Read the Bible

I have taken hold
    of your right hand
to help you capture nations
    and remove kings from power.
City gates will open for you;
    not one will stay closed.
² As I lead you,
    I will level mountains^[a]
and break the iron bars
    on bronze gates of cities.

³ I will give you treasures
hidden in dark
    and secret places.
Then you will know that I,
the Lord God of Israel,
    have called you by name.
⁴ Cyrus, you don't even know me!
But I have called you by name
    and highly honored you^[b]
because of Israel,
    my chosen servant.

⁵ Only I am the Lord!
    There are no other gods.
I have made you strong,
    though you don't know me.
⁶ Now everyone from east to west
will learn that I am the Lord.
    No other gods are real.
⁷ I create light and darkness,
happiness and sorrow.
    I, the Lord, do all of this.

⁸ Tell the heavens
to send down justice
    like showers of rain.
Prepare the earth
    for my saving power
to sprout
and produce justice
    that I, the Lord, create.^[c]

⁹ Israel, you have no right
    to argue with your Creator.
You are merely a clay pot
    shaped by a potter.
The clay doesn't ask,
"Why did you make me this way?
    Where are the handles?"
¹⁰ Children don't have the right
    to demand of their parents,
"What have you done
    to make us what we are?"

¹¹ I am the Lord, the Creator,
    the holy God of Israel.
Do you dare question me
about my own nation
    or about what I have done?
¹² I created the world
    and covered it with people;
I stretched out the sky
    and filled it with stars.
¹³ I have done the right thing
    by placing Cyrus in power,
and I will make the roads easy
    for him to follow.
I am the Lord All-Powerful!
    Cyrus will rebuild my city
    and set my people free
    without being paid a thing.
I, the Lord, have spoken.

¹⁴ My people, I, the Lord, promise
    that the riches of Egypt
and the treasures of Ethiopia^[d]
    will belong to you.
You will force into slavery
    those tall people of Seba.^[e]

They will bow down and say,
"The only true God is with you;
    there are no other gods."
¹⁵ People of Israel,
your God is a mystery,
    though he alone can save.
¹⁶ Anyone who makes idols
will be confused
    and terribly disgraced.
¹⁷ But Israel, I, the Lord,
will always keep you safe
    and free from shame.

¹⁸ The Lord alone is God!
He created the heavens
    and made a world
where people can live,
instead of creating
    an empty desert.
The Lord alone is God;
    there are no others.
¹⁹ The Lord did not speak
    in a dark secret place
or command Jacob's descendants
    to search for him in vain.

The Lord speaks the truth,
    and this is what he says
²⁰ to every survivor
    from every nation:
"Gather around me!
Learn how senseless it is
    to worship wooden idols
    or pray to helpless gods.

²¹ "Why don't you get together
    and meet me in court?
Didn't I tell you long ago
    what would happen?
I am the only God!
    There are no others.
I bring about justice,
    and have the power to save.

²² "I invite the whole world
    to turn to me and be saved.
I alone am God!
    No others are real.
²³ I have made a solemn promise,
    one that won't be broken:
Everyone will bow down
    and worship me.
²⁴ They will admit that I alone
    can bring about justice.
Everyone who is angry with me
will be terribly ashamed
    and will turn to me.
²⁵ I, the Lord, will give
victory and great honor
    to the people of Israel."