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Isaiah 45

KJV · Chapter 45/66

1Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;

2I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:

3And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.

4For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.

5I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

6That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.

7I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.

8Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it.

9Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

10Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?

11Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.

12I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.

13I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts.

14Thus saith the Lord, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God.

15Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.

16They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols.

17But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.

18For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.

19I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.

20Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.

21Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.

22Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

23I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

24Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.

25In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God calls Cyrus, the future Persian king, his 'anointed one,' even though Cyrus does not know him, and promises to use him to free his people. The chapter reaffirms that God is the only Creator, forming both light and darkness, and that every nation will one day bow before him.

Explanation

Calling a foreign pagan king 'anointed' (the same Hebrew word used for the kings and priests of Israel, 'messiah') is surprising, and it shows that God can use even leaders who do not know him to accomplish his redemptive purposes. The phrase 'I form the light and create darkness; I make peace and create calamity' does not mean God is the author of moral evil, but that he is sovereign over everything that happens, including both disasters and blessings — a Hebrew way of affirming total control over history. The promise that 'before me every knee shall bow' is quoted in the New Testament (Philippians 2:10-11, Romans 14:11) and applied to Jesus, showing the deep connection between these prophetic texts and later Christian theology. The practical application today is to trust that God can work through unexpected circumstances and people, even those who do not share our faith.

Fun facts

  • The phrase 'before me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear allegiance' is quoted by Paul in Philippians 2:10-11 and Romans 14:11, applying it directly to Jesus Christ, one of the most theologically significant connections between Isaiah and the New Testament.
  • Historians confirm that Cyrus the Great truly did allow exiled peoples (including the Jews) to return to their native lands and rebuild their temples, a policy recorded both in the Bible and in Persian and Babylonian sources.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Isaiah 45:1Calling Cyrus “anointed” is surprising: that title was normally reserved for kings and priests of Israel, chosen by God from within the people itself. Cyrus was a Persian king, foreign and pagan, and yet the text treats him as an instrument chosen by God to free the exiles, decades before he even existed.
  2. Isaiah 45:2Gates of brass and bars of iron describe city defenses that were practically unbreakable for the time. Promising to break them before Cyrus is saying that no fortification will stop his conquest of Babylon.
  3. Isaiah 45:3“The treasures of darkness” describes riches hidden or kept in secret places, the kind of spoil a victorious conqueror like Cyrus would expect to find on taking a rich city like Babylon.
  4. Isaiah 45:4Repeating that Cyrus was “called thee by thy name” even without knowing this God reinforces just how surprising this choice is: a foreign, pagan king used for Israel’s purposes without ever having asked for it.
  5. Isaiah 45:5“I girded thee” describes the gesture of equipping someone with a belt of war or authority, an image of God preparing Cyrus for the role of conqueror even without his knowing the source of that strength.
  6. Isaiah 45:6From the rising of the sun to the west is a way of saying from east to west, the entire known world of the time. Cyrus’s victory was meant to serve as public, universal proof that only one true God exists.
  7. Isaiah 45:7God saying that He creates light and darkness, peace and evil, isn’t speaking of moral wickedness: the original word carries the sense of disaster, calamity, misfortune. The idea is that God is in control of both good times and bad, including the exile itself.
  8. Isaiah 45:8Heavens pouring down righteousness like rain and earth producing salvation like a crop are agricultural images applied to something abstract, suggesting that salvation springs up as naturally as a harvest after rain.
  9. Isaiah 45:9The image of clay complaining about the one who shaped it is an argument from authority: it makes no sense for the creature to question the creator. Here it serves to silence anyone doubting that God could use a foreign king like Cyrus for His plans.
  10. Isaiah 45:10The question “What begettest thou?” addressed to the father, and “What hast thou brought forth?” to the mother, shows the absurdity of questioning whoever gives rise to something. It’s the same argument about the clay and the potter, applied to the relationship between parents and children.
  11. Isaiah 45:11Inviting the people to ask about “the work of my hands” is an unusual opening: instead of silencing any questioning, God allows people to ask about His own plans, including the use of Cyrus.
  12. Isaiah 45:12Listing the creation of the earth, of man, and of the heavens before returning to speak of Cyrus reinforces the chapter’s logic: whoever has that kind of creative power can also freely choose whom to use as a political instrument.
  13. Isaiah 45:13“Not for price nor reward” highlights that Cyrus will free the exiles without charging ransom, unlike the normal custom of war, in which prisoners were released only for payment.
  14. Isaiah 45:14Egypt, Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, peoples known for their stature and commercial wealth, appear bowing down to Israel, a scene of complete reversal for a people then living as exiles with no power at all.
  15. Isaiah 45:15“A God that hidest thyself” acknowledges that God’s way of acting is often neither obvious nor immediate, something relevant to a people who spent decades in exile without seeing any clear sign of intervention.
  16. Isaiah 45:16The shame promised to the makers of images closes out the chapter’s contrast: while Cyrus acts as a recognized instrument of God, the idolaters end up humiliated for trusting in something with no real power.
  17. Isaiah 45:17Contrasting with the shame of the previous verse, Israel’s salvation is described as everlasting, a guarantee that, unlike the idols, this relationship will not end in humiliation.
  18. Isaiah 45:18“He created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited” sums up the purpose of creation: the earth wasn’t made to sit empty like a desert, but to have people living on it, an argument later used to justify the repopulation of Judah.
  19. Isaiah 45:19Saying that God did not speak “in secret” nor “in a dark place” contrasts with the divination practices of the time, often carried out secretly or in dark caves. God’s revelation is presented as public and clear.
  20. Isaiah 45:20Summoning the survivors of the nations to witness the ignorance of those who carry idols in procession repeats the mockery of earlier chapters: praying to a god that cannot save is itself the argument against idolatry.
  21. Isaiah 45:21The invitation to take counsel together and announce who foretold this from ancient times repeats the challenge already made to the nations and idols, reinforcing that only this specific God has a track record of fulfilled prophecy.
  22. Isaiah 45:22“All the ends of the earth” widens the invitation to salvation beyond Israel, including any nation willing to turn to this God, one of the most universal verses in the chapter.
  23. Isaiah 45:23The knee that bows before God uses a formula of total submission, the kind practiced before kings in antiquity. Here it is applied to God’s authority over all nations, not just over Israel.
  24. Isaiah 45:24Crediting God with “righteousness and strength” and promising shame to whoever rages against Him sums up the central argument: resisting this God is the stance that ends in humiliation, not faith in Him.
  25. Isaiah 45:25“Be justified” and “shall glory” close the chapter with the same promise repeated throughout it: Israel’s seed finds its honor and justification specifically in the Lord, not in any other source.

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