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Last Modified: Thursday March 21, 2019
Author: Eduardo Freire Canosa
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1 "This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
2 I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
4 For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me,
6 so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.
8 "You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the Lord, have created it.
9 "Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?' Does your work say, 'He has no hands'?
10 Woe to him who says to his father, 'What have you begotten?' or to his mother, 'What have you brought to birth?'
11 "This is what the Lord says—the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?
12 It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts.
13 I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward," says the Lord Almighty.
14 This is what the Lord says: "The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and those tall Sabeans—they will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge behind you, coming over to you in chains. They will bow down before you and plead with you, saying, 'Surely God is with you, and there is no other; there is no other god.'"
15 Truly you are a God who hides himself, O God and Savior of Israel.
16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced; they will go off into disgrace together.
17 But Israel will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting.
18 For this is what the Lord says—he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited—he says: "I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob's descendants, 'Seek me in vain.' I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.
20 "Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save.
21 Declare what is to be, present it—let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me.
22 Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.
24 They will say of me, 'In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.' All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame.
25 But in the Lord all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult."
This canonical chapter has twelve verses centered on Cyrus, the man anointed by the Lord to allow the rebuilding of Jerusalem and to set the exiles free. Thirteen left-over verses are exported to five revisions.
Is Cyrus a "servant of the Lord"? Although the Lord styles him a "chosen ally" (Isaiah 48:14) his "shepherd" (Isaiah 44:28) and his "anointed" (v 1) Cyrus is not a "servant of the Lord" in the tenor of Moses because Cyrus does not acknowledge the Lord (v 5). However Cyrus is a servant of the Lord in the tenor of the Assyrian appointed for a specific task (Isaiah 10:5-6). In this second sense even Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is styled a "servant of the Lord" (Jeremiah 25:8, 27:6, 43:10). Those exiles in Babylon who objected to Cyrus' designation of "anointed" failed to grasp the dual meaning of the term (verses 9-11).
Revised Chapter 45 extracts twelve verses of the canonical chapter, imports none and adopts the title, "Cyrus."
8. You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the Lord, have created it.
Explanation: These showers of righteousness will grow a crop of righteousness.
Destination: Revised Chapter 27, "Sing About A Fruitful Vineyard,"
8 You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the Lord, have created it. 61:11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
14. This is what the Lord says: "The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and those tall Sabeans—they will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge behind you, coming over to you in chains. They will bow down before you and plead with you, saying, 'Surely God is with you, and there is no other; there is no other god.'"
Explanation: "The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush came over" because all the neighbours in Babylon assisted the departing Israelites "with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings" (Ezra 1:6).
The "tall Sabeans" were a raiding nation located far away in the desert (Job 1:13-15, Ezekiel 23:42, Joel 3:8). This verse reveals that Babylon had captured it.
Destination: Revised Chapter 48, "Leave Babylon, Flee From The Babylonians!"
15. Truly you are a God who hides himself, O God and Savior of Israel.
Destination: Revised Chapter 25, "Psalms of Praise To God,"
15 Truly you are a God who hides himself, O God and Savior of Israel. 26:10 Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and regard not the majesty of the Lord. 26:11 O Lord, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.
16-17. All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced; they will go off into disgrace together. 17 But Israel will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting.
Destination: Obviously Revised Chapter 41, "The Lord Versus The Idols."
18-19. For this is what the Lord says—he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited—he says: "I am the Lord, and there is no other. 19 I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob's descendants, 'Seek me in vain.' I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right."
Analysis: The flair of verse 18 is the flair of Isaiah 42:5, 43:1, 43:16, 44:24. The writer is the Babylonian Isaiah. Consequently it is a sure bet that these two verses appertain to the latter years of the Babylonian exile. A bold affirmation and a righteous statement must escort verses 18-19.
Destination: Revised Chapter 46, "The First Prophetic Utterance About Cyrus,"
46:9 "Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. 46:10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please."18 For this is what the Lord says—he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited—he says: "I am the Lord, and there is no other. 19 I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob's descendants, 'Seek me in vain.' I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.
46:8 "Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels: 46:11 From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do. 55:10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 55:11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
20-25. Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. 21 Declare what is to be, present it—let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. 22 Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. 23 By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. 24 They will say of me, "In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength." All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. 25 But in the Lord all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult.
Destination: Obviously Revised Chapter 41, "The Lord Versus The Idols."
1 This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
2 "I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
4 "For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me. 5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.
"I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, 6 so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. 7 I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things."
9 Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, "What are you making?" Does your work say, "He has no hands"? 10 Woe to him who says to his father, "What have you begotten?" or to his mother, "What have you brought to birth?"
11 This is what the Lord says—the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: "Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands? 12 It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts. 13 I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward," says the Lord Almighty.
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