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Good News Translation
Isaiah 45:7
Bible Study Resources
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- CondensedParallel Translations
I form light and create darkness,I make success and create disaster;I am the Lord, who does all these things.
I form the light, and create darkness; I make shalom, and create evil. I am the LORD, who does all these things.
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.
I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord , who does all these things.
The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating disaster; I am the LORD who does all these things.
I made the light and the darkness. I bring peace, and I cause troubles. I, the Lord , do all these things.
The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing peace and creating disaster; I am the LORD who does all these things.
I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil. I am Yahweh, who does all these things.
I forme the light and create darkenes: I make peace and create euill: I the Lorde doe all these things.
The One forming light and creating darkness,Producing peace and creating calamity;I am Yahweh who does all these.
I form light and create darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.
I create light and darkness, happiness and sorrow. I, the Lord , do all of this.
I form light, I create darkness; I make well-being, I create woe; I, Adonai , do all these things.
forming the light and creating darkness, making peace and creating evil: I, Jehovah, do all these things.
I made the light and the darkness. I bring peace, and I cause trouble. I, the Lord , do all these things.
I form light and create darkness; I make peace and create hardship; I the LORD do all these things.
I form light and I create darkness; I make peace and I create evil; I am Yahweh; I do all these things.
forming light, and creating darkness; making peace, and creating evil. I, Jehovah, do all these things.
It is I yt created the light and darcknes, I make peace and trouble: Yee euen I the LORDE do all these thinges.
I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am Jehovah, that doeth all these things.
I am the giver of light and the maker of the dark; causing blessing, and sending troubles; I am the Lord, who does all these things.
I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am the LORD, that doeth all these things.
I forme the light, and create darkenesse: I make peace, and create euill: I the Lord do all these things.
It is I that created light and darknesse, I make peace and trouble: yea euen I the Lorde do all these thinges.
I am he that prepared light, and formed darkness; who make peace, and create evil; I am the Lord God, that does all these things.
I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am the LORD, that doeth all these things.
Y am the Lord, and noon other God is; fourmynge liyt, and makynge derknessis, makynge pees, and fourmynge yuel; Y am the Lord, doynge alle these thingis.
I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil. I am Yahweh, that does all these things.
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things].
I am the one who forms light and creates darkness; the one who brings about peace and creates calamity. I am the Lord , who accomplishes all these things.
I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things.'
I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the Lord , am the one who does these things.
I make light and I make darkness. I bring good and I make trouble. I am the Lord Who does all these things.
I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things.
Forming light and creating darkness, Making prosperity, and creating misfortune, - I - Yahweh, who doeth all these.
I form the light, and create darkness, I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord that do all these things.
I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe, I am the LORD, who do all these things.
Forming light, and preparing darkness, Making peace, and preparing evil, I [am] Jehovah, doing all these things.'
The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
form: Genesis 1:3-5, Genesis 1:17, Genesis 1:18, Psalms 8:3, Psalms 104:20-23, Jeremiah 31:35, 2 Corinthians 4:6, James 1:17
create darkness: Exodus 10:21-23, Exodus 14:20, Jeremiah 13:16, Ezekiel 32:8, Joel 2:2, Amos 4:13, Nahum 1:8, Jude 1:6, Jude 1:13
I make Peace: Isaiah 10:5, Isaiah 10:6, Job 2:10, Job 34:29, Psalms 29:11, Psalms 75:7, Ecclesiastes 7:13, Ecclesiastes 7:14, Jeremiah 18:7-10, Jeremiah 51:20, Ezekiel 14:15-21, Amos 3:6, Amos 5:6, Acts 4:28
Reciprocal: Genesis 1:5 - and Genesis 1:16 - to rule Genesis 42:28 - What is Leviticus 14:34 - I put the plague of leprosy Leviticus 26:6 - I will Numbers 16:30 - make a new thing 2 Kings 19:25 - Hast thou not 2 Kings 24:3 - Surely 1 Chronicles 22:9 - I will give peace Job 1:21 - taken away Job 5:6 - trouble Job 10:13 - I know Job 38:19 - the way Isaiah 31:2 - will bring Isaiah 37:26 - how I Isaiah 40:26 - who hath Isaiah 41:23 - do good Isaiah 42:24 - General Jeremiah 10:16 - former Jeremiah 29:4 - whom Lamentations 3:38 - General Micah 1:12 - but Acts 7:50 - General Acts 15:17 - who Philippians 4:7 - the peace 2 Thessalonians 3:16 - give
Cross-References
Then Samson became very thirsty, so he called to the Lord and said, "You gave me this great victory; am I now going to die of thirst and be captured by these heathen Philistines?"
so he and his men took a stand in the middle of the field and fought the Philistines. The Lord gave him a great victory.
God gives great victories to his king; he shows constant love to the one he has chosen, to David and his descendants forever.
You are my king and my God; you give victory to your people,
"Moses is the one who was rejected by the people of Israel. ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?' they asked. He is the one whom God sent to rule the people and set them free with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the burning bush.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
I form the light, and create darkness,.... Natural light, or that light which was produced at the first creation, and of which the sun is the fountain and source; or day which is light, and night which is darkness, the constant revolutions of which were formed, appointed, and are continued by the Lord, Genesis 1:3, moral light, or the light of nature, the rational understanding in man; spiritual light, or the light of grace, by which things spiritual and supernatural are known; the light of joy and comfort from Christ, the sun of righteousness; and the light of eternal glory and happiness: this is all from God, of his producing and giving; and so darkness is his creature; that natural darkness which was upon the face of the earth at the beginning; what arises from the absence of the sun, or is occasioned by the eclipses of it, or very black clouds; or any extraordinary darkness, such as was in Egypt; or deprivation of sight, blindness in men; and, in a figurative sense, ignorance and darkness that follow upon sin; judicial blindness, God gives men up and leaves them to; temporal afflictions and distresses, and everlasting punishment, which is blackness of darkness:
I make peace, and create evil; peace between God and men is made by Christ, who is God over all; spiritual peace of conscience comes from God, through Christ, by the Spirit; eternal glory and happiness is of God, which saints enter into at death; peace among the saints themselves here, and with the men of the world; peace in churches, and in the world, God is the author of, even of all prosperity of every kind, which this word includes: "evil" is also from him; not the evil of sin; this is not to be found among the creatures God made; this is of men, though suffered by the Lord, and overruled by him for good: but the evil of punishment for sin, God's sore judgments, famine, pestilence, evil beasts, and the sword, or war, which latter may more especially be intended, as it is opposed to peace; this usually is the effect of sin; may be sometimes lawfully engaged in; whether on a good or bad foundation is permitted by God; moreover, all afflictions, adversities, and calamities, come under this name, and are of God; see Job 2:10:
I the Lord do all these things; and therefore must be the true God, and the one and only one. Kimchi, from Saadiah Gaon, observes, that this is said against those that assert two gods, the one good, and the other evil; whereas the Lord is the Maker of good and evil, and therefore must be above all; and it is worthy of observation, that the Persian Magi, before Zoroastres m, held two first causes, the one light, or the good god, the author of all good; and the other darkness, or the evil god, the author of all evil; the one they called Oromazes, the other Arimanius; and, as Dr. Prideaux n observes,
"these words are directed to Cyrus king of Persia, and must be understood as spoken in reference to the Persian sect of the Magians; who then held light and darkness, or good and evil, to be the supreme Beings, without acknowledging the great God as superior to both;''
and which these words show; for Zoroastres, who reformed them in this first principle of their religion, was after Isaiah's time.
m Vid. Pocock. Specimen Arab. Hist. p. 147, 148. n Connexion, part 1. p. 215.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
I form the light, and create darkness - Light, in the Bible, is the emblem of knowledge, innocence, pure religion, and of prosperity in general; and darkness is the emblem of the opposite. Light here seems to be the emblem of peace and prosperity, and darkness the emblem of adversity; and the sentiment of the verse is, that all things prosperous and adverse are under the providential control and direction of God. Of light, it is literally true that God made it; and emblematically true that he is the source of knowledge, prosperity, happiness, and pure religion. Of darkness, it is literally true also that the night is formed by him; that he withdraws the light of the sun, and leaves the earth enveloped in gloomy shades. It is emblematically true also that calamity, ignorance, disappointment, and want of success are ordered by him; and not less true that all the moral darkness, or evil, that prevails on earth, is under the direction and ordering of his Providence. There is no reason to think, however, that the words ‘darkness’ and ‘evil’ are to be understood as referring to moral darkness; that is, sin.
A strict regard should be had to the connection in the interpretation of such passages; and the connection here does not demand such an interpretation. The main subject is, the prosperity which would attend the arms of Cyrus, the consequent reverses and calamities of the nations whom he would subdue, and the proof thence furnished that Yahweh was the true God; and the passage should be limited in the interpretation to this design. The statement is, that all this was under his direction. It was not the work of chance or hap-hazard. It was not accomplished or caused by idols. It was not originated by any inferior or subordinate cause. It was to be traced entirely to God. The successes of arms, and the blessings of peace were to be traced to him; and the reverses of arms, and the calamities of war to him also. This is all that the connection of the passage demands; and this is in accordance with the interpretation of Kimchi, Jerome, Rosenmuller, Gesenius, Calvin, and Grotius. The comment of Grotius is, ‘Giving safety to the people, as the Persians; sending calamities upon the people, as upon the Medes and Babylonians.’ Lowth, Jerome, Vitringa, Jahn, and some others, suppose that there is reference here to the prevalent doctrine among the Persians, and the followers of the Magian religion in general, which prevailed all over the East, and in which Cyrus was probably educated, that there are two supreme, independent, co-existent and eternal causes always acting in opposition to each other - the one the author of all good, and the other of all evil; and that these principles or causes are constantly struggling with each other.
The good being or principle, they call light; and the evil, darkness; the one, Oromasden, and the other Ahrimanen. It was further the doctrine of the Magians that when the good principle had the ascendency, happiness prevailed; and when the evil principle prevailed, misery abounded. Lowth supposes, that God here means to assert his complete and absolute superiority over all other things or principles; and that all those powers whom the Persians supposed to be the original authors of good and evil to mankind were subordinate, and must be subject to him; and that there is no power that is not subservient to him, and under his control. That these opinions prevailed in very early times, and perhaps as early as Isaiah, there seems no good reason to doubt (Hyde, de Relig. Veter. Persar, xxii.) But there is no good evidence that Isaiah here referred to those opinions. Good and evil, prosperity and adversity, abound in the world at all times; and all that is required in order to a correct understanding of this passage is the general statement that all these things are under providential direction.
I make peace - I hush the contending passions of mankind; I dispose to peace, and prevent wars when I choose - a passage which proves that the most violent passions are under his control. No passions are more uncontrollable than those which lead to wars; and nowhere is there a more striking display of the Omnipotence of God than in his power to repress the pride, ambition, and spirit of revenge of conquerors and kings:
Which stilleth the noise of the seas,
The noise of their waves,
And the tumult of the people.
Psalms 65:7
And create evil - The parallelism here shows that this is not to be understood in the sense of all evil, but of that which is the opposite of peace and prosperity. That is, God directs judgments, disappointments, trials, and calamities; he has power to suffer the mad passions of people to rage, and to afflict nations with war; he presides over adverse as well as prosperous events. The passage does not prove that God is the author of moral evil, or sin, and such a sentiment is abhorrent to the general strain of the Bible, and to all just views of the character of a holy God.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Isaiah 45:7. I form the light, and create darkness — It was the great principle of the Magian religion, which prevailed in Persia in the time of Cyrus, and in which probably he was educated, that there are two supreme, co-eternal, and independent causes always acting in opposition one to the other; one the author of all good, the other of all evil. The good being they called LIGHT; the evil being, DARKNESS. That when LIGHT had the ascendant, then good and happiness prevailed among men; when DARKNESS had the superiority, then evil and misery abounded. An opinion that contradicts the clearest evidence of our reason, which plainly leads us to the acknowledgment of one only Supreme Being, infinitely good as well as powerful. With reference to this absurd opinion, held by the person to whom this prophecy is addressed, God, by his prophet, in the most significant terms, asserts his omnipotence and absolute supremacy: -
"I am JEHOVAH, and none else;
Forming light, and creating darkness,
Making peace, and creating evil:
I JEHOVAH am the author of all these things."
Declaring that those powers whom the Persians held to be the original authors of good and evil to mankind, representing them by light and darkness, as their proper emblems, are no other than creatures of God, the instruments which he employs in his government of the world, ordained or permitted by him in order to execute his wise and just decrees; and that there is no power, either of good or evil, independent of the one supreme God, infinite in power and in goodness.
There were, however, some among the Persians whose sentiments were more moderate as to this matter; who held the evil principle to be in some measure subordinate to the good; and that the former would at length be wholly subdued by the latter. See Hyde, De Relig. Vet. Pers. cap. xxii.
That this opinion prevailed among the Persians as early as the time of Cyrus we may, I think, infer not only from this passage of Isaiah, which has a manifest reference to it, but likewise from a passage in Xenophon's Cyropaedia, where the same doctrine is applied to the human mind. Araspes, a noble young Persian, had fallen in love with the fair captive Panthea, committed to his charge by Cyrus. After all his boasting that he was superior to the assaults of that passion, he yielded so far to it as even to threaten violence if she would not comply with his desires. Awed by the reproof of Cyrus, fearing his displeasure, and having by cool reflection recovered his reason; in his discourse with him on this subject he says: "O Cyrus, I have certainly two souls; and this piece of philosophy I have learned from that wicked sophist, Love. For if I had but one soul, it would not be at the same time good and evil, it would not at the same time approve of honourable and base actions; and at once desire to do, and refuse to do, the very same things. But it is plain that I am animated by two souls, and when the good soul prevails, I do what is virtuous; and when the evil one prevails, I attempt what is vicious. But now the good soul prevails, having gotten you for her assistant, and has clearly gained the superiority." Lib. vi. p. 424.
I make peace, and create evil — Evil is here evidently put for war and its attendant miseries. I will procure peace for the Israelites, and destroy Babylon by war. I form light, and create darkness. Now, as darkness is only the privation of light, so the evil of war is the privation of peace.
