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Isaiah 45 Bible study: There is no one else
Six times Isaiah 45 has ve'ein od, "there is no one else". It calls Cyrus the LORD's "anointed" (45:1) and says twice, "though you have not known me" (45:4, 45:5). Paul gives the oath "to me every knee will bow" with "it is written" after "the judgment seat of Christ" (Romans 14:10-11), and Philippians has "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow" (Philippians 2:10).
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“Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“Isaiah 43:1 and 45:4 both have the words "I have called you by your name".”
Is that in Isaiah 45, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Though you have not known me
The chapter opens, "The LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus" (45:1) (tap anointed). The chapter before has named him already: "He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure" (Isaiah 44:28), and Isaiah has the name only in these two verses. The LORD says what he will do for him: "I will go before you and make the rough places smooth" (45:2), and "I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places" (45:3). Here is what almost everyone misses: the chapter says twice that Cyrus has not known the LORD. "I have given you a title, though you have not known me" (45:4), and "I will strengthen you, though you have not known me" (45:5). And with the same verb, yada, know, it says what the calling is for: "that you may know that it is I, the LORD, who calls you by your name, even the God of Israel" (45:3), and "that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is no one besides me" (45:6). It gives a reason too: "For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called you by your name" (45:4).
Where it leads to Jesus
Every knee will bow
Isaiah 45:23leads toRomans 14:10-11
The LORD says, "I have sworn by myself. The word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and will not be revoked, that to me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath" (Isaiah 45:23). Paul writes, "For to this end Christ died, rose, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living" (Romans 14:9), and then, "For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, “‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘to me every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess to God.’”" (Romans 14:10-11). He goes on, "So then each one of us will give account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12). Paul gives the words with "it is written", straight after "the judgment seat of Christ". The WEB words the two differently: where Isaiah 45:23 has "every tongue shall take an oath", Romans has "Every tongue will confess to God".
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Isaiah 45
That was a taste
The rest of Isaiah 45 is waiting in Favor
- There is no one else
- Light and darkness, peace and calamity
- Every knee shall bow
- "I have sworn by myself"
- 16 questions as you read
- 14 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Isaiah 45 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
יָצַרyatsarsay ya-TSAR
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "form, fashion". Strong's: "to mould into a form; especially as a potter". The chapter has it six times: "I form the light" (45:7), "Woe to him who strives with his Maker" (45:9), "Shall the clay ask him who fashions it" (45:9), "The LORD, the Holy One of Israel and his Maker" (45:11), "the God who formed the earth" (45:18), and "who formed it to be inhabited" (45:18). Isaiah has the verb 27 times in Hebrew. It is the verb of "The LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground" (Genesis 2:7). The chapter on Isaiah 29 sets 45:9 beside 29:16 and 64:8, where the clay and the one who forms it come again.
For your group
Isaiah 45 Bible study questions
- 1Twice the LORD says to Cyrus, "though you have not known me" (45:4, 45:5), and yet "I have called you by your name" (45:4). What does it say to you that the LORD calls someone by name before they know him?
- 2"Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth" (45:22). What helps you turn to God in an ordinary week?
- 3The clay asks, "What are you making?" (45:9), and the same chapter says, "I didn’t say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’" (45:19). How would you tell the difference between striving with God and seeking him?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Isaiah 45 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Can I read Isaiah 45 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Isaiah 45 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
Is Favor tied to a church?
No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home