Yesaya 44:28--45:4

44:28 who commissions ¹  Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd ² 

to carry out all my wishes ³ 

and to decree concerning Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’

and concerning the temple, ‘It will be reconstructed.’” ⁴ 

45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen ⁵  one,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold ⁶ 

in order to subdue nations before him,

and disarm kings, ⁷ 

to open doors before him,

so gates remain unclosed:

45:2 “I will go before you

and level mountains. ⁸ 

Bronze doors I will shatter

and iron bars ⁹  I will hack through.

45:3 I will give you hidden treasures, ¹⁰ 

riches stashed away in secret places,

so you may recognize that I am the Lord,

the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel.

45:4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,

Israel, my chosen one,

I call you by name

and give you a title of respect, even though you do not recognize ¹¹  me.

Yesaya 45:13

45:13 It is me – I stir him up and commission him; ¹² 

I will make all his ways level.

He will rebuild my city;

he will send my exiled people home,

but not for a price or a bribe,”

says the Lord who commands armies.

Yesaya 46:11

46:11 who summons an eagle ¹³  from the east,

from a distant land, one who carries out my plan.

Yes, I have decreed, ¹⁴ 

yes, I will bring it to pass;

I have formulated a plan,

yes, I will carry it out.

[44:28]  ¹ tn Heb “says to.” It is possible that the sentence is not completed, as the description of Cyrus and his God-given role is developed in the rest of the verse. 45:1 picks up where 44:28a leaves off with the Lord’s actual words to Cyrus finally being quoted in 45:2.

[44:28]  ² tn Heb “my shepherd.” The shepherd motif is sometimes applied, as here, to a royal figure who is responsible for the well-being of the people whom he rules.

[44:28]  ³ tn Heb “that he might bring to completion all my desire.”

[44:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “and [concerning the] temple, you will be founded.” The preposition -לְ (lÿ) is understood by ellipsis at the beginning of the second line. The verb תִּוָּסֵד (tivvased, “you will be founded”) is second masculine singular and is probably addressed to the personified temple (הֵיכָל [hekhal, “temple”] is masculine).

[45:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”

[45:1]  ⁶ sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.

[45:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”

[45:2]  ⁸ tc The form הֲדוּרִים (hadurim) makes little, if any, sense here. It is probably a corruption of an original הָרָרִים (hararim, “mountains”), the reduplicated form of הָר (har, “mountain”).

[45:2]  ⁹ tn That is, on the gates. Cf. CEV “break the iron bars on bronze gates.”

[45:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “treasures of darkness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “treasures from dark, secret places.”

[45:4]  ¹¹ tn Or “know” (NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT); NIV “acknowledge.”

[45:13]  ¹² tn Heb “I stir him up in righteousness”; NASB “I have aroused him.” See the note at 41:2. Cyrus (cf. 44:28) is in view here.

[46:11]  ¹³ tn Or, more generally, “a bird of prey” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV; see 18:6).

[46:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “spoken”; KJV “I have spoken it.”