isaiah 44 through 46

Read Isaiah 44 through 46 at Bible Gateway.

The Hebrew paragraph divisions:

Isa 44:1-5 {p} Fear not, I have chosen you + will help you/ I will pour My Spirit on your descendants
Isa 44:6-20 {s} Beside YHVH there is no God/ Israel is His witness/ the foolishness of idolatry
Isa 44:21-23 {s} YHVH formed Jacob to be His servant/ He has blotted out his sins + glorified Himself in him
Isa 44:24-28 {s} YHVH alone is Creator, He has established Cyrus to build Jerusalem + the temple
Isa 45:1-7 {p} YHVH calls + anoints Cyrus to subdue nations for Israel’s sake/ YHVH is God, there is no other
Isa 45:8 {s} Let the heavens rain down righteousness, let the earth bring forth salvation: YHVH has created it
Isa 45:9 {s} Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Shall the clay say to the potter, “What are you making?”
Isa 45:10 {s} Woe to him who says to father + mother: “What are you begetting + bringing forth?”
Isa 45:11-13 {s} YHVH created heaven + earth/ raised up Him in righteousness to build His city + set free His exiles
Isa 45:14-17 {p} Egypt + Ethiopia + Seba shall acknowledge Israel + Israel’s God/ idolaters ashamed + Israel saved
Isa 45:18-46:2 {p} YHVH alone is God + the whole earth + false idols will bow the knee to Him
Isa 46:3-4 {s} YHVH has upheld Israel from birth and will carry them to gray hairs + deliver them
Isa 46:5-7 {s} Does YHVH compare to false idols? They are made by men, carried about, not answering nor saving
Isa 46:8-11 {s} YHVH is God + there is no other: He declares the end from the beginning and does all His purpose
Isa 46:12-13 {s} YHVH Himself will bring His righteousness near, and saved Israel will glorify God

The strong themes:

Isa 44:6-28 {s+s+p} YHVH alone is God/ He has formed, redeemed Israel His witness + established Cyrus
Isa 45:1-7 {p} YHVH calls + anoints Cyrus to subdue nations for Israel’s sake/ YHVH is God, there is no other
Isa 45:8-17 {sx4+p} YHVH created heaven + earth, righteousness + salvation: His city shall be built + exiles set free
Isa 45:18-46:2 {p} YHVH alone is God: the whole earth + false idols will bow the knee to Him

Isa 44:6-46:13 chiastic structure:

1a.1) Isa 44:6-8a, Beside Me there is no God, I have announced what is coming from of old;

1a.2) Isa 8b-23 {s+s} I have formed Jacob My witness + blotted out his sins/ glorified Myself in him;

1) Isa 44:8b-21, I have formed Jacob My witness + My servant, to know Me: idols are vain;

1a) Isa 44:8b, Israel My witness: Is there a God besides Me? No;
central axis) Isa 44:9-20 {s} The foolishness + uselessness + blindness of idolaters;
2a) Isa 44:21, I have formed Jacob, My servant: I will not forget him;

2) Isa 44:22-23a I have blotted out your sins + return to Me, for I have redeemed you;
3) Isa 44:23b {s} I have glorified Myself in Israel;

1b) Isa 44:24-45:13 {p+p+sx4} YHVH alone is Creator/ He raises up + puts down kings for Jacob’s sake;

1a) Isa 44:24-45:7 {p+p} YHVH alone is Creator, who established Cyrus to decree Jerusalem + temple built;

1a) Isa 44:24-27, YHVH, your Redeemer, alone is Creator, who performs His word + His works;
1b) Isa 44:28 {p} Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, performing My pleasure to decree Jerusalem + temple built;
2b) Isa 45:1-5, Thus says YHVH to His anointed, to Cyrus: you will subdue nations for Jacob’s sake;
2a) Isa 45:6-7 {p} That they may know there is none besides Me, who creates light + peace, darkness + calamity.

1b) Isa 45:8a, Let the heavens rain down righteousness, let the earth bring forth salvation;
1c) Isa 45:8b {s} I, YHVH, have created it;
1d) Isa 45:9 {s} Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Shall the clay say to the potter, “What are you making?”
2d) Isa 45:10 {s} Woe to him who says to father + mother: “What are you begetting + bringing forth?”
2c) Isa 45:11a, Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker;
2b) Isa 45:11b, Ask Me of the things that are to come; concerning My sons + the work of My hands;
2a) Isa 45:12-13 {s} I have made the earth + man + the heavens; raised him up to build My city + set free My exiles;

central axis) Isa 45:14-17 {p} Egypt, Ethiopia, Seba shall acknowledge Israel + Israel’s God/ idolaters ashamed, Israel saved;

2b) Isa 45:18-46:11 {p+s+s} YHVH alone is God + false idols shall bow to Him/ He will uphold Israel from first to last;

1a) Isa 45:18-19, YHVH alone is God;
1b) Isa 45:20-46:2, {p} The whole earth + false idols will bow the knee to Him;
central axis) Isa 46:3-4 {s} YHVH has upheld Israel from birth and will carry them to gray hairs + deliver them;
2b) Isa 46:5-7 {s} Does YHVH compare to false idols? They are made by men, carried about, not answering nor saving;
2a) Isa 46:8-9, YHVH is God + there is no other;

2a.1) Isa 46:8-11 {s} YHVH is God, there is no other: He declares the end from the beginning + does all His purpose;

2a.2) Isa 46:12-13 {s} YHVH Himself will bring His righteousness near, and saved Israel will glorify God;

1) Isa 46:12-13a, Listen, you stubborn of heart: I bring My righteousness near + My salvation shall not linger;
2) Isa 46:13b, And I will place salvation in Zion;
3) Isa 46:13c {s} For Israel My glory.

Today’s reading is not the first time the triad of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba are mentioned together:

For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Isa 43:3

The country of Egypt is well- known. Of Ethiopia, the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says:

“Critically speaking Ethiopia may refer only to the Nile valley above the First Cataract, but in ancient as in modern times the term was often used not only to include what is now known as Nubia and the Sudan (Soudan), but all the unknown country farther West and South, and also at times Northern, if not Southern, Abyssinia.”

Seba is the country of the Sabaeans:

“The first son of Cush, his brothers being Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtecha … Their country is regarded as being, most likely, the district of Saba, North of Adulis, on the west coast of the Red Sea. There is just a possibility that the Sabi River, stretching from the coast to the Zambesi and the Limpopo, … may contain a trace of the name, and perhaps testifies to still more southern extensions of the power and influence of the Sebaim.” International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Ethiopia today is a Christian country, although the prophecy seems to suggest that all Africa from Ethiopia south is to be meant of this prophecy, for Ethiopia was the southern known extent of Africa at the time. The ancient name of Ethiopia is Cush. Egypt is today predominantly Muslim, although a great revival is going on there since the downfall of the Muslim Brotherhood.

In some commentaries Seba is connected to Arabia. If that is the case, the prophecy is declaring the ultimate conversion + salvation of the heart of Islam. If it happens, it was God who told the end from the beginning! ♥