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God Uses Cyrus

¹ This is what the LORD says to ^(C1)Cyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken by the right ^(C2)hand,
To ^(C3)subdue nations before him
And ^(F1)to ^(C4)undo the weapons belt on the waist of kings;
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

² "I will go before you and ^(C1)make the ^(F1)rough places smooth;
I will ^(C2)shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron ^(C3)bars.

³ "I will give you the ^(F1)(C1)treasures of darkness
And hidden wealth of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
The LORD, the God of Israel, who ^(C2)calls you by your name.

⁴ "For the sake of ^(C1)Jacob My servant,
And Israel My chosen one,
I have also ^(C2)called you by your name;
I have given you a title of honor
Though you have ^(C3)not known Me.

⁵ "I am the LORD, and ^(C1)there is no one else;
^(C2)There is no God except Me.
I will ^(F1)(C3)arm you, though you have not known Me,

⁶ So that ^(C1)people may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is ^(C2)no one besides Me.
I am the LORD, and there is no one else,

⁷ The One ^(C1)forming light and ^(C2)creating darkness,
Causing ^(F1)well-being and ^(C3)creating disaster;
I am the LORD who does all these things.

God's Supreme Power

⁸ "^(C1)Drip down, heavens, from above,
And let the clouds pour down righteousness;
Let the ^(C2)earth open up and salvation bear fruit,
^(C3)And righteousness sprout with it.
I, the LORD, have created it.

⁹ "Woe to the one who ^(C1)quarrels with ^(F1)his Maker—
A piece of pottery ^(F2)among the other earthenware pottery pieces!
Will the ^(C2)clay say to the ^(F3)potter, 'What are you doing?'
Or the thing you are making say, 'He has no hands'?

¹⁰ "Woe to him who says to a father, 'What are you fathering?'
Or to a woman, 'To what are you ^(F1)giving birth?'"

¹¹ This is what the ^(C1)LORD says, the Holy One of Israel and ^(F1)his ^(C2)Maker:

"^(F2)(C3)Ask Me about the things to come ^(F3)concerning My ^(C4)sons,
And you shall commit to Me ^(C5)the work of My hands.

¹² "It is I who ^(C1)made the earth, and created mankind upon it.
I ^(C2)stretched out the heavens with My hands,
And I ^(F1)ordained ^(C3)all their ^(F2)lights.

¹³ "I have stirred him in ^(C1)righteousness,
And I will ^(C2)make all his ways smooth.
He will ^(C3)build My city and let My exiles go ^(C4)free,
Without any payment or reward," says the LORD of armies.

¹⁴ This is what the LORD says:

"The ^(F1)products of ^(C1)Egypt and the merchandise of ^(F2)(C2)Cush
And the Sabeans, men of stature,
Will ^(C3)come over to you and will be yours;
They will walk behind you, they will come over in ^(C4)chains
And will ^(C5)bow down to you;
They will plead with you:
'^(F3)(C6)God certainly is ^(F4)with you, and ^(C7)there is no one else,
No other God.'"

¹⁵ Truly, You are a God who ^(C1)hides Himself,
God of Israel, ^(C2)Savior!

¹⁶ They will be ^(C1)put to shame and even humiliated, all of them;
The ^(C2)manufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation.

¹⁷ Israel has been saved by the LORD
With an ^(C1)everlasting salvation;
You ^(C2)will not be put to shame or humiliated
To all eternity.

¹⁸ For this is what the LORD says, He who ^(C1)created the heavens (He is the God who ^(C2)formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it ^(F1)as a ^(C3)waste place, but formed it to be ^(C4)inhabited):

"I am the LORD, and ^(C5)there is no one else.

¹⁹ "^(C1)I have not spoken in secret,
In ^(F1)some dark land;
I did not say to the ^(F2)(C2)offspring of Jacob,
'^(C3)Seek Me in ^(F3)a wasteland';
I, the LORD, ^(C4)speak righteousness,
^(C5)Declaring things that are right.

²⁰ "^(C1)Gather yourselves and come;
Come together, you survivors of the nations!
^(C2)They have no knowledge,
Who ^(C3)carry around ^(F1)their wooden idol
And ^(C4)pray to a god who cannot save.

²¹ "^(C1)Declare and present your case;
Indeed, let them consult together.
^(C2)Who has announced this long ago?
Who has long since declared it?
Is it not I, the LORD?
And there is ^(C3)no other God besides Me,
A righteous God and a ^(C4)Savior;
There is none except Me.

²² "^(C1)Turn to Me and ^(C2)be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.

²³ "^(C1)I have sworn by Myself;
The ^(C2)word has gone out from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me ^(C3)every knee will bow, every tongue will ^(C4)swear allegiance.

²⁴ "They will say of Me, 'Only ^(C1)in the LORD are righteousness and strength.'
People will come to Him,
And ^(C2)all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.

²⁵ "In the LORD all the offspring of Israel
Will be ^(C1)justified and will ^(C2)boast."