Isaiah 45

¹This is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates will not be shut:

²“I will go before you and level the mountains; I will break down the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.

³I will give you the treasures of darkness and the riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by name.

⁴For the sake of Jacob My servant and Israel My chosen one, I call you by name; I have given you a title of honor, though you have not known Me.

⁵I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me,

⁶so that all may know, from where the sun rises to where it sets, that there is none but Me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.

⁷I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.

⁸Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open up that salvation may sprout and righteousness spring up with it; I, the LORD, have created it.

⁹Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker—one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?

¹⁰Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought forth?’”

¹¹Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: “Concerning things to come, do you question Me about My sons, or instruct Me in the work of My hands?