12. "Family of Jacob, listen to me. People of Israel, pay attention. I have chosen you. I am the First and the Last. I am the Lord.
13. With my own hand I laid the foundations of the earth. With my right hand I spread out the heavens. When I send for them, they come and stand ready to obey me.
14. "People of Israel, come together and listen to me. What other god has said ahead of time that certain things would happen? I have chosen Cyrus. He will carry out my plans against Babylon. He will use his powerful arm against the Babylonians.
15. I myself have spoken. I have chosen him to carry out my purpose. I will bring him to Babylon. He will succeed in what I tell him to do.
16. "Come close and listen to me. "From the first time I said Cyrus was coming, I did not do it in secret. When he comes, I will be there." The Lord and King has filled me with his Spirit. People of Israel, he has sent me to you.
17. The Lord is the Holy One of Israel. He sets his people free. He says to them, "I am the Lord your God. I teach you what is best for you. I direct you in the way you should go.
18. I wish you would pay attention to my commands. If you did, peace would flow over you like a river. Holiness would sweep over you like the waves of the ocean.
19. Your family would be like the sand. Your children after you would be as many as the grains of sand by the sea. It would be impossible to count them. I would always accept the members of your family line. They would never be cut off or destroyed."
20. People of Israel, leave Babylon! Hurry up and get away from the Babylonians! Here is what I want you to announce. Make it known with shouts of joy. Send the news out from one end of the earth to the other. Say, "The Lord has set Jacob's people free. They are his servants."
21. They didn't get thirsty when he led them through the deserts. He made water flow out of the rock for them. He broke the rock open, and water came out of it.