Isaiah 45:1-13 - Cyrus, God's Instrument

¹ The Lord says this to Cyrus, His anointed,
whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him,
to disarm kings,
to open the doors before him
and the gates will not be shut:
² “I will go before you
and level the uneven places;
I will shatter the bronze doors
and cut the iron bars in two.
³ I will give you the treasures of darkness
and riches from secret places,
so that you may know that I, Yahweh,
the God of Israel call you by your name.
⁴ I call you by your name,
because of Jacob My servant
and Israel My chosen one.
I give a name to you,
though you do not know Me.
⁵ I am Yahweh, and there is no other;
there is no God but Me.
I will strengthen you,
though you do not know Me,
⁶ so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
that there is no one but Me.
I am Yahweh, and there is no other.
⁷ I form light and create darkness,
I make success and create disaster;
I, Yahweh, do all these things.

⁸ “Heavens, sprinkle from above,
and let the skies shower righteousness.
Let the earth open up
so that salvation will sprout
and righteousness will spring up with it.
I, Yahweh, have created it.

⁹ “Woe to the one who argues with his Maker—
one clay pot among many.
Does clay say to the one forming it,
‘What are you making?’
Or does your work say,
‘He has no hands’?
¹⁰ How absurd is the one who says to his father,
‘What are you fathering?’
or to his mother,
‘What are you giving birth to?’”
¹¹ This is what the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel and its Maker, says:
“Ask Me what is to happen to My sons,
and instruct Me about the work of My hands.
¹² I made the earth,
and created man on it.
It was My hands that stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host.
¹³ I have raised him up in righteousness,
and will level all roads for him.
He will rebuild My city,
and set My exiles free,
not for a price or a bribe,”
says the Lord of Hosts.