45:19 I have not spoken in secret,

in some hidden place. ¹ 

I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,

‘Seek me in vain!’ ² 

I am the Lord,

the one who speaks honestly,

who makes reliable announcements. ³ 

45:20 Gather together and come!

Approach together, you refugees from the nations!

Those who carry wooden idols know nothing,

those who pray to a god that cannot deliver.

45:21 Tell me! Present the evidence! ⁴ 

Let them consult with one another!

Who predicted this in the past?

Who announced it beforehand?

Was it not I, the Lord?

I have no peer, there is no God but me,

a God who vindicates and delivers; ⁵ 

there is none but me.

45:22 Turn to me so you can be delivered, ⁶ 

all you who live in the earth’s remote regions!

For I am God, and I have no peer.

45:23 I solemnly make this oath ⁷  –

what I say is true and reliable: ⁸ 

‘Surely every knee will bow to me,

every tongue will solemnly affirm; ⁹ 

45:24 they will say about me,

“Yes, the Lord is a powerful deliverer.”’” ¹⁰ 

All who are angry at him will cower before him. ¹¹ 

45:25 All the descendants of Israel will be vindicated by the Lord

and will boast in him. ¹²