45:19 I have not spoken in secret,
in some hidden place. 1
I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,
‘Seek me in vain!’ 2
I am the Lord,
the one who speaks honestly,
who makes reliable announcements. 3
45:21 Tell me! Present the evidence! 4
Let them consult with one another!
Who predicted this in the past?
Who announced it beforehand?
Was it not I, the Lord?
I have no peer, there is no God but me,
a God who vindicates and delivers; 5
there is none but me.
45:22 Turn to me so you can be delivered, 6
all you who live in the earth’s remote regions!
For I am God, and I have no peer.
45:23 I solemnly make this oath 7 –
what I say is true and reliable: 8
‘Surely every knee will bow to me,
every tongue will solemnly affirm; 9
45:24 they will say about me,
“Yes, the Lord is a powerful deliverer.”’” 10
All who are angry at him will cower before him. 11
1 tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”
2 tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”
3 tn The translation above assumes that צֶדֶק (tsedeq) and מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim) are adverbial accusatives (see 33:15). If they are taken as direct objects, indicating the content of what is spoken, one might translate, “who proclaims deliverance, who announces justice.”
4 tn Heb “Declare! Bring near!”; NASB “Declare and set forth your case.” See 41:21.
5 tn Or “a righteous God and deliverer”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “a righteous God and a Savior.”
6 tn The Niphal imperative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose after the preceding imperative. The Niphal probably has a tolerative sense, “allow yourselves to be delivered, accept help.”
7 tn Heb “I swear by myself”; KJV, NASB “have sworn.”
8 tn Heb “a word goes out from my mouth [in] truth and will not return.”
9 tn Heb “swear” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “confess allegiance.”
10 tn Heb “‘Yes, in the Lord,’ one says about me, ‘is deliverance and strength.’”
11 tn Heb “will come to him and be ashamed.”