
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;(DB)
it cannot save(DC) them from their troubles.
8 “Remember(DD) this, keep it in mind,
take it to heart, you rebels.(DE)
9 Remember the former things,(DF) those of long ago;(DG)
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.(DH)
10 I make known the end from the beginning,(DI)
from ancient times,(DJ) what is still to come.(DK)
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,(DL)
and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon(DM) a bird of prey;(DN)
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned,(DO) that I will do.(DP)
12 Listen(DQ) to me, you stubborn-hearted,(DR)
you who are now far from my righteousness.(DS)
13 I am bringing my righteousness(DT) near,
it is not far away;
and my salvation(DU) will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,(DV)
my splendor(DW) to Israel.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 45:2 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
- Isaiah 45:13 Hebrew him
- Isaiah 45:14 That is, the upper Nile region
- Isaiah 46:1 Or are but beasts and cattle
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.