Isaiah 45:2

I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: I WILL ... MAKE THE CROOKED PLACES STRAIGHT - (Isaiah 40:4.) So the Qeri' reads [ 'ªyasheer (H3474)]: so Isaiah 45:13, margin. But the Kethibh ['owsheer, or 'ªwasheer], 'I will level the heights' - i:e., clear out of thy way all opposing persons and things. I WILL BREAK IN PIECES THE GATES OF BRASS - (Psalms 107:16.) Herodotus, 1:, sec. 179, says, Babylon had 100 massive gates, 25 on each of the four sides of the city, all, as well as t...

2.and 3._I will go before thee. _These two verses contain nothing new; but, in general, he shews that Cyrus will gain an easy and rapid victory, because he will have the Lord for the leader of his expedition. Accordingly he promises that all _crooked _paths shall be _made straight, _because God will remove every obstruction. Now, since money is the sinews of war, and Cyrus came from the scorched and poor mountains of Persia, Jehovah says that _treasures _which were formerly hidden and concealed shall come into the hands of Cyrus, so that, laden with rich booty, he shall have enough for defraying any expenditure; for by _the treasures of darkness _he means those which lay concealed, and as it were buried in safe and deep places of defense. It is abundantly clear from history, that all these things happened; for by taking Croesus, king of Lydia, who was at that time the richest of all men,...

1-4 Cyrus is called God's anointed; he was designed and qualified for his great service by the counsel of God. The gates of Babylon which led to the river, were left open the night that Cyrus marched his army into the empty channel. The Lord went before him, giving entrance to the cities he besieged. He gave him also treasures, which had been hidden in secret places. The true God was to Cyrus an unknown God; yet God foreknew him; he called him by his name. The exact fulfilment of this must have shown Cyrus that Jehovah was the only true God, and that it was for the sake of Israel that he was prospered. In all the changes of states and kingdoms, God works out the good of his church....

Verse Isaiah 45:2. _THE CROOKED PLACES _- "The mountains"] For הדורים _hodurim,_ _crooked places_, a word not easily accounted for in this place, the _Septuagint_ read הררים _hararim_, ταορη, _the mountains_. Two MSS. have הדרים _hadarim_, without the ו _vau_, which is hardly distinguishable from the reading of the _Septuagint_. The Divine protection that attended Cyrus, and rendered his expedition against Babylon easy and prosperous is finely expressed by God's going before him, and making the mountains level. The image is highly poetical: - At vos, qua veniet, tumidi subsidite montes, Et faciles curvis vallibus este viae. OVID, Amor. ii. 16. "Let the lofty mountains fall down, a

I WILL GO BEFORE THEE - To prepare the way for conquest, a proof that it is by the providence of God that the proud conquerors of the earth are enabled to triumph. The idea is, I will take away everything that would retard or oppose your victorious march. AND MAKE THE CROOKED PATHS STRAIGHT - (See the note at Isaiah 40:4). The Chaldee renders this, ‘My word shall go before thee, and I will prostrate the walls.’ Lowth renders it, ‘Make the mountains plain.’ Noyes, ‘Make the high places plain.’ The Septuagint renders it, Ὄρη ὁμαλιῶ _Orē_ _homaliō_ - ‘Level mountains.’ Vulgate, _Gloriosos terroe humiliabo_ - ‘The high places of the earth I will bring down.’ The word הדוּרים _hădûrı̂ym_ is from...

EXPOSITION ISAIAH 45:1 GOD'S WILL CONCERNING HIM ANNOUNCED TO CYRUS. This direct address of God to a heathen king is without a parallel in Scripture. Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, Abimelech, were warned through dreams. Nebuchadnezzar was even promised Divine aid (Ezekiel 30:24, Ezekiel 30:25). But no heathen monarch had previously been personally addressed by God, much less called "his anointed," and spoken to _by his name _(Isaiah 45:4). Three motives are mentioned for this speci

I WILL GO BEFORE THEE, AND MAKE THE CROOKED PLACES STRAIGHT,.... Or, "level the hilly places" c; as pioneers do. The sense is, that he would remove all impediments and obstructions out of his way, and cause him to surmount all difficulties: I WILL BREAK IN PIECES THE GATES OF BRASS, AND CUT IN SUNDER THE BARS OF IRON; with which the brasen gates were barred: in the wall that surrounded Babylon there were a hundred gates, all made of solid brass, twenty five on each side of the square; which, no doubt, are here referred to; which could not hinder the entrance of Cyrus into the city, and the taking of it; though they were not then destroyed by him, but by Darius afterwards d these gates of brass are mentioned by Abydenus e, as made by Nebuchadnezzar, and as continuing till the empire of the Macedonians. c The Septuagint render the word by ορη, mountains; Gussetius by eminences, high plac...

Isaiah 45:1. _Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me._ Long before the period of Cyrus's birth, this prophecy was written by Isaiah, and surely it must have flashed solemn conviction upon the heart of the king when he came to read words like these, in whic

CHAPTER 45 The Word of Jehovah to Cyrus, to Israel and to the Ends of the Earth 1. _Thus saith Jehovah to Cyrus (Isaiah 45:1)_ 2. _Thus saith Jehovah: Israel shall be saved (Isaiah 45:14)_ 3. _Thus saith Jehovah to the ends of the earth: Every knee to bow (Isaiah 45:18) _ Cyrus is called in this chapter God's anointed (Messiah). Jehovah called him by name, but it was for the sake of Israel. But it is well to bear in mind that Cyrus, God's instrument, called and prepared to make the restoration of a remnant possible, is likewise a type of Christ, through whom alone the promises of God to the nation can be accomplished. Note the statements “Israel shall be saved in Jehovah with an everl

ISAIAH 44:24 TO ISAIAH 45:8. YAHWEH'S COMMISSION TO CYRUS. Yahweh reminds Israel of His power as sole Creator of the universe. What He created He still controls, so that He falsifies the predictions deduced by the soothsayers from the omens, and makes the diviners look foolish, while He fulfils the predictions of His servants (read plural), the prophets. He it is who has decreed the restoration of Jerusalem, the Temple, and the cities of Judah. The hindrances are compared to a flood, which He will dry up (Exodus 14). He it is who calls Cyrus the shepherd of His people. To Cyrus, whom He has anointed for this commission, whom He supports in his career of victory, delivering to him all fortified cities, He has promised that He will go before him, smoothing difficulties from his path. Brazen gates and the iron ba