8 " 'Rain down godliness, you heavens above. Let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide to receive it. Let freedom spring to life. Let godliness grow along with it. I have created all of those things. I am the Lord.' "
9 How terrible it will be for anyone who argues with his Maker! He is like a broken piece of pottery lying on the ground. Does clay say to a potter, "What are you making?" Does a pot say, "You don't have any skill"?
10 How terrible it will be for anyone who says to his father, "Why did you give me life?" How terrible for anyone who says to his mother, "Why have you brought me into the world?"
11 The Lord is the Holy One of Israel. He made them. He says to them, "Are you asking me about what will happen to my children? Are you telling me what I should do with what my hands have made?
12 I made the earth. I created man to live there. My own hands spread out the heavens. I put all of the stars in their places.
13 I will stir up Cyrus and help him win his battles. I will make all of his roads straight. He will rebuild Jerusalem. My people have been taken away from their country. But he will set them free. I will not pay him to do it. He will not receive a reward for it," says the Lord who rules over all.
14 The Lord says to the people of Jerusalem, "You will get everything Egypt produces. You will receive everything the people of Cush and the tall Sabeans get in trade. All of it will belong to you. And all of those people will walk behind you as slaves. They will be put in chains and come over to you. They will bow down to you. They will admit, 'God is with you. There is no other God.' "