Isaiah 45 · Verse 2

Isaiah 45:2

I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
Isaiah 45:2, King James Version

Isaiah 45:2 in other translations

BSB“I will go before you and level the mountains; I will break down the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.
WEB“I will go before you and make the rough places smooth. I will break the doors of bronze in pieces and cut apart the bars of iron.
ASVI will go before thee, and make the rough places smooth; I will break in pieces the doors of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron;
YLT‘I go before thee, and crooked places make straight, Two-leaved doors of brass I shiver, And bars of iron I cut asunder,
DARBYI will go before thee, and make the elevated places plain; I will break in pieces the brazen doors, and cut asunder the bars of iron;
BBEI will go before you, and make the rough places level: the doors of brass will be broken, and the iron rods cut in two:
WebsterI will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut asunder the bars of iron:

What does Isaiah 45:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
2. crooked ... straight--(Is 40:4), rather, "maketh mountains plain" [Lowth], that is, clear out of thy way all opposing persons and things. The Keri reads as in Is 45:13, "make straight" (Margin). gates of brass--(Psa 107:16). Herodotus (1.179) says, Babylon had a hundred massive gates, twenty-five on each of the four sides of the city, all, as well as their posts, of brass. bars of iron--with which the gates were fastened.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 The crooked places "The mountains" - For הדורים hodurim, crooked places, a word not easily accounted for in this place, the Septuagint read הררים hararim, τα ορη, the mountains. Two MSS. have הדרים hadarim, without the ו vau, which is hardly distinguishable from the reading of the Septuagint. The Divine protection that attended Cyrus, and rendered his expedition against Babylon easy and prosperous is finely expressed by God's going before him, and making the mountains level. The image is highly poetical: - At vos, qua veniet, tumidi subsidite montes, Et faciles curvis vallibus este viae. Ovid, Amor. 2:16. "Let the lofty mountains fall down, and make level paths in the crooked valleys." The gates of brass "The valves of brass" - Abydenus, apud, Euseb. Praep. Evang. 9:41, says, that the wall of Babylon had brazen gates. And Herodotus, i, 179. more particularly: "In the wall all round there are a hundred gates, all of brass; and so in like manner are the sides and the lintels." The gates likewise within the city, opening to the river from the several streets, were of brass; as were those also of the temple of Belus. - Herod. i., 180, 181.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 45:1-4

The deliverance of the Jews by Cyrus. (Is. 45:1-4) God calls for obedience to his almighty power. (Is. 45:5-10) The settlement of his people. (Is. 45:11-19) The conversion of the Gentiles. (Is. 45:20-25) Verses 1-4 Cyrus is called God's anointed; he was designed and qualified for his great service by the counsel of God. The gates of Babylon which led to the river, were left open the night that Cyrus marched his army…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 45:1-4 →

Isaiah 45:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אֲנִי֙'a.NiIH589
לְפָנֶ֣יךָle.fa.Nei.kha<to> before youH6440
אֵלֵ֔ךְ'e.LekhI will goH1980
וַהֲדוּרִ֖יםva.ha.du.Rimand [the] mountainous land<s>H1921
אֲיַשֵּׁ֑ר'o.shirI will make smoothH3474
דַּלְת֤וֹתdal.Totdoors ofH1817
נְחוּשָׁה֙ne.chu.ShahbronzeH5154
אֲשַׁבֵּ֔ר'a.sha.BerI will breakH7665
וּבְרִיחֵ֥יu.ve.ri.Cheiand bars ofH1280
בַרְזֶ֖לvar.ZelironH1270
אֲגַדֵּֽעַ\׃'a.ga.De.a'I will cut throughH1438

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 45:2

  • Isaiah 40:4

    Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

  • Isaiah 42:16

    And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

  • Luke 3:5

    Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;

  • Psalms 107:16

    For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.

  • Jeremiah 51:30

    The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.

  • Isaiah 13:4-17

    The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: …

  • Acts 1:15

    And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
go before.
13:4-17
make.
40:4; 42:16; Ac 1:15; Lu 3:5
break.
Ps 107:16

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 45:1

    Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;

  • Isaiah 45:2

    I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:

  • Isaiah 45:3

    And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.

Read all of Isaiah 45

Isaiah 45:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Yo iré delante de ti, y enderezaré las tortuosidades; quebrantaré puertas de bronce, y cerrojos de hierro haré pedazos;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Moi, j’irai devant toi, et j’aplanirai les choses élevées; je briserai les portes d’airain, et je casserai les barres de fer;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Ich, ich werde vor dir herziehen und werde das Höckerichte eben machen; eherne Pforten werde ich zerbrechen und eiserne Riegel zerschlagen;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Ego ante te ibo, et gloriosos terræ humiliabo; portas æreas conteram, et vectes ferreos confringam: