Isaiah 45:5-7

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Isaiah 45:5 tn Heb “and there is none besides.” On the use of עוֹד (ʿod) here, see BDB 729 s.v. 1.c.
2. Isaiah 45:5 tn Heb “gird you” (so NASB) or “strengthen you” (so NIV).
3. Isaiah 45:5 tn Or “know” (NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT); NIV “have not acknowledged.”
4. Isaiah 45:6 tn The words “I do this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
5. Isaiah 45:6 tn Heb “they” (so KJV, ASV); TEV, CEV “everyone”; NLT “all the world.”
6. Isaiah 45:7 tn The words “I am” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the participle at the beginning of v. 7 stands in apposition to “the Lord” in v. 6.
7. Isaiah 45:7 tn On the surface v. 7a appears to describe God’s sovereign control over the cycle of day and night, but the following statement suggests that “light” and “darkness” symbolize “deliverance” and “judgment.”
8. Isaiah 45:7 sn This verse affirms that God is ultimately sovereign over his world, including mankind and nations. In accordance with his sovereign will, he can cause wars to cease and peace to predominate (as he was about to do for his exiled people through Cyrus), or he can bring disaster and judgment on nations (as he was about to do to Babylon through Cyrus).