Isaiah 45

45 ¹ Thus says our Father to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: ^a a v1 Cyrus, the Persian king, is the only foreign ruler Scripture calls our Father's "anointed" — chosen as his instrument to set Israel free from exile, not the promised Messiah. ² I will go before you and level the mountains; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron. ³ I will give you the treasures of darkness and hoards stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Father of Israel, who calls you by your name. ⁴ For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I have called you by your name; I give you a title of honor, though you do not know me. ⁵ I am the Father, and there is no other; besides me there is none. I equip you for battle, though you do not know me, ⁶ so that people may know, from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting, that there is none besides me. I am the Father, and there is no other. ⁷ I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Father, who does all these things. ^b b v7 The word here translated "calamity" means disaster or hardship — the opposite of the well-being named alongside it — not moral evil. Our Father governs every circumstance, even the painful ones. ⁸ Rain down, O heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open wide, that salvation may bear fruit and righteousness spring up together. I, the Father, have created it. ⁹ Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker — a pottery shard among the shards of the earth! Does the clay say to the one who forms it, "What are you making?" or, "Your work has no handles"? ^c c v9 A pot without handles was considered defective and useless — it could not be lifted or poured. ¹⁰ Woe to the one who says to a father, "What are you fathering?" or to a woman, "What are you bringing to birth?" ¹¹ Thus says the Holy One of Israel — our Father — and the one who formed him: Will you question me about my children, and give me orders about the work of my hands? ¹² I made the earth and created humanity upon it. It was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. ¹³ I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward, says the Father of heaven's armies.

¹⁴ Thus says our Father: The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and be yours; they will follow behind you, coming over in chains. They will bow down to you and plead with you, saying, "Surely your Father is with you, and there is no other; there is none besides him."

¹⁵ Truly you are a Father who has hidden yourself, the Father of Israel, the Savior. ¹⁶ All of them are ashamed and disgraced; the makers of idols go off together in confusion. ¹⁷ But Israel is saved by our Father with an everlasting salvation; you will not be ashamed or disgraced for all eternity.

¹⁸ For thus says the Father, who created the heavens — he is the Father! — 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 Father, and there is no other. ¹⁹ I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the descendants of Jacob, "Seek me in vain." I, your Father, speak what is right; I declare what is true. ²⁰ Gather together and come; draw near, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge — those who carry around their wooden idols and keep praying to a god that cannot save. ²¹ Declare and present your case; let them consult together! Who foretold this long ago and declared it from ancient times? Was it not I, the Father? There is no other besides me — a righteous Father and a Savior; there is none besides me. ²² Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am the Father, and there is no other. ²³ By myself I have sworn; a word has gone out from my mouth in righteousness that will not return: To me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. ^d d v23 Paul applies this verse to Jesus in Philippians 2:10-11 — at the name of Jesus every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of our Father. What our Father swore by his own name, he has shared with his Son. ²⁴ They will say of me, "Only in our Father are righteousness and strength." To him all who raged against him will come, and they will be ashamed. ²⁵ In our Father all the children of Israel will be justified, and in him they will glory.