Isaiah 45:1-8

45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen ¹  one,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold ² 

in order to subdue nations before him,

and disarm kings, ³ 

to open doors before him,

so gates remain unclosed:

45:2 “I will go before you

and level mountains. ⁴ 

Bronze doors I will shatter

and iron bars ⁵  I will hack through.

45:3 I will give you hidden treasures, ⁶ 

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 ⁷  me.

45:5 I am the Lord, I have no peer, ⁸ 

there is no God but me.

I arm you for battle, ⁹  even though you do not recognize ¹⁰  me.

45:6 I do this ¹¹  so people ¹²  will recognize from east to west

that there is no God but me;

I am the Lord, I have no peer.

45:7 I am ¹³  the one who forms light

and creates darkness; ¹⁴ 

the one who brings about peace

and creates calamity. ¹⁵ 

I am the Lord, who accomplishes all these things.

45:8 O sky, rain down from above!

Let the clouds send down showers ¹⁶  of deliverance!

Let the earth absorb it ¹⁷  so salvation may grow, ¹⁸ 

and deliverance may sprout up ¹⁹  along with it.

I, the Lord, create it. ²⁰ 

[45:1]  ¹ tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”

[45:1]  ² sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.

[45:1]  ³ tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”

[45:2]  ⁴ tc The form הֲדוּרִים (hadurim) makes little, if any, sense here. It is probably a corruption of an original הָרָרִים (hararim, “mountains”), the reduplicated form of הָר (har, “mountain”).

[45:2]  ⁵ tn That is, on the gates. Cf. CEV “break the iron bars on bronze gates.”

[45:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “treasures of darkness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “treasures from dark, secret places.”

[45:4]  ⁷ tn Or “know” (NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT); NIV “acknowledge.”

[45:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “and there is none besides.” On the use of עוֹד (’od) here, see BDB 729 s.v. 1.c.

[45:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “gird you” (so NASB) or “strengthen you” (so NIV).

[45:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “know” (NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT); NIV “have not acknowledged.”

[45:6]  ¹¹ tn The words “I do this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[45:6]  ¹² tn Heb “they” (so KJV, ASV); TEV, CEV “everyone”; NLT “all the world.”

[45:7]  ¹³ tn The words “I am” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the participle at the beginning of v. 7 stands in apposition to “the Lord” in v. 6.

[45:7]  ¹⁴ tn On the surface v. 7a appears to describe God’s sovereign control over the cycle of day and night, but the following statement suggests that “light” and “darkness” symbolize “deliverance” and “judgment.”

[45:7]  ¹⁵ sn This verses affirms that God is ultimately sovereign over his world, including mankind and nations. In accordance with his sovereign will, he can cause wars to cease and peace to predominate (as he was about to do for his exiled people through Cyrus), or he can bring disaster and judgment on nations (as he was about to do to Babylon through Cyrus).

[45:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “let the clouds drip with”; KJV “let the skies pour down.”

[45:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “open up” (so NASB); NIV, NLT “open wide.”

[45:8]  ¹⁸ tc The plural verb should be emended to a singular form. The vav (ו) ending is probably virtually dittographic (note the yod at the beginning of the following word).

[45:8]  ¹⁹ tc The Hiphil verb form (תַצְמִיחַ, tatsmiakh) should probably be emended to a Qal (תִצְמַח, titsmakh). The יח sequence at the end of the form is probably due to dittography (note the following יַחַד, yakhad).

[45:8]  ²⁰ tn The masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers back to יָשַׁע (yasha’, “salvation”).