1  Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,

whose right hand I have grasped,

to subdue nations before him

and to loose the belts of kings,

to open doors before him

that gates may not be closed:

2  “I will go before you

and ^qlevel the exalted places,¹

I will ^rbreak in pieces the doors of bronze

and cut through the bars of iron,

3  I will give you the treasures of darkness

and the hoards in secret places,

that you may know that it is I, the Lord,

the God of Israel, who call you by your name.

4  For the sake of my servant Jacob,

and Israel my ^schosen,

I call you by your name,

I name you, though you do not know me.

5  I am the Lord, and there is no other,

besides me there is no God;

I equip you, though you do not know me,

6  that people may know, ^tfrom the rising of the sun

and from the west, that there is none besides me;

I am the Lord, and there is no other.

7  I form light and create darkness;

I make well-being and create calamity;

I am the Lord, who does all these things.

8  “Shower, O heavens, from above,

and let the clouds rain down righteousness;

let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;

let the earth cause them both to sprout;

I the Lord have created it.

9  “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,

a pot among earthen pots!

Does the ^uclay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’

or ‘Your work has no handles’?

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

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

11  Thus says the Lord,

the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:

“Ask me of things to come;

will you command me concerning my ^vchildren and the work of my hands?²

12  I made the earth

and created man on it;

it was my hands that ^wstretched out the heavens,

and I commanded all their host.

13  I have ^xstirred him up in righteousness,

and I will make all his ways level;

he shall ^ybuild my city

and set my exiles free,

^znot for price or reward,”

says the Lord of hosts.

14  Thus says the Lord:

“The wealth of ^aEgypt and the merchandise of Cush,

and the Sabeans, men of stature,

shall come over to you and be yours;

they shall ^bfollow you;

they shall come over in chains and ^cbow down to you.

They will plead with you, saying:

^d‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,

no god besides him.’”

15  Truly, you are a God who hides himself,

O God of Israel, the Savior.

16  All of them are ^eput to shame and confounded;

the makers of idols go in confusion together.

17  But Israel is saved by the Lord

with everlasting salvation;

^fyou shall not be put to shame or confounded

to all eternity.

18  For thus says the Lord,

^gwho created the heavens

(he is God!),

who formed the earth and made it

(he established it;

he did not create it empty,

he formed it to be inhabited!):

“I am the Lord, and there is no other.

19  ^hI did not speak in secret,

in a land of darkness;

I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,

‘Seek me in vain.’³

I the Lord speak the truth;

I declare what is right.

20  “Assemble yourselves and come;

draw near together,

you survivors of the nations!

They have no knowledge

who ⁱcarry about their wooden idols,

and keep on ^jpraying to a god

that cannot save.

21  Declare and present your case;

let them take counsel together!

Who ^ktold this long ago?

Who declared it of old?

Was it not I, the Lord?

And there is no other god besides me,

a righteous God and a Savior;

there is none besides me.

22  “Turn to me and be saved,

all the ends of the earth!

For I am God, and there is no other.

23  ^lBy myself I have sworn;

^mfrom my mouth has gone out in righteousness

a word that shall not return:

‘To me ⁿevery knee shall bow,

every tongue shall swear allegiance.’⁴

24  “Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,

are righteousness and strength;

to him shall come and be ashamed

^oall who were incensed against him.

25  In the Lord all the offspring of Israel

shall be justified and shall glory.”

1  ^pBel bows down; Nebo stoops;

their idols are on beasts and livestock;

these things you ^qcarry are borne

as burdens on weary beasts.

2  They stoop; they bow down together;

they cannot save the burden,

but themselves go into captivity.

3  “Listen to me, O house of Jacob,

all the ^rremnant of the house of Israel,

who have been ^sborne by me ^tfrom before your birth,

carried from the womb;

4  ^ueven to your old age ^vI am he,

and to gray hairs I will carry you.

I have made, and I will bear;

I will carry and will save.

5  ^w“To whom will you liken me and make me equal,

and compare me, that we may be alike?

6  Those who lavish gold from the purse,

and weigh out silver in the scales,

hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;

then they fall down and worship!

7  They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,

they set it in its place, and it stands there;

it ^xcannot move from its place.

If one ^ycries to it, it does not answer

or save him from his trouble.

8  ^z“Remember this and stand firm,

recall it to mind, you transgressors,

9  remember the former things of old;

for I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me,

10  ^adeclaring the end from the beginning

and from ancient times things not yet done,

saying, ^b‘My counsel shall stand,

and I will accomplish all my purpose,’

11  calling a bird of prey from the east,

the man of my counsel from a far country.

I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;

I have purposed, and I will do it.

12  “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,

you who are far from righteousness:

13  ^cI bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,

and my salvation ^dwill not delay;

I will put salvation in Zion,

for Israel my glory.”

^m“For your sake we are being killed ⁿall the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”