Is 45:9-19
9Woe to anyone who contends with their Maker;d
a potsherd among potsherds of the earth!*
Shall the clay say to the potter, “What are you doing?”
or, “What you are making has no handles”?
10Woe to anyone who asks a father, “What are you begetting?”
or a woman, “What are you giving birth to?”
11Thus says the LORD,
the Holy One of Israel, his maker:
Do you question me about my children,
tell me how to treat the work of my hands?
12It was I who made the earth
and created the people upon it;
It was my hands that stretched out the heavens;
I gave the order to all their host.
13It was I who stirred him* up for justice;
all his ways I make level.
He shall rebuild my city
and let my exiles go free
Without price or payment,
says the LORD of hosts.
14Thus says the LORD:
The earnings of Egypt, the gain of Ethiopia,
and the Sabeans,* tall of stature,
Shall come over to you and belong to you;
they shall follow you, coming in chains.
Before you they shall bow down,
saying in prayer:
“With you alone is God; and there is none other,
no other god!e
15Truly with you God is hidden,*
the God of Israel, the savior!f
16They are put to shame and disgrace, all of them;
they go in disgrace who carve images.
17Israel has been saved by the LORD,
saved forever!
You shall never be put to shame or disgrace
in any future age.”
18For thus says the LORD,
The creator of the heavens,
who is God,
The designer and maker of the earth
who established it,
Not as an empty waste* did he create it,
but designing it to be lived in:
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
19I have not spoken in secret
from some place in the land of darkness,
I have not said to the descendants of Jacob,
“Look for me in an empty waste.”
I, the LORD, promise justice,
I declare what is right.