Isaiah 45 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Cyrus, the LORD’s Chosen One

Isa 45:1This is what the LORD says to Cyrus, his anointed one,
whose right hand he will empower.
Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear.
Their fortress gates will be opened,
never to shut again.

Isa 45:2

Isa 45:2This is what the LORD says:
“I will go before you, Cyrus,
and level the mountains.[fn]
I will smash down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.

Isa 45:3

Isa 45:3And 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.

Isa 45:4

Isa 45:4“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.

Isa 45:5

Isa 45:5I am the LORD;
there is no other God.
I have equipped you for battle,
though you don’t even know me,

Isa 45:6

Isa 45:6so all the world from east to west
will know there is no other God.
I am the LORD, and there is no other.

Isa 45:7

Isa 45:7I create the light and make the darkness.
I send good times and bad times.
I, the LORD, am the one who does these things.

Isa 45:8

Isa 45:8“Open up, O heavens,
and pour out your righteousness.
Let the earth open wide
so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together.
I, the LORD, created them.

Isa 45:9

Isa 45:9“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?’

Isa 45:10

Isa 45:10How 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?’”

Isa 45:11

Isa 45:11This is what the LORD says—
the Holy One of Israel and your Creator:
“Do you question what I do for my children?
Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?

Isa 45:12

Isa 45:12I am the one who made the earth
and created people to live on it.
With my hands I stretched out the heavens.
All the stars are at my command.

Isa 45:13

Isa 45:13I 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!”

Future Conversion of Gentiles

Isa 45:14

Isa 45:14This is what the LORD says:
“You will rule the Egyptians,
the Ethiopians,[fn] 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.’”

Isa 45:15

Isa 45:15Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior,
you work in mysterious ways.

Isa 45:16

Isa 45:16All craftsmen who make idols will be humiliated.
They will all be disgraced together.

Isa 45:17

Isa 45:17But the LORD will save the people of Israel
with eternal salvation.
Throughout everlasting ages,
they will never again be humiliated and disgraced.

Isa 45:18

Isa 45:18For the LORD is God,
and he created the heavens and earth
and put everything in place.
He made the world to be lived in,
not to be a place of empty chaos.
“I am the LORD,” he says,
“and there is no other.

Isa 45:19

Isa 45:19I publicly proclaim bold promises.
I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.
I would not have told the people of Israel[fn] to seek me
if I could not be found.
I, the LORD, speak only what is true
and declare only what is right.

Isa 45:20

Isa 45:20“Gather together and come,
you fugitives from surrounding nations.
What fools they are who carry around their wooden idols
and pray to gods that cannot save!

Isa 45:21

Isa 45:21Consult 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.

Isa 45:22

Isa 45:22Let all the world look to me for salvation!
For I am God; there is no other.

Isa 45:23

Isa 45:23I have sworn by my own name;
I have 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.[fn]”

Isa 45:24

Isa 45:24The people will declare,
“The LORD is the source of all my righteousness and strength.”
And all who were angry with him
will come to him and be ashamed.

Isa 45:25

Isa 45:25In the LORD all the generations of Israel will be justified,
and in him they will boast.

See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NLT Footnotes

(45:2)

As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads the swellings.

(45:14)

Hebrew Cushites.

(45:19)

Hebrew of Jacob. See note on 14:1.

(45:23)

Hebrew will confess; Greek version reads will confess and give praise to God. Compare Rom 14:11.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.