Yesaya 41:5

41:5 The coastlands ¹  see and are afraid;

the whole earth ²  trembles;

they approach and come.

Yesaya 41:25

41:25 I have stirred up one out of the north ³  and he advances,

one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. ⁴ 

He steps on ⁵  rulers as if they were clay,

like a potter treading the clay.

Yesaya 45:1-5

45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen ⁶  one,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold ⁷ 

in order to subdue nations before him,

and disarm kings, ⁸ 

to open doors before him,

so gates remain unclosed:

45:2 “I will go before you

and level mountains. ⁹ 

Bronze doors I will shatter

and iron bars ¹⁰  I will hack through.

45:3 I will give you hidden treasures, ¹¹ 

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 ¹²  me.

45:5 I am the Lord, I have no peer, ¹³ 

there is no God but me.

I arm you for battle, ¹⁴  even though you do not recognize ¹⁵  me.

[41:5]  ¹ tn Or “islands” (NIV, CEV); NCV “faraway places”; NLT “lands beyond the sea.”

[41:5]  ² tn Heb “the ends of the earth,” but this is a merism, where the earth’s extremities stand for its entirety, i.e., the extremities and everything in between them.

[41:25]  ³ sn That is, Cyrus the Persian. See the note at v. 2.

[41:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “[one] from the rising of the sun [who] calls in my name.”

[41:25]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text has וְיָבֹא (vÿyavo’, “and he comes”), but this is likely a corruption of an original וַיָּבָס (vayyavas), from בּוּס (bus, “step on”).

[45:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”

[45:1]  ⁷ sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.

[45:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”

[45:2]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn That is, on the gates. Cf. CEV “break the iron bars on bronze gates.”

[45:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “treasures of darkness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “treasures from dark, secret places.”

[45:4]  ¹² tn Or “know” (NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT); NIV “acknowledge.”

[45:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “and there is none besides.” On the use of עוֹד (’od) here, see BDB 729 s.v. 1.c.

[45:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “gird you” (so NASB) or “strengthen you” (so NIV).

[45:5]  ¹⁵ tn Or “know” (NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT); NIV “have not acknowledged.”