8 “Open up, O heavens,and pour out your righteousness.Let the earth open wideso salvation and righteousness can sprout up together.I, the lord, created them.
9 “What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator.Does a clay pot argue with its maker?Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying,‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’Does the pot exclaim,‘How clumsy can you be?’
10 How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father,‘Why was I born?’or if it said to its mother,‘Why did you make me this way?’”
11 This is what the lord says—the Holy One of Israel and your Creator:“Do you question what I do for my children?Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?
12 I am the one who made the earthand created people to live on it.With my hands I stretched out the heavens.All the stars are at my command.
13 I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose,and I will guide his actions.He will restore my city and free my captive people—without seeking a reward!I, the lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
14 This is what the lord says:“You will rule the Egyptians,the Ethiopians, and the Sabeans.They will come to you with all their merchandise,and it will all be yours.They will follow you as prisoners in chains.They will fall to their knees in front of you and say,‘God is with you, and he is the only God.There is no other.’”