Isaiah 45:13-17

The Message

^11-13Thus God, The Holy of Israel, Israel’s Maker, says:
    “Do you question who or what I’m making?
    Are you telling me what I can or cannot do?
I made earth,
    and I created man and woman to live on it.
I handcrafted the skies
    and direct all the constellations in their turnings.
And now I’ve got Cyrus on the move.
    I’ve rolled out the red carpet before him.
He will build my city.
    He will bring home my exiles.
I didn’t hire him to do this. I told him.
    I, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.”

* * *

¹⁴God says:

“The workers of Egypt, the merchants of Ethiopia,
    and those statuesque Sabeans
Will all come over to you—all yours.
    Docile in chains, they’ll follow you,
Hands folded in reverence, praying before you:
    ‘Amazing! God is with you!
    There is no other God—none.’”

Look at the Evidence

^15-17Clearly, you are a God who works behind the scenes,
    God of Israel, Savior God.
Humiliated, all those others
    will be ashamed to show their faces in public.
Out of work and at loose ends, the makers of no-god idols
    won’t know what to do with themselves.
The people of Israel, though, are saved by you, God,
    saved with an eternal salvation.
They won’t be ashamed,
    they won’t be at loose ends, ever.