God addresses Cyrus the Persian by name as His 'anointed' (mashiach) and announces that He alone is God — there is no other. The chapter contains the Hebrew Bible's most explicit monotheistic declarations and culminates in a universal invitation: every knee shall bow.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
Verse 1 is theologically explosive: a pagan emperor is called mashiach, the title reserved for Israel's divinely appointed leaders. God names Cyrus before Cyrus knows God (v. 4). The declaration 'I form light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity' (v. 7) attributes everything — including disaster — to God alone, rejecting any dualistic theology. The repeated 'I am the LORD, and there is no other' (vv. 5, 6, 18, 22) is monotheism's strongest articulation in the Hebrew Bible.
Translation Friction
The word ra (v. 7) can mean 'evil,' 'calamity,' or 'disaster.' We rendered it 'calamity' because the context is about God's sovereignty over events, not moral evil — the contrast is with shalom ('peace/well-being'), not with moral goodness. The phrase 'every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear' (v. 23) is cited by Paul in Philippians 2:10-11 with christological application; we note the connection without importing it into the Hebrew rendering.
Connections
Cyrus is named in 44:28 as God's shepherd; here he receives the mashiach title. The monotheistic declarations connect to Deuteronomy 4:35, 39 and Isaiah 43:10-11. Paul cites v. 23 in Philippians 2:10-11 and Romans 14:11. The potter-clay image (v. 9) recurs in Jeremiah 18:1-6 and Romans 9:20-21.
This is what the LORD says to His anointed,
to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut:
KJV Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
מָשִׁיחַmashiach
"anointed"—anointed one, messiah, one consecrated by anointing
Applied here to Cyrus of Persia — the only non-Israelite to receive this title in the Hebrew Bible. The theological claim is that God's redemptive purposes are not limited to Israelite agents.
Translator Notes
The phrase limeshicho ('to His anointed') uses the same word applied to Saul (1 Samuel 24:6), David (2 Samuel 19:21), and the priests (Leviticus 4:3). Applying it to Cyrus is not metaphorical — it is a deliberate theological claim that God's purposes operate through foreign rulers.
The verb hechezaqti ('I have grasped') describes God taking Cyrus by the right hand — an image of personal guidance and empowerment, the same language used for God leading Israel (41:13).
I will go before you
and level the mountains.
I will shatter bronze doors
and cut through iron bars.
KJV I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb ayasher ('make level/straight') and hadurim ('swellings, rough places, or mountains') describe God removing obstacles from Cyrus's path. The bronze doors and iron bars refer to the fortified gates of Babylon — Herodotus describes Babylon's hundred bronze gates.
I will give you treasures of darkness
and hidden wealth of secret places,
so that you may know that I am the LORD,
the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
KJV And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The treasures of darkness (otsrot choshekh) refer to Babylon's legendary wealth stored in underground vaults. The purpose clause is theological: Cyrus receives wealth not for his own glory but 'so that you may know that I am the LORD.' God reveals Himself through history, not just through Scripture.
For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen one,
I call you by your name;
I give you a title of honor,
though you do not know me.
KJV For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase velo yedatani ('though you do not know me') is the chapter's most theologically provocative statement: God's anointed does not know God. Divine purposes operate through agents unaware of their role. The verb akannekha ('I give you a title/surname') suggests God confers royal dignity on Cyrus.
I am the LORD, and there is no other;
there is no God besides me.
I arm you, though you do not know me,
KJV I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The first of the chapter's monotheistic declarations: ani YHWH ve'ein od ('I am the LORD and there is no other'). The absolute claim — no God besides me — eliminates all rival deities. The verb a'azzerkha ('I arm you, I gird you') is military — God equips Cyrus for conquest.
so that from the rising of the sun to its setting
people may know there is none besides me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
KJV That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The scope is universal: from east (mizrach-shemesh, 'sunrise') to west (ma'aravah, 'sunset') — the entire inhabited world. The purpose of Cyrus's victories is not Persian imperialism but global knowledge of the one God.
The semantic range of ra spans moral evil and experiential adversity. In this context, paired with shalom, the meaning is closer to 'calamity/disaster' — God controls the conditions of human existence, both favorable and unfavorable.
Translator Notes
We rendered ra as 'calamity' rather than 'evil' because the parallel with shalom ('peace/well-being') indicates the contrast is between favorable and unfavorable circumstances, not between moral good and moral evil. God is sovereign over events, not the author of sin.
The verb bara ('create') — used exclusively with God as subject in Genesis 1 — appears twice here, applied to darkness and to calamity. God's creative power encompasses the full range of existence.
This verse may respond to Persian Zoroastrian dualism, which posited separate deities for light/good (Ahura Mazda) and darkness/evil (Angra Mainyu). Isaiah insists: one God does both.
Rain down, O heavens, from above,
and let the skies pour down righteousness.
Let the earth open
and salvation spring forth;
let righteousness sprout alongside it.
I, the LORD, have created it.
KJV Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Righteousness (tsedeq/tsedaqah) and salvation (yesha) are described as agricultural — they rain from heaven and sprout from earth. The verse envisions a cosmos saturated with divine justice, growing like crops from soil watered by heaven.
Woe to the one who contends with his Maker —
a pot among earthen pots!
Does the clay say to the one who shapes it,
'What are you making?'
KJV Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The potter-clay metaphor challenges anyone who questions God's use of Cyrus. The word cheres ('potsherd, earthenware') emphasizes human fragility — clay arguing with the potter. Paul draws on this passage in Romans 9:20-21.
Woe to the one who says to a father,
'What are you begetting?'
or to a woman,
'What are you laboring to bring forth?'
KJV Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The analogy shifts from potter to parent — questioning God's purposes is as absurd as questioning parents about what kind of child they are producing. The verb techillin ('you labor/bring forth') uses birth-pain language.
This is what the LORD says —
the Holy One of Israel and its Maker:
'Ask me about what is to come concerning my children;
will you command me about the work of my hands?'
KJV Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The full title 'the Holy One of Israel' appears here alongside 'its Maker' (yotsro) — the same potter who cannot be questioned. The tone is either invitation ('ask me') or rebuke ('will you presume to command me?') — the Hebrew syntax allows both readings. We preserved the ambiguity.
I made the earth
and created humanity upon it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host.
KJV I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God's credentials: He made the earth (asiti erets), created humanity (adam aleiha barati — using the Genesis 1 verb bara), stretched out the heavens, and commands the stars. If He can do all this, appointing Cyrus is a small matter.
I have stirred him up in righteousness,
and I will make all his paths straight.
He will rebuild my city
and set my exiles free —
not for a price and not for a bribe,
says the LORD of Hosts.
KJV I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The 'him' is Cyrus, now described with three actions: rebuild God's city (Jerusalem), release God's exiles, and do so without payment. The Cyrus Cylinder (539 BCE) records Cyrus's policy of returning displaced peoples to their homelands — Isaiah frames this as fulfillment of divine purpose.
This is what the LORD says:
The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush
and the Sabeans, tall of stature,
will come over to you and be yours.
They will follow behind you,
coming in chains.
They will bow down to you
and plead with you:
'Surely God is with you,
and there is no other — no other god.'
KJV Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The nations' confession — 'surely God is with you, and there is no other' — is remarkable: pagans acknowledge Israel's God through the evidence of history. The Sabeans were known for their height (anshei middah, 'men of stature').
Truly, You are a God who hides Himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
KJV Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase El mistatter ('a God who hides Himself') is one of the most theologically profound statements in Isaiah. God's hiddenness is not absence but method — He works through Cyrus, through exile, through events that do not look divine. The same root s-t-r appears in Deuteronomy 31:17-18 (hester panim, 'hiding of the face').
Israel is saved by the LORD
with an everlasting salvation.
You will not be put to shame or disgraced
to all eternity.
KJV But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase teshu'at olamim ('everlasting salvation') uses the plural of olam — an eternity of eternities. While idol-makers face temporary shame (v. 16), Israel's salvation is permanent. The root y-sh-a ('save') appears in both the verb (nosha) and the noun (teshu'at).
For this is what the LORD says —
He who created the heavens, He is God;
He who formed the earth and made it, He established it.
He did not create it to be chaos —
He formed it to be inhabited:
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
KJV For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The word tohu ('chaos, formlessness') echoes Genesis 1:2 — God did not create the earth to remain in the pre-creation state of tohu. The earth was made lashebet ('to be inhabited') — creation has a purpose, and that purpose is life. This is one of the most important creation-theology verses in the Hebrew Bible.
I have not spoken in secret,
in a land of darkness.
I did not say to Jacob's offspring,
'Seek me in chaos.'
I, the LORD, speak what is right;
I declare what is just.
KJV I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God contrasts Himself with oracle-gods who speak from dark, hidden places. His word is public, clear, and productive — not tohu ('chaos'). When Israel seeks God, the search is not futile.
Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations.
They have no knowledge —
those who carry wooden idols
and pray to a god that cannot save.
KJV Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The survivors of the nations (pelitei haggoyim) are summoned to a trial. Those who carry their gods (wooden idols on their shoulders) are contrasted with the God who carries His people (46:3-4).
Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago?
Who announced it from of old?
Was it not I, the LORD?
There is no other God besides me —
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
KJV Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The trial challenge: if any god predicted Cyrus's rise, let them present evidence. Silence proves their nonexistence. The compound title El-tsaddiq umoshia ('righteous God and Savior') holds justice and salvation together — God saves precisely because He is righteous.
Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
KJV Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The universal invitation: kol afsei-arets ('all the ends of the earth') — not Israel alone but every nation. The imperative penu ('turn') is the same root as teshuvah ('repentance/return'). Salvation is offered to the entire world through a single act of turning toward the one God.
By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
a word that will not return:
To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.
KJV I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God swears by Himself because there is no one greater to swear by (cf. Hebrews 6:13). The word that 'goes out and does not return' echoes 55:11 where God's word accomplishes its purpose. Paul quotes this verse in Philippians 2:10-11 ('at the name of Jesus every knee should bow') and Romans 14:11.
'Only in the LORD,' it will be said of me,
'are righteousness and strength.'
All who raged against Him
will come to Him and be put to shame.
KJV Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The confession shifts to first person — the speaker represents all who will eventually acknowledge God. The phrase tsedaqot va'oz ('righteousness and strength') pairs moral authority with power. Those who raged (necherim) will come in shame.
In the LORD all the offspring of Israel
will be vindicated and will glory.
KJV In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The chapter ends with Israel, not the nations — the universal vision (v. 22-23) circles back to the particular covenant people. The verb yitsdaqu ('will be vindicated/declared righteous') uses the tsedaqah root that has governed the chapter. Israel's vindication comes not from their own righteousness but 'in the LORD.'