(2 Chronicles 36:22–23; Ezra 1:1–4)
1
Thus says the Lord to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I hold, so that I may subjugate the nations before his face, and I may turn the backs of kings, and I may open the doors before him, and so that the gates will not be shut.
2
I will go before you. And I will humble the glorious ones of the earth. I will shatter the gates of brass, and I will break apart the bars of iron.
3
And I will give you hidden treasures and the knowledge of secret things, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls your name.
4
For the sake of Jacob, my servant, and Israel, my elect, I have even called you by your name. I have taken you up, and you have not known me.
5
I am the Lord, and there is no one else. There is no god beside me. I girded you, and you have not known me.
6
So may those who are from the rising of the sun, and those who are from its setting, know that there is no one beside me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7
I form the light and create the darkness. I make peace and create disaster. I, the Lord, do all these things.(a) (b)
8
Send down dew from above, O heavens, and let the clouds rain down upon the just! Let the earth open and spring forth a savior! And let justice rise up at once! I, the Lord, have created him.
9
Woe to him who contradicts his Maker, a mere shard from an earthen vessel! Should the clay say to the potter, “What are you making?” or, “Your work is not made by your hands?”
10
Woe to him who says to his father, “Why did you conceive?” or to a woman, “Why did you give birth?”
11
Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, his Maker: Would you question me about the future, concerning my sons, and command me concerning the work of my hands?
12
I made the earth, and I created man upon it. My hand stretched out the heavens, and I have commanded all their hosts.
13
I have raised him up unto justice, and I will direct all his ways. He himself will build my city and release my captives, but not for ransom or gifts, says the Lord, the God of hosts.
14
Thus says the Lord: The labor of Egypt, and the business dealings of Ethiopia, and of the Sabeans, men of stature, will pass to you and will be yours. They will walk behind you. They will travel, bound in irons. And they will adore you and petition you: “In you alone is God, and there is no God apart from you.
15
Truly, you are a hidden God, the God of Israel, the Savior.”(c)
16
They have all been confounded and should be ashamed! These fabricators of errors have departed together into confusion!
17
Israel is saved in the Lord by an eternal salvation. You will not be confounded, and you will not be ashamed, even forever and ever.
18
For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens, God himself who formed the earth and made it, the very Molder of it. He did not create it to no purpose. He formed it so that it would be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19
I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth. I have not said to the offspring of Jacob, “Seek me in vain.” I am the Lord, who speaks justice, who announces what is right.
20
Assemble yourselves, and approach, and draw near together, you who have been saved among the Gentiles. They lack knowledge, who lift up the wood of their sculpture, and who petition a god unable to save.
21
Announce it, and approach, and consult together. Who has caused this to be heard from the beginning, and who has foretold it from that time? Is it not I, the Lord? And is there some other god beside me? I am a just God who saves, and there is no one except me.
22
All ends of the earth, be converted to me, and you will be saved. For I am God, and there is no other.
23
I have sworn by myself. The Word of justice will proceed from my mouth, and it will not turn back.
24
For every knee shall bend to me, and every tongue shall swear it.
25
Therefore, he will say, “In the Lord are my justices and my dominion.” They will go to him. And all who fight against him will be confounded.
26
In the Lord, all the offspring of Israel will be justified and praised.
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