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Thus says the LORD to 1his anointed, to Cyrus, 2whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and 3to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:
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"I will go before you and 4level the exalted places, 5I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron,
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6I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, 7who call you by your name.
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For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, 8I call you by your name, 9I name you, though you do not know me.
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10I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; 11I equip you, though you do not know me,
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12that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
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I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and 13create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.
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14"Shower, O heavens, from above, and 15let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the LORD have created it.
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16"Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! 17Does the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' or 'Your work has no handles'?
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Woe to him who says to a father, 'What are you begetting?' or to a woman, 'With what are you in labor?'"
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Thus says 18the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him: 19"Ask me of things to come; will you command me 20concerning my children and 21the work of my hands?
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22I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands 23that stretched out the heavens, and 24I commanded all their host.
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25I have stirred him up in righteousness, 26and I will make all his ways level; 27he shall build my city 28and set my exiles free, not for price or reward," says the LORD of hosts.