Isaiah 45

1and cut through bars of iron.

3And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—secret riches.I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD,the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.

4“And why have I called you for this work?Why did I call you by name when you did not know me?It is for the sake of Jacob my servant,Israel my chosen one.

5Tam the LORD;there is no other God.Ihave equipped you for battle,though you don’t even know me,§ so all the world from east to westwill know there is no other God.I am the LORD, and there is no other.

7Icreate the light and make the darkness.I send good times and bad times.I, the LORD, am the one who does these things.

8“Open up, O heavens,and pour out your righteousness.Let the earth open wideso salvation and righteousness can sprout up together,I, the LORD, created them.

9“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator.Does a clay pot argue with its maker?Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying,‘Stop, you're doing it wrong!’Does the pot exclaim,‘How clumsy can you be?’

10How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father,“Why was I born?’or if it said to its mother,‘Why did you make me this way?”1 This is what the LORD says—the Holy One of Israel and your Creator:

11Do you question what I do for my children?Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?

12Tam the one who made the earthand created people to live on it.With my hands I stretched out the heavens.All the stars are at my command.

13T will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose,and I will guide his actions.

He will restore my city and free my captive people— without seeking a reward! I, the LORD of Heaven's Armies, have spoken ta

Future Conversion of Gentiles

4This is what the LORD says:“You will rule the Egyptians,the Ethiopians,* and the Sabeans.They will come to you with all their merchandise,and it will all be yours.They will follow you as prisoners in chains.They will fall to their knees in front of you and say,‘God is with you, and he is the only God.There is no other.’”

15Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior,you work in mysterious ways.

16All craftsmen who make idols will be humiliated.They will all be disgraced together.

17But the LORD will save the people of Israelwith eternal salvation.Throughout everlasting ages,they will never again be humiliated and disgraced.

18For the LORD is God,and he created the heavens and earthand put everything in place.He made the world to be lived in,not to be a place of empty chaos.“Tam the LORD,” he says,“and there is no other.

19I publicly proclaim bold promises.I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.I would not have told the people of Israel* to seek meif I could not be found.I, the LORD, speak only what is trueand declare only what is right.

20“Gather together and come,you fugitives from surrounding nations.What fools they are who carry around their wooden idolsand pray to gods that cannot save!

21Consult together, argue your case.Get together and decide what to say.Who made these things known so long ago?What idol ever told you they would happen?Was it not I, the LORD?For there is no other God but me,a righteous God and Savior.There is none but me.

22Let all the world look to me for salvation!For I am God; there is no other.

23I have sworn by my own name;Thave spoken the truth,and I will never go back on my word:Every knee will bend to me,and every tongue will confess allegiance to me.*”

24The people will declare,“The LORD is the source of all my righteousness and strength.”And all who were angry with himwill come to him and be ashamed.

25In the LORD all the generations of Israel will be justified,and in him they will boast.

Babylon’s False Gods

4 6 1 Bel and Nebo, the gods of Babylon,bow as they are lowered to the ground.They are being hauled away on ox carts.