1.
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;
Cyrus. See App-57 .
loose the loins. Idiom for weakening. Compare Job 12:21 . The opposite of "girding" (Isaiah 45:5 ).
open before him the two leaved gates: i.e. of Babylon, as described by Herodotus.
not be shut. They were found open, and Gobryas and the soldiers of Cyrus entered Babylon without fighting.
2.
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:
straight = level.
break in pieces = shiver.
gates of brass. Herodotus (i. 180) tells us that the gates leading to the river were of brass.
cut in sunder =. smash.
3.
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.
call thee by thy name. Only four named by Divine prophecy before birth: Isaac (Genesis 17:19 ); Solomon (1 Chronicles 22:9 ); Josiah (1 Kings 13:2 ); and Cyrus, 137 years before his birth. See App-50 .
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4 .
4.
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.
My servant's. See note on Isaiah 37:5 .
surnamed. Cyrus was the additional name divinely given. His Persian name is said to have been Agradates.
though thou hast not = when thou didst not.
5.
I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
girded thee. Contrast "loose" (Isaiah 45:1 ), and see note on Isaiah 8:9 .
6.
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.
none. See note on Isaiah 5:8 .
7.
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
create. Hebrew the Poel Participle of the verb bara' (create) which, with "evil", requires the rendering "bring about". Not the same form as in verses: Isaiah 45:8 , Isaiah 45:12 , or Isaiah 45:18 , in connection with the earth. In Jeremiah 18:11 the verb is yazar, to frame, or mould. In Amos 3:6 it is 'ashah, to bring about. A word of wide meaning; its sense has to be determined by its context. Here, disturbance in contrast with "peace".
evil: never rendered "sin". God brings calamity about as the inevitable consequence of sin. It is rendered "calamity" in Psalms 141:5 ; "adversity" in 1 Samuel 10:19 .
Psalms 94:13 .Ecclesiastes 7:14 ; "grief" in Nehemiah 2:10 . Proverbs 15:10 . .
Ecclesiastes 2:17 . .
Jonah 4:6 ; "affliction" in Numbers 11:11 ; "misery" in Ecclesiastes 8:6 ; "trouble" in Psalms 41:1 ; "Sore" in Deuteronomy 6:22 ; "noisome" in Ezekiel 14:15 , Ezekiel 14:21 ; "hurt" in Genesis 26:29 ; "wretchedness" in Numbers 11:15
; also "harm", "ill", and "mischief". Compare Jeremiah 18:11 , and Amos 3:6 . See note on "create", above.
8.
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.
let the earth open, &c. When the earth opened before it brought forth destruction (Numbers 16:32 ; Numbers 26:10 and Psalms 106:17 ).
9.
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? or thy work, He hath no hands?
earth = ground: i.e. here, clay.
10.
Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?
11.
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.
the Holy One of Israel. See note on Isaiah 1:4 .
Maker = Former, or Fashioner.
12.
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.
have made, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Genesis 1:1 ). App-92 .
man = Hebrew. adam . App-14 .
13.
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.
raised him up : i.e. raised Cyrus up.
he shall build My city. Nehemiah rebuilt only the walls. See Nehemiah 7:4 .
The city was not rebuilt until after the return under Zerubbabel, and the emancipation by Cyrus. See App-68 .
captives. Hebrew captivity. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), for the captives in it.
the LORD of hosts. See note on 1 Samuel 1:3
14.
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: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God.
labour. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), for that which is produced by it.
men. Hebrew, plural of enosh . App-14 .
shall come over. Some codices, with five early printed editions (one Rabbinic, in margin), Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "and they shall", &c.
GOD. Hebrew El. App-4 .
15.
Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.
16.
They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols.
idols = images. Hebrew. zirim . Occurs in this sense only here.
17.
But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
everlasting salvation. See note on "ancient" people (Isaiah 44:7 ).
world without end = the ages of futurity.
18.
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.
That created = the Creator of. Note how these expressions are heaped together to impress us with the fact that the One Who created all ought to be able to tell us, better than ignorant man, how He created it.
That formed = The Former of. Hebrew. yazar = to fashion.
made = the Maker of.
He created. It did not come of itself by evolution (see App-5 and App-8 ). Reference to Pentateuch Genesis 1:1 ).
in vain = tohu . The same word as in Genesis 1:2 ("without form"). Therefore it must have become tohu : which is exactly what Genesis 1:2 declares (see note there). In Genesis 1:1 we have "the world that then was" (compare 2 Peter 3:6 ); and in Isaiah 45:2 we have the ruin into which it fell. We are not told how, when, or why, or how long it lasted. When geologists have settled how many years they require, they may place them between Genesis 1:1-2 . In Genesis 1:2-31 ; Genesis 2:1-4 , we have "the heavens and the earth which are now" of 2 Peter 3:7 . Both are set in contrast with the "new heavens and the new earth" of 2 Peter 3:13 .
[ Conversion Note : The following comment is found in some Companion Bible text on the Internet but not in my original book.]
"why" God destroyed "the world that then was" may be better understood from Revelation 12:4 (see note there), where Satan rebelled against God and drew a third part of God's children with him.
19.
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.
in vain. Hebrew. tohu . Repeated from Isaiah 45:18 . Jehovah did not command His People to seek Him in a pathless and trackless waste, where there are no indications of how He is to be found; but in His Word, where He has revealed Himself clearly and distinctly: not "in secret" or "in darkness" (same words as in Isaiah 45:18 ). Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 30:11 ). App-92 . See note on Isaiah 24:10 .
20.
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.
21.
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.
them: i.e. the "image" and "god" of Isaiah 45:20 .
there is no God. Note the Figure of speech Pleonasm , by which the same assertion is made in two ways (positive. and negative) for emphasis.
22.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
23.
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.
I have sworn, &c. Quoted in Romans 14:11 ; and Philippians 1:2 , Philippians 1:10 . Reference to Pentateuch (Genesis 22:16 ). App-92 .
unto Me. Ascribed to Christ in the quotation above.
24.
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.
men come = one come. Hebrew text is singular, as in preceding clause; but plural in Isaiah 45:1 .
25.
In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.
shall glory. See note on "give light" (Isaiah 13:10 ).