“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,
by my strategy that I devised.
I invaded the territory of nations,
and looted their storehouses.
Like a mighty conqueror,
10:14 My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest,
as one gathers up abandoned eggs,
I gathered up the whole earth.
There was no wing flapping,
or open mouth chirping.”
37:26
Long ago I worked it out,
in ancient times I planned
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins.
37:27 Their residents are powerless;
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field
or green vegetation.
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops
when it is scorched by the east wind.
41:25 I have stirred up one out of the north
one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name.
He steps on
like a potter treading the clay.
45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen
to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold
in order to subdue nations before him,
and disarm kings,
to open doors before him,
so gates remain unclosed:
45:2 “I will go before you
and level mountains.
Bronze doors I will shatter
and iron bars
45:3 I will give you hidden treasures,
riches stashed away in secret places,
so you may recognize that I am the Lord,
the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel.
45:4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
Israel, my chosen one,
I call you by name
and give you a title of respect, even though you do not recognize
45:5 I am the Lord, I have no peer,
there is no God but me.
I arm you for battle,
47:6 How long will you cry out,
how long will it be before you stop killing?
Go back into your sheath!
Stay there and rest!’
47:7 But how can it rest
when I, the Lord, have
I have ordered it to attack
the people of Ashkelon and the seacoast.