Passage

Isaiah 45.15

Book: Isaiah · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"13. I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make straight all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward, saith Jehovah of hosts. 14. Thus saith Jehovah, The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall go after thee, in chains they shall come over; and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God."

"15. Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour."

"16. They shall be put to shame, yea, confounded, all of them; they shall go into confusion together that are makers of idols. 17. But Israel shall be saved by Jehovah with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be put to shame nor confounded world without end." (Isaiah 45:13-17, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"13. I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make straight all his ways. He shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward,” says Yahweh of Armies. 14. Yahweh says: “The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you, and they shall be yours. They will go after you. They shall come over in chains; and they will bow down to you. They will make supplication to you: ‘Surely God is in you; and there is no one else. There is no other god."

"15. Most certainly you are a God who has hidden yourself, God of Israel, the Savior.’”"

"16. They will be disappointed, yes, confounded, all of them. Those who are makers of idols will go into confusion together. 17. Israel will be saved by Yahweh with an everlasting salvation. You will not be disappointed nor confounded to ages everlasting." (Isaiah 45:13-17, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"13. I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts. ^{direct: or, make straight} 14. Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God."

"15. Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour."

"16. They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols. 17. But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end." (Isaiah 45:13-17, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"13. I have stirred him up in righteousness, And all his ways I make straight, He doth build My city, and My captivity doth send out, Not for price, nor for bribe, said Jehovah of Hosts. 14. Thus said Jehovah, 'The labour of Egypt, And the merchandise of Cush, And of the Sebaim, men of measure, Unto thee pass over, and thine they are, After thee they go, in fetters they pass over, And unto thee they bow themselves, Unto thee they pray: Only in thee [is] God, And there is none else, no [other] God."

"15. Surely Thou [art] a God hiding Thyself, God of Israel, Saviour!"

"16. They have been ashamed, And they have even blushed, all of them, Together gone in confusion have those carving images. 17. Israel hath been saved in Jehovah, A salvation age-during! Ye are not ashamed nor confounded Unto the ages of eternity!" (Isaiah 45:13-17, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Isaiah son of Amoz, prophesying in Jerusalem under Uzziah / Jotham / Ahaz / Hezekiah
Audience: the prophet's contemporary Judahite audience and the exilic / post-exilic community
Location: Jerusalem and Judah
Time period: prophetic ministry c. 740-680 BC; Isaiah 40-66 traditionally dated to the late Isaianic or exilic period

Theological reading

Isaiah 45:15 is the canonical OT statement of purposed divine hiddenness, deployed by Pascal and the apologetic tradition as Scripture's own acknowledgment that God is at times hidden by design. For full theological treatment, see the Divine Hiddenness master hub and Lesson 4.2, Divine Hiddenness. The book of Isaiah hub (Isaiah) provides higher-level theological context.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.