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.
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.
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.
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.
1 Thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 to his anointed, H4899 to Cyrus, H3566 whose right hand H3225 I have holden, H2388 to subdue H7286 nations H1471 before H6440 him; and I will loose H6605 the loins H4975 of kings, H4428 to open H6605 before H6440 him the two leaved gates; H1817 and the gates H8179 shall not be shut; H5462
2 I will go H3212 before H6440 thee, and make H3474 the crooked places H1921 straight: H3474 H3474 I will break in pieces H7665 the gates H1817 of brass, H5154 and cut in sunder H1438 the bars H1280 of iron: H1270
3 And I will give H5414 thee the treasures H214 of darkness, H2822 and hidden riches H4301 of secret places, H4565 that thou mayest know H3045 that I, the LORD, H3068 which call H7121 thee by thy name, H8034 am the God H430 of Israel. H3478
4 For Jacob H3290 my servant's H5650 sake, and Israel H3478 mine elect, H972 I have even called H7121 thee by thy name: H8034 I have surnamed H3655 thee, though thou hast not known H3045 me.
5 I am the LORD, H3068 and there is none else, there is no God H430 beside H2108 me: I girded H247 thee, though thou hast not known H3045 me:
6 That they may know H3045 from the rising H4217 of the sun, H8121 and from the west, H4628 that there is none H657 beside H1107 me. I am the LORD, H3068 and there is none else.
7 I form H3335 the light, H216 and create H1254 darkness: H2822 I make H6213 peace, H7965 and create H1254 evil: H7451 I the LORD H3068 do H6213 all these things.
8 Drop down, H7491 ye heavens, H8064 from above, H4605 and let the skies H7834 pour down H5140 righteousness: H6664 let the earth H776 open, H6605 and let them bring forth H6509 salvation, H3468 and let righteousness H6666 spring up H6779 together; H3162 I the LORD H3068 have created H1254 it.
9 Woe H1945 unto him that striveth H7378 with his Maker! H3335 Let the potsherd H2789 strive with the potsherds H2789 of the earth. H127 Shall the clay H2563 say H559 to him that fashioneth H3335 it, What makest H6213 thou? or thy work, H6467 He hath no hands? H3027
10 Woe H1945 unto him that saith H559 unto his father, H1 What begettest H3205 thou? or to the woman, H802 What hast thou brought forth? H2342
11 Thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 the Holy One H6918 of Israel, H3478 and his Maker, H3335 Ask H7592 me of things to come H857 concerning my sons, H1121 and concerning the work H6467 of my hands H3027 command H6680 ye me.
12 I have made H6213 the earth, H776 and created H1254 man H120 upon it: I, even my hands, H3027 have stretched out H5186 the heavens, H8064 and all their host H6635 have I commanded. H6680
13 I have raised him up H5782 in righteousness, H6664 and I will direct H3474 all his ways: H1870 he shall build H1129 my city, H5892 and he shall let go H7971 my captives, H1546 not for price H4242 nor reward, H7810 saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts. H6635
14 Thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 The labour H3018 of Egypt, H4714 and merchandise H5505 of Ethiopia H3568 and of the Sabeans, H5436 men H582 of stature, H4060 shall come over H5674 unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come H3212 after H310 thee; in chains H2131 they shall come over, H5674 and they shall fall down H7812 unto thee, they shall make supplication H6419 unto thee, saying, Surely God H410 is in thee; and there is none else, there is no H657 God. H430
15 Verily H403 thou art a God H410 that hidest H5641 thyself, O God H430 of Israel, H3478 the Saviour. H3467
16 They shall be ashamed, H954 and also confounded, H3637 all of them: they shall go H1980 to confusion H3639 together H3162 that are makers H2796 of idols. H6736
17 But Israel H3478 shall be saved H3467 in the LORD H3068 with an everlasting H5769 salvation: H8668 ye shall not be ashamed H954 nor confounded H3637 world H5769 without end. H5703
18 For thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 that created H1254 the heavens; H8064 God H430 himself that formed H3335 the earth H776 and made H6213 it; he hath established H3559 it, he created H1254 it not in vain, H8414 he formed H3335 it to be inhabited: H3427 I am the LORD; H3068 and there is none else.
19 I have not spoken H1696 in secret, H5643 in a dark H2822 place H4725 of the earth: H776 I said H559 not unto the seed H2233 of Jacob, H3290 Seek H1245 ye me in vain: H8414 I the LORD H3068 speak H1696 righteousness, H6664 I declare H5046 things that are right. H4339
20 Assemble H6908 yourselves and come; H935 draw near H5066 together, H3162 ye that are escaped H6412 of the nations: H1471 they have no knowledge H3045 that set up H5375 the wood H6086 of their graven image, H6459 and pray H6419 unto a god H410 that cannot save. H3467
21 Tell H5046 ye, and bring them near; H5066 yea, let them take counsel H3289 together: H3162 who hath declared H8085 this from ancient time? H6924 who hath told H5046 it from that time? have not I the LORD? H3068 and there is no God H430 else beside H1107 me; a just H6662 God H410 and a Saviour; H3467 there is none H369 beside H2108 me.
22 Look H6437 unto me, and be ye saved, H3467 all the ends H657 of the earth: H776 for I am God, H410 and there is none else.
23 I have sworn H7650 by myself, the word H1697 is gone out H3318 of my mouth H6310 in righteousness, H6666 and shall not return, H7725 That unto me every knee H1290 shall bow, H3766 every tongue H3956 shall swear. H7650
24 Surely, shall one say, H559 in the LORD H3068 have I righteousness H6666 and strength: H5797 even to him shall men come; H935 and all that are incensed H2734 against him shall be ashamed. H954
25 In the LORD H3068 shall all the seed H2233 of Israel H3478 be justified, H6663 and shall glory. H1984
1 Thus saith Jehovah 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 the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut:
2 I will go before thee, and make the rough places smooth; I will break in pieces the doors 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 it is I, Jehovah, who call thee by thy name, even the God of Israel.
4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
5 I am Jehovah, and there is none else; besides me there is no God. I will gird 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 besides me: I am Jehovah, and there is none else.
7 I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil. I am Jehovah, that doeth all these things.
8 Distil, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, that it may bring forth salvation, and let it cause righteousness to spring up together; I, Jehovah, have created it.
9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! a potsherd among 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 a father, What begettest thou? or to a woman, With what travailest thou?
11 Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: Ask me of the things that are 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 make straight all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward, saith Jehovah of hosts.
14 Thus saith Jehovah, The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall go 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 put to shame, yea, confounded, all of them; they shall go into confusion together that are makers of idols.
17 `But' Israel shall be saved by Jehovah with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be put to shame nor confounded world without end.
18 For thus saith Jehovah that created the heavens, the God that formed the earth and made it, that established it and created it not a waste, that formed it to be inhabited: I am Jehovah; and there is none else.
19 I have not spoken in secret, in a place of the land of darkness; I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I, Jehovah, 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 carry the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
21 Declare ye, and bring `it' forth; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath showed this from ancient time? who hath declared it of old? have not I, Jehovah? and there is no God else besides me, a just God and a Saviour; there is none besides 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 By myself have I sworn, the word is gone forth from my mouth `in' righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
24 Only in Jehovah, it is said of me, is righteousness and strength; even to him shall men come; and all they that were incensed against him shall be put to shame.
25 In Jehovah shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.
1 Thus said Jehovah, To His anointed, to Cyrus, Whose right hand I have laid hold on, To subdue nations before him, Yea, loins of kings I loose, To open before him two-leaved doors, Yea, gates are not shut:
2 `I go before thee, and crooked places make straight, Two-leaved doors of brass I shiver, And bars of iron I cut asunder,
3 And have given to thee treasures of darkness, Even treasures of secret places, So that thou knowest that I, Jehovah, Who am calling on thy name -- `am' the God of Israel.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob, And of Israel My chosen, I call also thee by thy name, I surname thee, And thou hast not known Me.
5 I `am' Jehovah, and there is none else, Except Me there is no God, I gird thee, and thou hast not known Me.
6 So that they know from the rising of the sun, And from the west, that there is none besides Me, I `am' Jehovah, and there is none else,
7 Forming light, and preparing darkness, Making peace, and preparing evil, I `am' Jehovah, doing all these things.'
8 Drop, ye heavens, from above, And clouds do cause righteousness to flow, Earth openeth, and they are fruitful, Salvation and righteousness spring up together, I, Jehovah, have prepared it.
9 Wo `to' him who is striving with his Former, (A potsherd with potsherds of the ground!) Doth clay say to its Framer, `What dost thou?' And thy work, `He hath no hands?'
10 Wo `to' him who is saying to a father, `What dost thou beget?' Or to a wife, `What dost thou bring forth?
11 Thus said Jehovah, The Holy One of Israel, and his Former: Ask Me of the things coming concerning My sons, Yea, concerning the work of My hands, ye command Me.'
12 I made earth, and man on it prepared, I -- My hands stretched out the heavens, And all their host I have commanded.
13 I have stirred him up in righteousness, And all his ways I make straight, He doth build My city, and My captivity doth send out, Not for price, nor for bribe, said Jehovah of Hosts.
14 Thus said Jehovah, `The labour of Egypt, And the merchandise of Cush, And of the Sebaim -- men of measure, Unto thee pass over, and thine they are, After thee they go, in fetters they pass over, And unto thee they bow themselves, Unto thee they pray: Only in thee `is' God, And there is none else, no `other' God.
15 Surely Thou `art' a God hiding Thyself, God of Israel -- Saviour!
16 They have been ashamed, And they have even blushed -- all of them, Together gone in confusion have those carving images.
17 Israel hath been saved in Jehovah, A salvation age-during! Ye are not ashamed nor confounded Unto the ages of eternity!
18 For thus said Jehovah, Creator of heaven, He is God, Former of earth, and its Maker, He established it -- not empty He prepared it, For inhabiting He formed it: `I `am' Jehovah, and there is none else.
19 Not in secret have I spoken, in a dark place of the earth, I have not said to the seed of Jacob, In vain seek ye Me, I `am' Jehovah, speaking righteousness, Declaring uprightness.
20 Be gathered, and come in, Come nigh together, ye escaped of the nations, They have not known, Who are lifting up the wood of their graven image, And praying unto a god `that' saveth not.
21 Declare ye, and bring near, Yea, they take counsel together, Who hath proclaimed this from of old? From that time hath declared it? Is it not I -- Jehovah? And there is no other god besides Me, A God righteous and saving, there is none save Me.
22 Turn to Me, and be saved, all ends of the earth, For I `am' God, and there is none else.
23 By Myself I have sworn, Gone out from my mouth in righteousness hath a word, And it turneth not back, That to Me, bow doth every knee, every tongue swear.
24 Only in Jehovah, said hath one, Have I righteousness and strength, Unto Him he cometh in, And ashamed are all those displeased with Him.
25 In Jehovah are all the seed of Israel justified, And they boast themselves.'
1 Thus saith Jehovah 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 doors, and the gates shall not be shut:
2 I will go before thee, and make the elevated places plain; I will break in pieces the brazen doors, and cut asunder 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, Jehovah, who call thee by name, [am] the God of Israel.
4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have called thee by thy name; I surnamed thee, though thou didst not know me;
5 I [am] Jehovah, and there is none else; there is no God beside me: I girded thee, and thou hast not known me;
6 -- that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the going down, that there is none beside me. I [am] Jehovah, and there is none else;
7 forming the light and creating darkness, making peace and creating evil: I, Jehovah, 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 with it let righteousness spring up. I, Jehovah, have created it.
9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let a potsherd [strive] with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that formeth 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 [his] mother, What hast thou brought forth?
11 Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: Ask me of the things to come; concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me.
12 It is I that have made the earth, and created man upon it; it is I, my hands, that have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
13 It is I that have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith Jehovah of hosts.
14 Thus saith Jehovah: The wealth of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall walk after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall bow down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, [saying,] Surely ùGod is in thee; and there is none else, no other God. ...
15 Verily thou art a ùGod that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. ...
16 They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them; they shall go away in confusion together, the makers of idols.
17 Israel shall be saved by Jehovah with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded, unto the ages of ages.
18 For thus saith Jehovah who created the heavens, God himself who formed the earth and made it, he who established it, -- not as waste did he create it: he formed it to be inhabited: -- I [am] Jehovah, 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 me in vain: I [am] Jehovah, speaking righteousness, declaring things which are right.
20 Gather yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations. They have no knowledge that carry the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a ùgod that cannot save.
21 Declare and bring [them] near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath caused this to be heard from ancient time? [who] hath declared it long ago? Is it not I, Jehovah? And there is no God else beside me; a just ùGod and a Saviour, there is none besides me.
22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I [am] ùGod, 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 Only in Jehovah, shall one say, have I righteousness and strength. To him shall [men] come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
25 In Jehovah shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.
1 Thus says Yahweh to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut:
2 I will go before you, and make the rough places smooth; I will break in pieces the doors of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron;
3 and I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that it is I, Yahweh, who call you by your name, even the God of Israel.
4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called you by your name: I have surnamed you, though you have not known me.
5 I am Yahweh, and there is none else; besides me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known me;
6 that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides me: I am Yahweh, and there is no one else.
7 I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil. I am Yahweh, who does all these things.
8 Distil, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, that it may bring forth salvation, and let it cause righteousness to spring up together; I, Yahweh, have created it.
9 Woe to him who strives with his Maker--a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, "What are you making?" or your work, "He has no hands?"
10 Woe to him who says to a father, "What have you become the father of?" or to a woman, "With what do you travail?"
11 Thus says Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: Ask me of the things that are to come; concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command you me.
12 I have made the earth, and created man on 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 make straight all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward, says Yahweh of Hosts.
14 Thus says Yahweh: "The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you, and they shall be yours. They shall go after you. In chains they shall come over; and they shall fall down to you. They shall make supplication to you: 'Surely God is in you; and there is none else, there is no other god.
15 Most assuredly you are a God who hid yourself, God of Israel, the Savior.'
16 They shall be disappointed, yes, confounded, all of them; they shall go into confusion together who are makers of idols.
17 [But] Israel shall be saved by Yahweh with an everlasting salvation: you shall not be disappointed nor confounded world without end.
18 For thus says Yahweh who created the heavens, the God who formed the earth and made it, who established it and didn't create it a waste, who formed it to be inhabited: I am Yahweh; and there is no one else.
19 I have not spoken in secret, in a place of the land of darkness; I didn't say to the seed of Jacob, Seek you me in vain: I, Yahweh, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
20 Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations: they have no knowledge who carry the wood of their engraved image, and pray to a god that can't save.
21 Declare you, and bring [it] forth; yes, let them take counsel together: who has shown this from ancient time? who has declared it of old? Haven't I, Yahweh? and there is no God else besides me, a just God and a Savior; there is no one besides me.
22 Look to me, and be you saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.
23 By myself have I sworn, the word is gone forth from my mouth [in] righteousness, and shall not return, that to me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
24 Only in Yahweh, it is said of me, is righteousness and strength; even to him shall men come; and all those who were incensed against him shall be disappointed.
25 In Yahweh shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.
1 The Lord says to the man of his selection, to Cyrus, whom I have taken by the right hand, putting down nations before him, and taking away the arms of kings; making the doors open before him, so that the ways into the towns may not be shut;
2 I will go before you, and make the rough places level: the doors of brass will be broken, and the iron rods cut in two:
3 And I will give you the stores of the dark, and the wealth of secret places, so that you may be certain that I am the Lord, who gave you your name, even the God of Israel.
4 Because of Jacob my servant, and Israel whom I have taken for myself, I have sent for you by name, giving you a name of honour, though you had no knowledge of me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God but me: I will make you ready for war, though you had no knowledge of me:
6 So that they may see from the east and from the west that there is no God but me: I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I am the giver of light and the maker of the dark; causing blessing, and sending troubles; I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8 Let righteousness come down, O heavens, from on high, and let the sky send it down like rain: let the earth be open to give the fruit of salvation, causing righteousness to come up with it; I the Lord have made it come about.
9 Cursed is he who has an argument with his Maker, the pot which has an argument with the Potter! Will the wet earth say to him who is working with it, What are you doing, that your work has nothing by which it may be gripped?
10 Cursed is he who says to a father, To what are you giving life? or to a woman, What are you in birth-pains with?
11 The Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, says, Will you put a question to me about the things which are to come, or will you give me orders about my sons, and the work of my hands?
12 I have made the earth, forming man on it: by my hands the heavens have been stretched out, and all the stars put in their ordered places.
13 I have sent him out to overcome the nations, and I will make all his ways straight: I will give him the work of building my town, and he will let my prisoners go free, without price or reward, says the Lord of armies.
14 The Lord says, The workmen of Egypt, and the traders of Ethiopia, and the tall Sabaeans, will come over the sea to you, and they will be yours; they will go after you; in chains they will come over: and they will go down on their faces before you, and will make prayer to you, saying, Truly, God is among you; and there is no other God.
15 Truly, you have a secret God, the God of Israel is a Saviour!
16 All those who have gone against him will be put to shame; the makers of images will be made low.
17 But the Lord will make Israel free with an eternal salvation: you will not be put to shame or made low for ever and ever.
18 For this is the word of the Lord who made the heavens; he is God; the maker and designer of the earth; who made it not to be a waste, but as a living-place for man: I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I have not given my word in secret, in a place in the underworld; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, Go into a waste land to make request of me: I the Lord say what is true, my word is righteousness.
20 Come together, even come near, you nations who are still living: they have no knowledge who take up their image of wood, and make prayer to a god in whom is no salvation.
21 Give the word, put forward your cause, let us have a discussion together: who has given news of this in the past? who made it clear in early times? did not I, the Lord? and there is no God but me; a true God and a saviour; there is no other.
22 Let your hearts be turned to me, so that you may have salvation, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is no other.
23 By myself have I taken an oath, a true word has gone from my mouth, and will not be changed, that to me every knee will be bent, and every tongue will give honour.
24 Only in the Lord will Jacob overcome and be strong: together all those who were angry with him will be put to shame and come to destruction.
25 In the Lord will all the seed of Israel get their rights, and they will give glory to him.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 45
Commentary on Isaiah 45 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The first strophe of the first half of this sixth prophecy (Isaiah 44:24.), the subject of which is Cyrus, the predicted restorer of Jerusalem, of the cities of Judah, and of the temple, is now followed by a second strophe (Isaiah 45:1-8), having for its subject Cyrus, the man through whose irresistible career of conquest the heathen would be brought to recognise the power of Jehovah, so that heavenly blessings would come down upon the earth. The naming of the great shepherd of the nations, and the address of him, are continued in Isaiah 45:1-3 : “Thus saith Jehovah to His anointed, to Koresh, whom I have taken by his right hand to subdue nations before him; and the loins of kings I ungird, to open before him doors and gates, that they may not continue shut. I shall go before thee, and level what is heaped up: gates of brass shall I break in pieces, and bolts of iron shall I smite to the ground. And I shall give thee treasures of darkness, and jewels of hidden places, that thou mayest know that I Jehovah am He who called out thy name, (even) the God of Israel.” The words addressed to Cyrus by Jehovah commence in Isaiah 45:2, but promises applying to him force themselves into the introduction, being evoked by the mention of his name. He is the only king of the Gentiles whom Jehovah ever m e shı̄chı̄ (my anointed; lxx τῷ χριστῷ μου ). The fundamental principle of the politics of the empire of the world was all-absorbing selfishness. But the politics of Cyrus were pervaded by purer motives, and this brought him eternal honour. The very same thing which the spirit of Darius, the father of Xerxes, is represented as saying of him in the Persae of Aeschylus (v. 735), Θεὸς γὰρ οὐκ ἤχθησεν ὡς εὔφρων ἔφυ (for he was not hateful to God, because he was well-disposed), is here said by the Spirit of revelation, which by no means regards the virtues of the heathen as splendida vitia . Jehovah has taken him by his right hand, to accomplish great things through him while supporting him thus. (On the inf. rad for rōd , from râdad , to tread down, see Ges. §67, Anm. 3.) The dual d e lâthaim has also a plural force: “double doors” ( fores ) in great number, viz., those of palaces. After the two infinitives, the verb passes into the finite tense: “loins of kings I ungird” ( discingo ; pittēăch , which refers primarily to the loosening of a fastened garment, is equivalent to depriving of strength). The gates - namely, those of the cities which he storms - will not be shut, sc. in perpetuity, that is to say, they will have to open to him. Jerome refers here to the account given of the elder Cyrus in Xenophon's Cyropaedia . A general picture may no doubt be obtained from this of his success in war; but particular statements need support from other quarters, since it is only a historical romance. Instead of אושׁר ( אושׁר )? in Isaiah 45:2, the keri has אישּׁר ; just as in Psalms 5:9 it has הישׁר instead of הושׁר . A hiphil הושׁיר cannot really be shown to have existed, and the abbreviated future form עושׁר would be altogether without ground or object here. הדּורים ( tumida ; like נעיימם , amaena , and others) is meant to refer to the difficulties piled up in the conqueror's way. The “ gates of brass ' ( n e dhūshâh , brazen, poetical for n e chōsheth , brass, as in the derivative passage, Psalms 107:16) and “ bolts of iron ” remind one more especially of Babylon with its hundred “brazen gates,” the very posts and lintels of which were also of brass (Herod. i. 179); and the treasures laid up in deep darkness and jewels preserved in hiding-places, of the riches of Babylon (Jeremiah 50:37; Jeremiah 51:13), and especially of those of the Lydian Sardes, “the richest city of Asia after Babylon” ( Cyrop. vii. 2, 11), which Cyrus conquered first. On the treasures which Cyrus acquired through his conquests, and to which allusion is made in the Persae of Aeschylus, v. 327 (“O Persian, land and harbour of many riches thou”), see Plin. h. n. xxx iii. 2. Brerewood estimates the quantity of gold and silver mentioned there as captured by him at no less than £126,224,000 sterling. And all this success is given to him by Jehovah, that he may know that it is Jehovah the God of Israel who has called out with his name, i.e., called out his name, or called him to be what he is, and as what he shows himself to be.
A second and third object are introduced by a second and third למען . “For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I called thee hither by name, surnamed thee when thou knewest me not. I Jehovah, and there is none else, beside me no God: I equipped thee when thou knewest me not; that they may know from the rising of the sun, and its going down, that there is none without me: I Jehovah, and there is none else, former of the light, and creator of the darkness; founder of peace, and creator of evil: I Jehovah am He who worketh all this.” The ואקרא which follows the second reason assigned like an apodosis, is construed doubly: “I called to thee, calling thee by name.” The parallel אכנּ ך refers to such titles of honour as “my shepherd” and “my anointed,” which had been given to him by Jehovah. This calling, distinguishing, and girding, i.e., this equipment of Cyrus, took place at a time when Cyrus knew nothing as yet of Jehovah, and by this very fact Jehovah made known His sole Deity. The meaning is, not that it occurred while he was still worshipping false gods, but, as the refrain -like repetition of the words “though thou hast not know me” affirms with strong emphasis, before he had been brought into existence, or could know anything of Jehovah. The passage is to be explained in the same way as Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee” (see Psychol. pp. 36, 37, 39); and what the God of prophecy here claims for Himself, must not be questioned by false criticism, or weakened down by false apologetics (i.e., by giving up the proper name Cyrus as a gloss in Isaiah 44:28 and Isaiah 45:1; or generalizing it into a king's name, such as Pharaoh, Abimelech, or Agag). The third and last object of this predicted and realized success of the oppressor of nations and deliverer of Israel is the acknowledgement of Jehovah, spreading over the heathen world from the rising and setting of the sun, i.e., in every direction. The ah of וּממּערבה is not a feminine termination (lxx, Targ., Jer.), but a feminine suffix with He raphato pro m appic ( Kimchi ); compare Isaiah 23:17-18; Isaiah 34:17 (but not נצּה in Isaiah 18:5, or מוּסדה in Isaiah 30:32). Shemesh (the sun) is a feminine here, as in Genesis 15:17, Nahum 3:17, Malachi 4:2, and always in Arabic; for the west is invariably called מערב (Arab. magrib ). In Isaiah 45:7 we are led by the context to understand by darkness and evil the penal judgments, through which light and peace, or salvation, break forth for the people of God and the nations generally. But as the prophecy concerning Cyrus closes with this self-assertion of Jehovah, it is unquestionably a natural supposition that there is also a contrast implied to the dualistic system of Zarathustra, which divided the one nature of the Deity into two opposing powers (see Windischmann, Zoroastrische Studien , p. 135). The declaration is so bold, that Marcion appealed to this passage as a proof that the God of the Old Testament was a different being from the God of the New, and not the God of goodness only. The Valentinians and other gnostics also regarded the words “There is no God beside me” in Isaiah, as deceptive words of the Demiurugs. The early church met them with Tertullian's reply, “de his creator profitetur malis quae congruunt judici ,” and also made use of this self-attestation of the God of revelation as a weapon with which to attack Manicheesism. The meaning of the words is not exhausted by those who content themselves with the assertion, that by the evil (or darkness ) we are not to understand the evil of guilt ( malum culpae ), but the evil of punishment ( malum paenae ). Undoubtedly, evil as an act is not the direct working of God, but the spontaneous work of a creature endowed with freedom. At the same time, evil, as well as good, has in this sense its origin in God - that He combines within Himself the first principles of love and wrath, the possibility of evil, the self-punishment of evil, and therefore the consciousness of guilt as well as the evil of punishment in the broadest sense. When the apostle celebrates the glory of free grace in Romans 9:11., he stands on that giddy height, to which few are able to follow him without falling headlong into the false conclusions of a decretum absolutum , and the denial of all creaturely freedom.
In the prospect of this ultimate and saving purpose of the mission of Cyrus, viz., the redemption of Israel and the conversion of the heathen, heaven and earth are now summoned to bring forth and pour down spiritual blessings in heavenly gifts, according to the will and in the power of Jehovah, who has in view a new spiritual creation. “Cause to trickle down, ye heavens above, and let the blue sky rain down righteousness; let the earth open, and let salvation blossom, and righteousness; let them sprout together: I Jehovah have created it.” What the heavens are to cause to trickle down, follows as the object to יזּלוּ . And what is to flower when the earth opens ( pâthach as in Psalms 106:17; compare aprilis and the Neo-Greek anoixis , spring), is salvation and righteousness. But tzedek (righteousness) is immediately afterwards the object of a new verb; so that וּצדקה ישׁע , which are thought of as combined, as the word יחד (together) shows, are uncoupled in the actual expression. Knobel expresses a different opinion, and assumes that ישׁע is regarded as a collective noun, and therefore construed with a plural, like אמרּה in Psalms 119:103, and חמדה in Haggai 2:7. But the use of yachad (together) favours the other interpretation. The suffix of בּראתיו points to this fulness of righteousness and salvation. It is a creation of Jehovah Himself. Heaven and earth, when co-operating to effect this, are endowed with their capacity through Him from whom cometh every good and perfect gift, and obey now, as at the first, His creative fiat. This “rorate caeli desuper et nubes pluant justum ,” as the Vulgate renders it, is justly regarded as an old advent cry.
The promise is now continued in the third strophe (Isaiah 45:9-13), and increases more and more in the distinctness of its terms; but just as in Isaiah 29:15-21, it opens with a reproof of that pusillanimity (Isaiah 40:27; cf., Isaiah 51:13; Isaiah 49:24; Isaiah 58:3), which goes so far to complain of the ways of Jehovah. “Woe to him that quarreleth with his Maker - a pot among the pots of earthenware? Can the clay indeed say to him that shapeth it, What makest thou? and thy work, He hath no hands? Woe to him that saith to his father, What begettest thou? and to the woman, What bringest thou forth?” The comparison drawn between a man as the work of God and the clay-work of a potter suggested itself all the more naturally, inasmuch as the same word yootseer was applied to God as Creator, and also to a potter ( figulus ). The word c heres signifies either a sherd, or fragment of earthenware (Isaiah 30:14), or an earthenware vessel (Jeremiah 19:1; Proverbs 26:23). In the passage before us, where the point of comparison is not the fragmentary condition, but the earthen character of the material () ' adâmâh ), the latter is intended: the man, who complains of God, is nothing but a vessel of clay, and, more than that, a perishable vessel among many others of the very same kind.
(Note: The Septuagint reads shin for sin in both instances, and introduces here the very unsuitable thought already contained in Isaiah 28:24, “Shall the ploughman plough the land the whole day?”)
The questions which follow are meant to show the folly of this complaining. Can it possibly occur to the clay to raise a complaint against him who has it in hand, that he has formed it in such and such a manner, or for such and such a purpose (compare Romans 9:20, “Why hast thou made me thus”)? To the words “or thy work” we must supply num dicet (shall it say); pō‛al is a manufacture, as in Isaiah 1:31. The question is addressed to the maker, as those in Isaiah 7:25 are to the husbandman: Can the thing made by thee, O man, possibly say in a contemptuous tone, “He has no hands?” - a supposition the ridiculous absurdity of which condemns it at once; and yet it is a very suitable analogy to the conduct of the man who complains of God. In Isaiah 45:10 a woe is denounced upon those who resemble a man who should say to his own father, What children dost thou beget? or to a wife, What dost thou bring forth? ( t e chı̄lı̄n an emphatic, and for the most part pausal, fut. parag. , as in Ruth 2:8; Ruth 3:18). This would be the rudest and most revolting attack upon an inviolably tender and private relation; and yet Israel does this when it makes the hidden providential government of its God the object of expostulation.
After this double woe, which is expressed in general terms, but the application of which is easily made, the words of Jehovah are directly addressed to the presumptuous criticizers. Isaiah 45:11 “Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker, Ask me what is to come; let my sons and the work of my hands be committed to me!” The names by which He calls Himself express his absolute blamelessness, and His absolute right of supremacy over Israel. שׁאלוּני is an imperative, like שׁמעוּני in Genesis 23:8; the third person would be written שׁאלוּני . The meaning is: If ye would have any information or satisfaction concerning the future (“things to come,” Isaiah 41:23; Isaiah 44:7), about which ye can neither know nor determine anything of yourselves, inquire of me. צוּה with an accusative of the person, and על of the thing, signifies to commit anything to the care of another (1 Chronicles 22:12). The fault-finders in Israel were to leave the people of whom Jehovah was the Maker (a retrospective allusion to Isaiah 45:10 and Isaiah 45:9), in the hands of Him who has created everything, and on whom everything depends. Isaiah 45:12 “I, I have made the earth, and created men upon it; I, my hands have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I called forth.” ידי אני , according to Ges. §121, 3, is equivalent to my hands, and mine alone - a similar arrangement of words to those in Genesis 24:27; 2 Chronicles 28:10; Ecclesiastes 2:15. Hitzig is wrong in his rendering, “all their host do I command.” That of Ewald is the correct one, “did I appoint;” for tsivvâsh , followed by an accusative of the person, means to give a definite order or command to any one, the command in this case being the order to come into actual existence (= esse jussi , cf., Psalms 33:9).
He who created all things, and called all things into existence, had also raised up this Cyrus, whose victorious career had increased the anxieties and fears of the exiles, instead of leading them to lift up their heads, because their redemption was drawing nigh. “I, I have raised him up in righteousness, and all his ways shall I make smooth: He will build my city, and release my banished ones, not for price nor for reward, saith Jehovah of hosts.” All the anxieties of the exiles are calmed by the words “in righteousness,” which trace back the revolutions that Cyrus was causing to the righteousness of Jehovah, i.e., to His interposition, which was determined by love alone, and tended directly to the salvation of His people, and in reality to that of all nations. And they are fully quieted by the promise, which is now expressed in the clearest and most unequivocal words, that Cyrus would build up Jerusalem again, and set the captivity free ( gâlūth , as in Isaiah 20:4), and that without redemption with money (Isaiah 52:3) - a clear proof that Jehovah had not only raised up Cyrus himself, but had put his spirit within him, i.e., had stirred up within him the resolution to do this (see the conclusion to the books of Chronicles, and the introduction to that of Ezra). This closes the first half of our sixth prophecy.
The second half is uttered in the prospect, that the judgment which Cyrus brings upon the nations will prepare the way for the overthrow of heathenism, and the universal acknowledgment of the God of Israel. The heathen submit, as the first strophe or group of vv. (Isaiah 45:14-17) affirms, to the congregation and its God; the idolatrous are converted, whilst Israel is for ever redeemed. With the prospect of the release of the exiles, there is associated in the prophet's perspective the prospect of an expansion of the restored church, through the entrance of “the fulness of the Gentiles.” “Thus saith Jehovah, The productions of Egypt, and gain of Ethiopia, and the Sabaeans, men of tall stature, will come over to thee, and belong to thee: they will come after thee; in chains they will come over, and cast themselves down to thee; they pray to thee, Surely God is in thee, and there is none else; no Deity at all.” Assuming that יעברוּ has the same meaning in both cases, the prophet's meaning appears to be, that the Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Meroites (see Isaiah 43:3), who had been enslaved by the imperial power of Persia, would enter the miraculously emancipated congregation of Israel (Ewald). But if they were thought of as in a state of subjugation to the imperial power of Asia, who could the promise be at the same time held out that their riches would pass over into the possession of the church? And yet, on the other hand, the chains in which they come over cannot be regarded, at least in this connection, where such emphasis is laid upon the voluntary character of the surrender, as placed upon them by Israel itself (as in Isaiah 60:11 and Psalms 149:8). We must therefore suppose that they put chains upon themselves voluntarily, and of their own accord, and thus offer themselves spontaneously to the church, to be henceforth its subjects and slaves. Egypt, Ethiopia, and Saba are the nations that we meet with in other passages, where the haereditas gentium is promised to the church, and generally in connection with Tyre (vid., Psalms 68:32; Psalms 72:10; compare Isaiah 18:7; Isaiah 19:16., Isaiah 23:18). Whilst the labour of Egypt (i.e., the productions of its labour) and the trade of Ethiopia (i.e., the riches acquired by trade) are mentioned; in the case of Saba the prophecy looks at the tall and handsome tribe itself, a tribe which Agatharchides describes as having σώματα ἀξιολογώτερα . These would place themselves at the service of the church with their invincible strength. The voluntary character of the surrender is pointed out, not only in the expression “they will come over,” but also in the confession with which this is accompanied. In other cases the words hithpallēl 'el are only used of prayer to God and idols; but here it is to the church that prayer is offered. In the prophet's view, Jehovah and His church are inseparably one (compare 1 Corinthians 12:12, where “Christ” stands for the church as one body, consisting of both head and members; also the use of the word “worship” in Revelation 3:9, which has all the ring of a passage taken from Isaiah). א ך is used here in its primary affirmative sense, as in Psalms 58:11. There can be no doubt that Paul had this passage of Isaiah in his mind when writing 1 Corinthians 14:24-25, ἀπαγγέλλων ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ὄντως ἐν ὑμῖν ἐστί , or, according to a better arrangement of the words, ὅτι ὄντως (= א ך ) ὁ Θεὸς ἐν ὑμῖν ἐστίν . 'Ephes does not signify praeter (as a synonym of בּלעדי , זוּלתי ) either here or anywhere else, but is a substantive used with a verbal force, which stands in the same relation to אין as “there is not at all (absolutely not)” to “there is not;” compare Isaiah 5:8; Isaiah 45:6; Isaiah 46:9, also Deuteronomy 32:36 (derivative passage, 2 Kings 14:26), and Amos 6:10; 2 Samuel 9:3; vid., Isaiah 47:8.
What follows in Isaiah 45:15 is not a continuation of the words of the Gentiles, but a response of the church to their confession. The nations that have been idolatrous till now, bend in humble spontaneous worship before the church and its God; and at the sight of this, the church, from whose soul the prophet is speaking, bursts out into an exclamation of reverential amazement. “Verily Thou art a mysterious God, Thou God of Israel, Thou Savour.” Literally, a God who hides Himself ( mistattēr : the resemblance to μ υστηρ-ιώδης is quite an accidental one; the ē is retained in the participle even in pause). The meaning is, a God who guides with marvellous strangeness the history of the nations of the earth, and by secret ways, which human eyes can never discern, conducts all to a glorious issue. The exclamation in Romans 11:33, “O the depth of the riches,” etc., is a similar one.
The way in which this God who hides Himself is ultimately revealed as the God of salvation, is then pointed out in Isaiah 45:16, Isaiah 45:17 : “They are put to shame, and also confounded, all of them; they go away into confusion together, the forgers of idols. Israel is redeemed by Jehovah with everlasting redemption: ye are not put to shame nor confounded to everlasting eternities.” The perfects are expressive of the ideal past. Jehovah shows Himself as a Savour by the fact, that whereas the makers of idols perish, Israel is redeemed an everlasting redemption (acc. obj. as in Isaiah 14:6; Isaiah 22:17; Ges. §138, 1, Anm. 1), i.e., so that its redemption is one that lasts for aeons ( αἰωνία λύτρωσις , Hebrews 9:12) - observe that t e shū‛âh does not literally signify redemption or rescue, but transfer into a state of wide expanse, i.e., of freedom and happiness. The plural ‛ ōlâmı̄m (eternities = αἰῶνες aeua ) belongs, according to Knobel, to the later period of the language; but it is met with as early as in old Asaphite psalms (Psalms 77:6). When the further promise is added, Ye shall not be put to shame, etc., this clearly shows, what is also certain on other grounds - namely, that the redemption is not thought of merely as an outward and bodily one, but also as inward and spiritual, and indeed (in accordance with the prophetic blending of the end of the captivity with the end of all things) as a final one. Israel will never bring upon itself again such a penal judgment as that of the captivity by falling away from God; that is to say, its state of sin will end with its state of punishment, even עב עד־עולמי , i.e., since עד has no plural, εἰς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων .
The second and last strophe of this prophecy commences with Isaiah 45:18. By the fulfilment of the promise thus openly proclaimed, those of the heathen who have been saved from the judgment will recognise Jehovah as the only God; and the irresistible will of Jehovah, that all mankind should worship Him, be carried out. The promise cannot remain unfulfilled. “For thus saith Jehovah, the creator of the heavens ( He is the Deity ) , the former of the earth, and its finisher; He has established it ( He has not created it a desert, He has formed it to be inhabited ) : I am Jehovah, and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in a place of the land of darkness; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, Into the desert seek ye me! I Jehovah am speaking righteousness, proclaiming upright things.” The athnach properly divides Isaiah 45:18 in half. Isaiah 45:18 describes the speaker, and what He says commences in Isaiah 45:18 . The first parenthesis affirms that Jehovah is God in the fullest and most exclusive sense; the second that He has created the earth for man's sake, not “as a desert” ( tōhū : the lxx, Targum, and Jerome render this with less accuracy, non in vanum ), i.e., not to be and continue to be a desert, but to be inhabited. Even in Genesis 1:2, chaos is not described as of God's creation, because (whatever may be men's opinions concerning it in other respects) the creative activity of God merely made use of this as a starting-point, and because, although it did not come into existence without God, it was at any rate not desired by God for its own sake. The words of Jehovah commence, then, with the assertion that Jehovah is the absolute One; and from this two thoughts branch off: (1.) The first is, that the prophecy which emanates from Him is an affair of light, no black art, but essentially different from heathen soothsaying. By “a dark place of the earth” we are to understand, according to Psalms 139:15, the interior of the earth, and according to Job 10:21, Hades; the intention being to point out the contrast between the prophecies of Jehovah and the heathen cave-oracles and spirit-voices of the necromancists, which seemed to rise up from the interior of the earth (see Isaiah 65:4; Isaiah 8:19; Isaiah 29:4). (2.) The second thought is, that the very same love of Jehovah, which has already been displayed in the creation, attests itself in His relation to Israel, which He has not directed to Himself “into the desert” ( tōhū ), just as He did not create the earth a tōhū . Meier and Knobel suppose that baqshūnı̄ , which is written here, according to a well-supported reading, with Koph raphatum (whereas in other cases the dagesh is generally retained, particularly in the imperative of biqqēsh ), refers to seeking for disclosures as to the future; but the word דרשׁוּני would be used for this, as in Isaiah 8:19. He has not said, “Seek ye me (as in Zephaniah 2:3) into the desert,” i.e., without the prospect of meeting with any return for your pains. On the contrary, He has attached promises to the seeking of Himself, which cannot remain unfulfilled, for He is “one speaking righteousness, declaring things that are right;” i.e., when He promises, He follows out the rule of His purpose and of His plan of salvation, and the impulse of sincere desire for their good, and love which is ever true to itself. The present word of prophecy points to the fulfilment of these promises.
The salvation of Israel, foretold and realized by Jehovah, becomes at the same time the salvation of the heathen world. “Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye escaped of the heathen! Irrational are they who burden themselves with the wood of their idol, and pray to a god that bringeth no salvation. Make known, and cause to draw near; yea, let them take counsel together: Who has made such things known from the olden time, proclaimed it long ago? have not I, Jehovah? and there is no Deity beside me; a God just, and bringing salvation: there is not without me!” The fulness of the Gentiles, which enters into the kingdom of God, is a remnant of the whole mass of the heathen: for salvation comes through judgment; and it is in the midst of great calamities that the work of that heathen mission is accomplished, which is represented in these prophecies on the one hand as the mission of Cyrus, and on the other hand as the mission of Jehovah and His servant. Hence this summons to listen to the self-assertion of the God of revelation, is addressed to the escaped of the heathen, who are not therefore the converted, but those who are susceptible of salvation, and therefore spared. By “the heathen” ( haggōyı̄m ) Knobel understands the allies and auxiliaries of the Babylonians, whom Cyrus put to flight (according to the Cyropaedia ) before his Lydian campaign. But this is only an example of that exaggerated desire to turn everything into history, which not only prevented his seeing the poetry of the form, but obscured the fact that prophecy is both human and divine. For the future was foreshortened to the telescopic glance of the prophet, so that he could not see it in all its length and breadth. He saw in one mass what history afterwards unrolled; and then behind the present he could just see as it were the summit of the end, although a long eventful way still lay between the two. Accordingly, our prophet here takes his stand not at the close of any particular victory of Cyrus, but at the close of all his victories; and, in his view, these terminate the whole series of catastrophes, which are outlived by a remnant of the heathen, who are converted to Jehovah, and thus complete the final glory of the restored people of God. Throughout the whole of these prophecies we see immediately behind the historical foreground this eschatological background lifting up its head. The heathen who have been preserved will assemble together; and from the fact that Jehovah proves Himself the sole foreteller of the events that are now unfolding themselves, they will be brought to the conviction that He is the only God. The hithpael hithnaggēsh does not occur anywhere else. On the absolute ידע לא , see at Isaiah 44:9 (cf., Isaiah 1:3). To the verb haggı̄shū we must supply, as in Isaiah 41:22, according to the same expression in Isaiah 45:21, עצּמתיכם (your proofs). “ This ” refers to the fall of Babylon and redemption of Israel - salvation breaking through judgment. On m ē'âz , from the olden time, compare Isaiah 44:8. God is “a just God and a Saviour,” as a being who acts most stringently according to the demands of His holiness, and wherever His wrath is not wickedly provoked, sets in motion His loving will, which is ever concerned to secure the salvation of men.
It is in accordance with this holy loving will that the cry is published in Isaiah 45:22 : “Turn unto me, and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth; for I am God, and none else.” The first imperative is hortatory, the second promising (cf., Isaiah 36:16 and Isaiah 8:9): Jehovah desires both, viz., the conversion of all men to Himself; and through this their salvation, ad this His gracious will, which extends to all mankind, will not rest till its object has been fully accomplished. Isaiah 45:23 “By myself have I sworn, a word has gone out of a mouth of righteousness, and will not return, That to me every knee shall bend, every tongue swear.” Swearing by Himself (see Genesis 22:16), God pledges what He swears with His own life (compare Romans 14:11, “as I live”). Parallel to נשׁבּעתּי בּי is the clause ישׁוּב ולא דּבר צדק מפּי יצא . Here Rosenmüller connects דבר צדקה together as if with a hyphen, in the sense of a truth-word (Jerome, justitiae verbum ). But this is grammatically impossible, since it would require צדקה דּבר ; moreover, it is opposed both to the accents, and to the dagesh in the Daleth . Hitzig's rendering is a better one: “Truth (lxx δικαιοσύνη ), a word that does not return,” - the latter being taken as an explanatory permutative; but in that case we should require לא for ולא , and ts e dâqâh is not used in the sense of truth anywhere else (compare tsaddı̄q , however, in Isaiah 41:26). On the other hand, צדקה might be equivalent to בצדקה “in righteousness;” cf., Isaiah 42:25, חמה = בּהמה ), if it were not incomparably more natural to connect together צדקה מפי as a genitive construction; though not in the sense in which הגבורה מפי is used in post-biblical writings - namely, as equivalent to “out of the mouth of God” (see Buxtorf, Lex. Chald. Col. 385) - but rather in this way, that the mouth of God is described attributively as regulated in its words by His holy will (as “speaking righteousness, Isaiah 45:19 ). A word has gone forth from this mouth of righteousness; and after it has once gone forth, it does not return without accomplishing its object (Isaiah 55:11). What follows is not so much a promising prediction (that every knee will bend to me), as a definitive declaration of will (that it shall or must bend to me). According to Isaiah 19:18; Isaiah 44:5, “to me” is to be regarded as carried forward, and so to be supplied after “shall swear” (the Septuagint rendering, ὀμεῖται … τὸν Θεόν , is false; that of Paul in Romans 14:11, ἐξομολογήσεται τῷ Θεῷ , is correct; and in this case, as in others also, the Cod. Al. of the Sept. has been corrected from the New Testament quotations).
This bending of the knee, this confession as an oath of homage, will be no forced one. Isaiah 45:24 “Only in Jehovah, do men say of me, is fulness of righteousness and strength; they come to Him, and all that were incensed against Him are put to shame.” The parenthetical insertion of אמר לי ל , with reference to, as in Isaiah 41:7; Isaiah 44:26, Isaiah 44:28) is the same as in Psalms 119:57. אך has a restrictive sense here, which springs out of the affirmative (cf., Psalms 39:7; Psalms 73:1), just as, in the case of raq , the affirmative grows out of the primary restrictive sense. The “righteousness” is abounding (superabundant) righteousness (Romans 5:15.). עז is the strength of sanctification, and of the conquest of the world. The subject to יבוא (which is not to be changed, according to the Masora, into the more natural יבאּוּ , as it is by the lxx, Syr., and Vulg.) is, whoever has seen what man has in Jehovah, and made confession of this; such a man does not rest till he has altogether come over to Jehovah, whereas all His enemies are put to shame. They separate themselves irretrievably from the men who serve Him, the restoration of whom is His direct will, and the goal of the history of salvation. Isaiah 45:25 “In Jehovah all the seed of Israel shall become righteous, and shall glory.” Ruetschi has very properly observed on this verse, that the reference is to the Israel of God out of all the human race, i.e., the church of the believers in Israel expanded by the addition of the heathen; which church is now righteous, i.e., reconciled and renewed by Jehovah, and glories in Him, because by grace it is what it is.
This brings the sixth prophecy to a close. Its five strophes commence with “Thus saith the Lord;” at the same time, the fifth strophe has two “woes” ( hoi ) before this, as the ground upon which it rests.