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Isaiah 45

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God Anoints Cyrus for Israel's Sake 1–8

1
Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; ​
2
I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: ​
3
And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. ​
4
For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. ​
5
I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: ​
6
That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
7
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. ​
8
Drop down, ye 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.

The Creator's Authority Cannot Be Questioned 9–13

9
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? ​
10
Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?
11
Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me. ​
12
I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
13
I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts. ​

Israel's Everlasting Salvation 14–17

14
Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God. ​
15
Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. ​
16
They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols.
17
But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.

The Lord, the Only God and Savior 18–25

18
For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. ​
19
I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
20
Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. ​
21
Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
22
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. ​
23
I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. ​
24
Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
25
In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Isaiah 45

Verse 1

his anointed, to Cyrus — Mashiach, 'anointed', the title of Israel's kings, here given to a Persian who 'hast not known me' (v.4). He is named well before the event: 'He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure' (Isa 44:28). His decree is recorded in Ezra 1:1–2.

Verse 2

the gates of brass… bars of iron — Barriers of metal give way before the LORD's advance ('I will go before thee'). Ps 107:16 uses the same words of God's deliverance of captives: 'he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.' The 'crooked places' (hadar) are made straight.

Verse 3

the treasures of darkness — Otsar, a storehouse, and matmon, buried or hoarded wealth, in 'secret places'. The gift has a stated purpose: 'that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.' Cyrus's own decree confesses it (Ezra 1:2).

Verse 4

For Jacob my servant's sake — The reason for Cyrus's commission is Israel, 'mine elect' (bachir, chosen one). 'Surnamed' is kanah, to give a title of honour: 'shepherd' (Isa 44:28) and 'anointed' (v.1). Yet 'thou hast not known me': the LORD's call precedes the king's knowledge.

Verse 5

I girded thee — Azar, to belt, the act of equipping a warrior for the field. The LORD arms Cyrus 'though thou hast not known me'. The claim 'there is none else, there is no God beside me' is repeated in vv.6, 14, 18, 21 and 22.

Verse 7

create evil — Ra', adversity or calamity, set against shalom, 'peace'; the pairs light/darkness and peace/evil show the LORD ordering both prosperity and judgment. Amos 3:6 says the same: 'shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?' Bara, 'create', is the verb of Gen 1.

Verse 9

Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! — Yatsar, 'fashion', is the potter's verb, used of the LORD as Maker here and in v.11. The image recurs in Isa 29:16 and 64:8, 'we are the clay, and thou our potter'. Paul takes up the clay's question in Rom 9:20–21.

Verse 11

the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker — The LORD speaks as both holy and Maker (yatsar, as in v.9). 'Ask me of things to come concerning my sons' invites inquiry and prayer, while 'command ye me' is a rebuke to presumption. Compare 'Call unto me, and I will answer thee' (Jer 33:3).

Verse 13

I have raised him up in righteousness — The 'him' is Cyrus (v.1). Uwr, to wake or stir, is the verb behind 'the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus' (Ezra 1:1). He will 'build my city' and release the captives 'not for price nor reward' (mechir, shachad), as Isa 52:3 says of redemption 'without money'.

Verse 14

Surely God is in thee — Egypt (Mitsrayim), Ethiopia (Kush) and the Sabeans come over to Israel and confess, 'Surely God is in thee; and there is none else.' Paul echoes the confession for the convert who 'will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth' (1 Cor 14:25).

Verse 15

a God that hidest thyself — Sathar, to hide or conceal; the God of Israel is 'the Saviour' (yasha) even where his working is unseen. Isa 8:17 speaks of the LORD 'that hideth his face from the house of Jacob'. The words follow the nations' confession in v.14, 'there is none else, there is no God'.

Verse 18

he created it not in vain — Tohu, the word rendered 'without form' in Gen 1:2: the earth was not made a waste but 'formed… to be inhabited'. The Creator's purpose is stated before the claim 'I am the LORD; and there is none else'. Ps 115:16: 'the earth hath he given to the children of men.'

Verse 20

ye that are escaped of the nations — Palit, fugitives or survivors, summoned for a hearing. Idolaters 'set up the wood of their graven image' and 'pray unto a god that cannot save' (yasha), while the LORD is 'a just God and a Saviour' (v.21). The same mockery is in Isa 44:17.

Verse 22

Look unto me, and be ye saved — The invitation reaches 'all the ends of the earth' (ephes, the farthest limit). The gaze that saves recalls the serpent of brass: everyone bitten, 'when he looketh upon it, shall live' (Num 21:8). Christ echoes the pattern in John 3:14–16.

Verse 23

I have sworn by myself — God swears by himself, as with Abraham, 'because he could swear by no greater' (Heb 6:13). 'Shall not return' (shub) matches Isa 55:11. Paul quotes the verse of the judgment, 'every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God' (Rom 14:11), and Phil 2:10–11 applies it to Jesus.

Verse 25

shall all the seed of Israel be justified — Tsadaq, to be declared righteous, from the same root as the 'righteousness' (tsedaqah) of v.24. The justification is 'in the LORD', and so is the glorying (halal). Paul grounds the justification of Jew and Gentile alike on faith (Rom 3:28–30).