1  Thus says the Lord to ^phis anointed, to Cyrus,

^qwhose right hand I have grasped,

to subdue nations before him

and ^rto loose the belts of kings,

to open doors before him

that gates may not be closed:

2  “I will go before you

and ^slevel the exalted places,¹

^tI will break in pieces the doors of bronze

and cut through the bars of iron,

3  ^uI will give you the treasures of darkness

and the hoards in secret places,

that you may know that it is I, the Lord,

the God of Israel, ^vwho call you by your name.

4  For the sake of my servant Jacob,

and Israel my chosen,

^vI call you by your name,

^wI name you, though you do not know me.

5  ^xI am the Lord, and there is no other,

besides me there is no God;

^yI equip you, though you do not know me,

6  ^zthat people may know, from the rising of the sun

and from the west, that there is none besides me;

I am the Lord, and there is no other.

7  I form light and create darkness;

I make well-being and ^acreate calamity;

I am the Lord, who does all these things.

8  ^b“Shower, O heavens, from above,

and ^clet the clouds rain down righteousness;

let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;

let the earth cause them both to sprout;

I the Lord have created it.

9  ^d“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,

a pot among earthen pots!

^eDoes the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’

or ‘Your work has no handles’?

10  Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’

or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”

11  Thus says ^fthe Lord,

the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:

^g“Ask me of things to come;

will you command me ^hconcerning my children and ⁱthe work of my hands?²

12  ^jI made the earth

and created man on it;

it was my hands ^kthat stretched out the heavens,

and ^lI commanded all their host.

13  ^mI have stirred him up in righteousness,

ⁿand I will make all his ways level;

^ohe shall build my city

^pand set my exiles free,

not for price or reward,”

says the Lord of hosts.

14  Thus says the Lord:

^q“The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,

and the Sabeans, men of stature,

shall come over to you ^rand be yours;

they shall follow you;

they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.

They will plead with you, saying:

‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,

no god besides him.’”

15  ^sTruly, you are a God who hides himself,

O God of Israel, the Savior.

16  ^tAll of them are put to shame and confounded;

the makers of idols go in confusion together.

17  But Israel is saved by the Lord

with everlasting salvation;

^uyou shall not be put to shame or confounded

to all eternity.

18  ^vFor thus says the Lord,

who created the heavens

(he is God!),

who formed the earth and made it

(he established it;

he ^wdid not create it empty,

^xhe formed it to be inhabited!):

“I am the Lord, and there is no other.

19  ^yI did not speak in secret,

in a land of darkness;

I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,

^z‘Seek me in vain.’³

I the Lord speak ^athe truth;

I declare what is right.

20  ^b“Assemble yourselves and come;

draw near together,

you survivors of the nations!

^cThey have no knowledge

who ^dcarry about their wooden idols,

^eand keep on praying to a god

that cannot save.

21  ^fDeclare and present your case;

let them take counsel together!

Who told this long ago?

Who declared it of old?

Was it not I, the Lord?

And there is no other god besides me,

a righteous God ^gand a Savior;

there is none besides me.

22  “Turn to me and be saved,

^hall the ends of the earth!

For I am God, and there is no other.

23  ⁱBy myself I have sworn;

from my mouth has gone out in ^jrighteousness

a word that shall not return:

^k‘To me every knee shall bow,

every tongue shall swear allegiance.’⁴

24  ^l“Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,

are righteousness and ^mstrength;

to him shall come and be ashamed

ⁿall who were incensed against him.

25  In the Lord all the offspring of Israel

shall be justified and shall glory.”

1  ^oBel bows down; Nebo stoops;

their idols are on beasts and livestock;

these things you carry are borne

as burdens on weary beasts.

2  They stoop; they bow down together;

they cannot save the burden,

but ^pthemselves go into captivity.

3  “Listen to me, O house of Jacob,

all the remnant of the house of Israel,

^qwho have been borne by me from before your birth,

carried from the womb;

4  ^reven to your old age I am he,

and to gray hairs I will carry you.

I have made, and I will bear;

I will carry and will save.

5  ^s“To whom will you liken me and make me equal,

and compare me, that we may be alike?

6  ^tThose who lavish gold from the purse,

and weigh out silver in the scales,

hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;

^uthen they fall down and worship!

7  ^vThey lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,

they set it in its place, and it stands there;

^wit cannot move from its place.

If one cries to it, it does not answer

or save him from his trouble.

8  “Remember this and stand firm,

recall it to mind, ^xyou transgressors,

9  remember the former things of old;

for I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me,

10  ^ydeclaring the end from the beginning

and from ancient times things not yet done,

saying, ^z‘My counsel shall stand,

and I will accomplish all my purpose,’

11  ^acalling a bird of prey from the east,

the man of my counsel from a far country.

^bI have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;

I have purposed, and I will do it.

12  “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,

you who are far from righteousness:

13  ^cI bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,

and my salvation will not delay;

^dI will put salvation in Zion,

for Israel my glory.”

^w“For your sake ^xwe are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”