Isaiah 45:1-13

1The Lord says this to Cyrus, his anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and disarm kings, to open doors before him, and even city gates will not be shut:

2“I will go before you and level the uneven places; I will shatter the bronze doors and cut the iron bars in two.

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

4I call you by your name, for the sake of my servant Jacob and Israel my chosen one. I give a name to you, though you do not know me.

5I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God but me. I will strengthen you, though you do not know me,

6so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is no one but me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.

7I form light and create darkness, I make success and create disaster; I am the Lord, who does all these things.

8“Heavens, sprinkle from above, and let the skies shower righteousness. Let the earth open up so that salvation will sprout and righteousness will spring up with it. I, the Lord, have created it.

9“Woe to the one who argues with his Maker — one clay pot among many. Does clay say to the one forming it, ‘What are you making? ’ Or does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?

10Woe to the one who says to his father, ‘What are you fathering?’ or to his mother, ‘What are you giving birth to? ’”

11This is what the Lord, the Holy One of Israel and its Maker, says: “Ask me what is to happen to my sons, and instruct me about the work of my hands.

12I made the earth, and created humans on it. It was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded everything in them.

13I have stirred him up in righteousness, and will level all roads for him. He will rebuild my city, and set my exiles free, not for a price or a bribe,” says the Lord of Armies.