45:14 This is what the Lord says:
“The profit 1 of Egypt and the revenue 2 of Ethiopia,
along with the Sabeans, those tall men,
will be brought to you 3 and become yours.
They will walk behind you, coming along in chains. 4
They will bow down to you
and pray to you: 5
‘Truly God is with 6 you; he has no peer; 7
there is no other God!’”
45:21 Tell me! Present the evidence! 8
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; 9
there is none but me.
58:2 They seek me day after day;
they want to know my requirements, 10
like a nation that does what is right
and does not reject the law of their God.
They ask me for just decrees;
they want to be near God.
65:16 Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth 11
will do so in the name of the faithful God; 12
whoever makes an oath in the earth
will do so in the name of the faithful God. 13
For past problems will be forgotten;
I will no longer think about them. 14
1 tn Heb “labor,” which stands metonymically for the fruits of labor, either “monetary profit,” or “products.”
2 tn Or perhaps, “merchandise” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “the gain of Ethiopia”; CEV “the treasures of Ethiopia.”
3 tn Heb “they will pass over to you”; NASB, NIV “will come over to you”; CEV “will belong to you.”
4 sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.
5 sn Israel’s vassals are portrayed as so intimidated and awed that they treat Israel as an intermediary to God or sub-deity.
6 tn Or perhaps, “among.” Cf. KJV, ASV “Surely God is in thee.”
7 tn Heb “there is no other” (so NIV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 18, in v. 21, and at the end of v. 22.
8 tn Heb “Declare! Bring near!”; NASB “Declare and set forth your case.” See 41:21.
9 tn Or “a righteous God and deliverer”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “a righteous God and a Savior.”
10 tn Heb “ways” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV); NLT “my laws.”
11 tn Or “in the land” (NIV, NCV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs again later in this verse, with the same options.
12 tn Heb “will pronounce a blessing by the God of truth.”
13 tn Heb “will take an oath by the God of truth.”
14 tn Heb “for the former distresses will be forgotten, and they will be hidden from my eyes.”