Isaiah 45:5-6

45:5 I am the Lord, I have no peer, ¹ 

there is no God but me.

I arm you for battle, ²  even though you do not recognize ³  me.

45:6 I do this ⁴  so people ⁵  will recognize from east to west

that there is no God but me;

I am the Lord, I have no peer.

Isaiah 45:14

The Lord is the Nations’ Only Hope

45:14 This is what the Lord says:

“The profit ⁶  of Egypt and the revenue ⁷  of Ethiopia,

along with the Sabeans, those tall men,

will be brought to you ⁸  and become yours.

They will walk behind you, coming along in chains. ⁹ 

They will bow down to you

and pray to you: ¹⁰ 

‘Truly God is with ¹¹  you; he has no peer; ¹² 

there is no other God!’”

Isaiah 45:18

45:18 For this is what the Lord says,

the one who created the sky –

he is the true God, ¹³ 

the one who formed the earth and made it;

he established it,

he did not create it without order, ¹⁴ 

he formed it to be inhabited –

“I am the Lord, I have no peer.

Isaiah 45:21-22

45:21 Tell me! Present the evidence! ¹⁵ 

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; ¹⁶ 

there is none but me.

45:22 Turn to me so you can be delivered, ¹⁷ 

all you who live in the earth’s remote regions!

For I am God, and I have no peer.

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

[45:5]  ² tn Heb “gird you” (so NASB) or “strengthen you” (so NIV).

[45:5]  ³ tn Or “know” (NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT); NIV “have not acknowledged.”

[45:6]  ⁴ tn The words “I do this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[45:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “they” (so KJV, ASV); TEV, CEV “everyone”; NLT “all the world.”

[45:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “labor,” which stands metonymically for the fruits of labor, either “monetary profit,” or “products.”

[45:14]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps, “merchandise” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “the gain of Ethiopia”; CEV “the treasures of Ethiopia.”

[45:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “they will pass over to you”; NASB, NIV “will come over to you”; CEV “will belong to you.”

[45:14]  ⁹ sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.

[45:14]  ¹⁰ sn Israel’s vassals are portrayed as so intimidated and awed that they treat Israel as an intermediary to God or sub-deity.

[45:14]  ¹¹ tn Or perhaps, “among.” Cf. KJV, ASV “Surely God is in thee.”

[45:14]  ¹² tn Heb “there is no other” (so NIV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 18, in v. 21, and at the end of v. 22.

[45:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “he [is] the God.” The article here indicates uniqueness.

[45:18]  ¹⁴ tn Or “unformed.” Gen 1:2 describes the world as “unformed” (תֹהוּ, tohu) prior to God’s creative work, but God then formed the world and made it fit for habitation.

[45:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Declare! Bring near!”; NASB “Declare and set forth your case.” See 41:21.

[45:21]  ¹⁶ tn Or “a righteous God and deliverer”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “a righteous God and a Savior.”

[45:22]  ¹⁷ 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.”