New King James Version
Isaiah 45:1
1“Thus says the Lord to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held— To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:
Isaiah 45:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thus 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;
- New International Version (NIV)“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:
- English Standard Version (ESV)Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:
- New Living Translation (NLT)This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his anointed one, whose right hand he will empower. Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear. Their fortress gates will be opened, never to shut again.
Context of Isaiah 45:1
“Thus says the Lord to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held— To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut: 2‘I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. 3I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.
Read all of Isaiah 45Isaiah 45:1 word by word
כֹּה־אָמַ֣ר יְהוָה֮ לִמְשִׁיחוֹ֮ לְכ֣וֹרֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר־הֶחֱזַ֣קְתִּי בִֽימִינ֗וֹ לְרַד־לְפָנָיו֙ גּוֹיִ֔ם וּמָתְנֵ֥י מְלָכִ֖ים אֲפַתֵּ֑חַ לִפְתֹּ֤חַ לְפָנָיו֙ דְּלָתַ֔יִם וּשְׁעָרִ֖ים לֹ֥א יִסָּגֵֽרוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thus saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- to his anointedמָשִׁיחַmâshîyach · anointedH4899
- to Cyrusכּ֫וֹרֶשׁkôresh kôresh · CyrusH3566
- whose right handיָמִיןyâmîyn · rightH3225
- I have holdenחָזַקchâzaq · to strengthen: holdH2388
- to subdueרָדַדrâdad · to subdueH7286
- nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- him; and I will looseפָּתַחpâthach · to openH6605
- the loinsמׇתְנַ֫יִםmôthen · loinH4975
- of kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- him the two leaved gatesדֶּ֫לֶתdeleth · doorH1817
- and the gatesשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
- shall not be shutסָגַרsâgar · to shutH5462
Cross-references for Isaiah 45:1
- Isaiah 13:3I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have also called My mighty ones for My anger— Those who rejoice in My exaltation.”
- Isaiah 44:28Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” ’
- 1 Kings 19:15Then the Lord said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria.
- Jeremiah 27:6And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him.
- Isaiah 41:13For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’
- Isaiah 42:6“I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles,
- Psalms 73:23Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand.
- Ezekiel 30:21“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and see, it has not been bandaged for healing, nor a splint put on to bind it, to make it strong enough to hold a sword.
- Isaiah 41:2“Who raised up one from the east? Who in righteousness called him to His feet? Who gave the nations before him, And made him rule over kings? Who gave them as the dust to his sword, As driven stubble to his bow?
- Ezra 1:1Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,
- Jeremiah 50:3For out of the north a nation comes up against her, Which shall make her land desolate, And no one shall dwell therein. They shall move, they shall depart, Both man and beast.
- Jeremiah 51:11Make the arrows bright! Gather the shields! The Lord has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. For His plan is against Babylon to destroy it, Because it is the vengeance of the Lord, The vengeance for His temple.
- Daniel 5:6Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.
- Daniel 7:5“And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’
- Daniel 8:3Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last.
- Nahum 2:6The gates of the rivers are opened, And the palace is dissolved.
Commentaries on Isaiah 45:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Loose the loins of kings "ungird the loins of kings" - See the note on Isaiah 5:27. Xenophon gives the following list of the nations conquered by Cyrus: the Syrians, Assyrians, Arabians, Cappadocians, both the Phrygians, Lydians, Carians, Phoenicians, Babylonians. He moreover reigned over the Bactrians, Indians, Cilicians, the Sacae Paphlagones, and ldariandyni. - Cyrop., lib. 1 p. 4, Edit. Hutchinson, Quarto. All these kingdoms he acknowledges, in his…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Thus saith the Lord to his anointed - This is a direct apostrophe to Cyrus, though it was uttered not less than one hundred and fifty years before Babylon was taken by him. The word anointed‘ is that which is usually rendered “Messiah” (משׁיח mâshı̂yach ), and here is rendered by the Septuagint, ͂ͅ ͂ͅ ́ͅ Tō christō mou Kurō - To Cyrus, my Christ,‘ i. e, my anointed. It properly means “the anointed,” and was a title which was commonly given to the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The deliverance of the Jews by Cyrus. (Is. 45:1-4) God calls for obedience to his almighty power. (Is. 45:5-10) The settlement of his people. (Is. 45:11-19) The conversion of the Gentiles. (Is. 45:20-25) Verses 1-4 Cyrus is called God's anointed; he was designed and qualified for his great service by the counsel of God. The gates of Babylon which led to the river, were left open the night that Cyrus marched his army into the empty channel. The Lord went…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1His anointed: This title, usually for David or the Messiah, is used here for Cyrus. Cyrus was anointed because he was chosen for a special mission. No other foreign ruler received this title (compare 1 Samuel 10:1; Romans 13:1). whose right hand I have grasped: The Lord would help Cyrus defeat Babylon (see Isaiah 43:14).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-251. his anointed--Cyrus is so called as being set apart as king, by God's providence, to fulfil His special purpose. Though kings were not anointed in Persia, the expression is applied to him in reference to the Jewish custom of setting apart kings to the regal office by anointing. right hand ... holden--image from sustaining a feeble person by holding his right hand (Is 42:6). subdue nations--namely, the Cilicians, Syrians, Babylonians, Lydians…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 45:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 45
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries