Isaiah 45:2

2 'I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron.

Isaiah 45:2 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 45:2

I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight,
&c.] Or, "level the hilly places" ^F3; 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 ^F4 these gates of brass are mentioned by Abydenus ^F5, as made by Nebuchadnezzar, and as continuing till the empire of the Macedonians.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 The Septuagint render the word by (orh) , mountains; Gussetius by eminences, high places, such as stood in the way of passage into countries. The Vulgate Latin interprets it of glorious persons; and Abendana says it is right to understand it in this way; and applies it to Zerubbabel, and those that went up with him to Jerusalem, with the leave of Cyrus, who were good men, and honourable in their works, whom the Lord directed in their way right, and prospered them in the building of the temple,
F4 Herodot. l. 1. c. 179. l. 3. c. 159.
F5 Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 41. p. 457.

Isaiah 45:2 In-Context

1 "Thus says the Lord to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held-- To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:

2 'I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron.

3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.

4 For Jacob My servant's sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.

5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me,

Footnotes

• [a]. Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint read mountains; Targum reads I will trample down the walls; Vulgate reads I will humble the great ones of the earth.