Pentecost Season · Proper 24 · Year A
Isaiah 45:1-7
Jerusalem to Be Inhabited
October 18, 2026
Overview & Insights
“This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus… I am the Lord, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:1, 5)
Cyrus, Yahweh’s Anointed Shepherd: We have noted that the two sections on the restoration of a blind and deaf servant (43:22–44:23 and 42:18–43:21) paralleled one another, but that the former lacked an equivalent to the last paragraph (43:14–21). This parallel ending now follows, in 44:24–45:8, with its lyrical postscript (45:8) marking it as an ending. Yet 43:22–44:23 did have a different sort of lyrical postscript (44:23). For 44:24–45:8 also marks a beginning. It makes an announcement whose significance 44:24–45:25 as a whole explores. First, it handles the opposition that it expects the announcement to receive within the community (45:9–13). Then it points up the positive implications of the announcement for Israel (45:14–17) and for the world (45:18–25).
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Commentary
Commentary on Isaiah 45:1-7 Working Preacher
The Lutheran home commentary on this Year A reading by a named seminary scholar.
Isaiah 45 - The LORD Uses Cyrus Enduring Word · David Guzik
A verse-by-verse evangelical study of God's call of Cyrus and his claim to be the only God.
Isaiah 45:1 Commentaries BibleHub
Classic commentaries gathered verse by verse on the anointing of Cyrus.
Isaiah 45:1 Verse-by-Verse Commentary StudyLight
A large library of expositors stacked verse by verse for a further voice on the passage.
Isaiah Commentaries and Sermons Precept Austin
A gateway to inductive word studies and cross references across Isaiah.
Background & Word Study
Isaiah 45 (Hebrew and English) Sefaria
The Hebrew of the oracle alongside English with linked Jewish commentary for the OT reading.
Isaiah 45:1 Interlinear BibleHub
The Hebrew of the passage word by word with parsing and Strong's numbers.
Isaiah 40-66 Overview BibleProject
An animated overview of the second half of Isaiah that frames the promise of return from exile.
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
Why does God call Cyrus his anointed?
Isaiah announces that God will use Cyrus, a pagan Persian king, as his instrument to free the exiles, proof that the Lord alone rules history: “I form the light and create darkness.” It pairs with “give to Caesar” and God’s sovereignty over every earthly ruler.
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