Isaiah 45 - Easy To Read Version

¹ These are the things the Lord says about Cyrus, {\cf2\super [400]} his chosen king: {\cf2\super [401]}

² “\{Cyrus, your armies will march,\}\par and I will go in front of you.\par I will make the mountains flat.\par I will break the city gates of bronze.\par I will cut the iron bars on the gates.\par

³ I will give you the wealth\par that is saved in darkness.\par I will give you those hidden riches.\par I will do this so that you will know\par that I am the Lord.\par I am the God of Israel,\par and I am calling you by name!\par

⁴ I do these things for my servant, Jacob.\par I do these things for my chosen people, Israel.\par \{Cyrus,\} I am calling you by name.\par You don’t know me,\par but I am calling you by name.\par

⁵ I am the Lord!\par I am the only God.\par There is no other God.\par I put your clothes on you, {\cf2\super [402]} \par but still you don’t know me.\par

⁶ I do these things so all people will know\par that I am the only God.\par From the east to the west\par people will know that I am the Lord,\par and there is no other God.\par

⁷ I made the light,\par and I made darkness.\par I make peace,\par and I make troubles.\par I am the Lord—\par and I do all these things.\par

⁸ “May the clouds in the skies above\par drop goodness on the earth like rain!\par May the earth open\par and let salvation grow!\par And may goodness grow with it!\par I, the Lord, made him. {\cf2\super [403]} \par

⁹ “Look at these people! They are arguing with the One who made them. Look at them argue with me! They are like pieces of clay from a broken pot. A man uses soft, wet clay to make a pot. And the clay does not ask, ‘Man, what are you doing?’ Things that are made don’t have the power to question the one who makes them. \{People are like this clay.\}

¹⁰ A father gives life to his children. And the children can’t ask, ‘Why are you giving me life?’ The children can’t question their mother and ask, ‘Why are you giving birth to me?’”

¹¹ The Lord God is the Holy One of Israel. He made Israel. And the Lord says,

¹² \{So, look\}!\par I made the earth.\par And I made all the people living on it.\par I used my own hands\par and made the skies.\par And I command all the armies in the sky. {\cf2\super [405]} \par

¹³ I gave Cyrus his power\par so he would do good things. {\cf2\super [406]} \par And I will make his work easy.\par Cyrus will build my city again.\par And he will make my people free.\par Cyrus will not sell my people to me.\par I will not have to pay him\par to do these things.\par The people will be freed,\par and the cost to me will be nothing.”\par The Lord, All-Powerful, said these things.\par

¹⁴ The Lord says,\par “Egypt and Ethiopia are rich,\par but Israel, you will get those riches.\par The tall people from Seba will be yours.\par They will walk behind you\par with chains around their necks.\par They will bow down before you.\par And they will pray to you.”\par \{Israel\}, God is with you.\par And there is no other God.\par

¹⁵ God, you are the God people can’t see.\par You are the Savior of Israel.\par

¹⁶ Many people make false gods.\par But those people will be disappointed.\par All of those people will go away ashamed.\par

¹⁷ But Israel will be saved by the Lord.\par That salvation will continue forever.\par Never, never again will Israel be shamed.\par

¹⁸ The Lord is God.\par He made the skies and the earth.\par The Lord put the earth in its place.\par The Lord did not want the earth\par to be empty when he made it.\par He created it to be lived on!\par “I am the Lord.\par There is no other God.\par

¹⁹ I did not speak in secret.\par I have spoken freely.\par I did not hide my words\par in a dark place of the world.\par I did not tell the people of Jacob\par to look for me in empty places.\par I am the Lord, and I speak the truth.\par I say things that are true.”\par

²⁰ “You people have escaped from other nations. So gather together and come before me. (These people carry statues of false gods. These people pray to those useless gods. But the people don’t know what they are doing.

²¹ Tell these people to come to me. Let them present their case and discuss these things.)

²² All you people in faraway places should \{stop following those false gods\}. You should follow me and be saved. I am God. There is no other God. I am the only God.

²³ “I make this promise by my own power. And when I make a promise, that promise is true. The thing I promise will happen! And I promise that every person will bow before me (God). And every person will promise \{to follow me\}.

²⁴ People will say, ‘Goodness and power come only from the Lord.’”

²⁵ The Lord will help the people of Israel do good, and the people will be very proud of their God.