1Thus says the LORD to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have empowered, to subdue nations before him; and I will loosen the armor of kings, and open the two-leaved gates before him, gates that shall not be shut: 2I will go before you, and make your crooked roads straight; I will break the gates of bronze, and cut in pieces their bars of iron; 3And I will give you the hidden treasures, riches stored in dark secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, am the God of Israel. 4For the sake of Jacob, My servant, and Israel My elect, I have summoned you by your name; I have surnamed you, though you have not known Me. 5I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God beside Me; I have equipped and strengthened you, though you have not known Me, 6So that they may know from the rising of the sun (the east), to the west, that there is none beside Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. 7I form the light, and create darkness; I bring prosperity, and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.

8Drop down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I, the LORD, have created it. 9Woe unto him that quarrels with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay pot say to the potter, “What are you making?” Or does it say of the potter, “He has no hands”? 10Woe unto him that says to his father, “What have you begotten?” Or to the woman, “Why have you given me birth?” 11Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and your Maker: “Do you ask Me of things to come, or concerning My children, or give Me orders concerning what I do with My hands? 12It is I Who have made the earth, and created man upon it; with My own hands, I have stretched out the heavens, and all their starry host have I commanded. 13I have raised up Cyrus in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways; he shall build My city, and he shall free My captives (exiles), but not for price nor reward”, says the LORD Almighty.

14Thus says the LORD, “The products of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia (Cush) and those tall Sabeans, shall come over unto you, and they shall be yours; they shall trudge behind you in chains; and they shall bow before you, and plead unto you, saying, “Surely God is with you; and there is no other; there is no other God.” 15Truly You are a God Who hides Yourself, O God, the Savior of Israel. 16All they that are makers of idols shall be humiliated and confounded; they shall depart in disgrace. 17But Israel shall be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you shall never be ashamed nor confounded throughout the ages. 18For thus says the LORD Who created the heavens, God Himself, Who formed the earth and made it; He has established it, He did not create it to be empty, but to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, and there is none other. 19I have not spoken in secret, in some dark place of the earth. I have not said to the descendants of Jacob, “Seek Me in vain”; I, the LORD, speak the truth, I declare what is right. 20Gather yourselves together and come, you who are fugitives from the nations; draw near. They are ignorant that set up the wood of their carved image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. 21Bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together, and say Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has foretold it from that time? Have not I, the LORD? And there is no other God beside Me, a just God and a Savior; there is none other than I. 22Turn to Me, and be saved, all people to the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. 23I have sworn by Myself, the My word I have uttered in truth and integrity, and shall not be revoked, that every knee shall bow unto Me, every tongue shall swear allegiance to Me. 24Surely, they shall say of Me, “In the LORD I have righteousness and strength; even all those that have raged against Me shall men come to Me; and shall be ashamed. 25All the generations of Israel shall be justified, and shall glory in Me.

Isaiah 46