The Meaning of Isaiah 45:2 Explained

Isaiah 45:2

KJV: 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:

YLT: 'I go before thee, and crooked places make straight, Two-leaved doors of brass I shiver, And bars of iron I cut asunder,

Darby: I 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;

ASV: I 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;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I will go  before  thee, and make  the crooked places  straight  {08675;03474:08686}: I will break in pieces  the gates  of brass,  and cut in sunder  the bars  of iron: 

What does Isaiah 45:2 Mean?

Context Summary

Isaiah 45:1-13 - Jehovah's Chosen Instrument
Cyrus is one of the noblest figures in ancient history. His character became a model for the Greek youth in strength, simplicity, humanity, purity, and self-restraint. We have seen that Jehovah had assured His people that Jerusalem would be restored, Isaiah 44:26. They probably expected a repetition of the Red Sea and the Exodus. But God does not repeat Himself; and their deliverance from captivity was to be achieved through the victories that made Cyrus master of Babylon. See Ezra 1:1-4.
God's plans are achieved through individuals, whom He equips and raises up for their specific work. There is much in all our lives that we cannot account for, and which is due to the girding of the Almighty. We do not always recognize the real sources of our lives. They are hidden in God. He girds us though we do not know Him. Let us not gird ourselves in our own strength, but stretch forth our hands unto Him, sure that He will neither fail nor forsake. See John 21:18. They who thus utterly yield to God are bidden in the exercise of a daring faith to command, that is, to claim, His saving power. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 45

1  God calls Cyrus for his church's sake
5  By his omnipotence he challenges obedience
20  He convinces the idols of vanity by his saving power

What do the individual words in Isaiah 45:2 mean?

I before you will go and the crooked places - make straight the gates of bronze I will break in pieces and the bars of iron cut
אֲנִי֙ לְפָנֶ֣יךָ אֵלֵ֔ךְ וַהֲדוּרִ֖ים [אושר] (אֲיַשֵּׁ֑ר) דַּלְת֤וֹת נְחוּשָׁה֙ אֲשַׁבֵּ֔ר וּבְרִיחֵ֥י בַרְזֶ֖ל אֲגַדֵּֽעַ

לְפָנֶ֣יךָ  before  you 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
אֵלֵ֔ךְ  will  go 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
וַהֲדוּרִ֖ים  and  the  crooked  places 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine plural
Root: הֲדוּרִים 
Sense: to honour, adorn, glorify, be high.
[אושר]  - 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular
(אֲיַשֵּׁ֑ר)  make  straight 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: יָשַׁר 
Sense: to be right, be straight, be level, be upright, be just, be lawful, be smooth.
דַּלְת֤וֹת  the  gates 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: דַּל 
Sense: door, gate.
נְחוּשָׁה֙  of  bronze 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: נְחוּשָׁה  
Sense: copper, bronze.
אֲשַׁבֵּ֔ר  I  will  break  in  pieces 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: שָׁבוּר 
Sense: to break, break in pieces.
וּבְרִיחֵ֥י  and  the  bars 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בְּרִיחַ  
Sense: bar.
בַרְזֶ֖ל  of  iron 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בַּרְזֶל  
Sense: iron.
אֲגַדֵּֽעַ  cut 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: גָּדַע  
Sense: to cut, hew, chop, cut down, hew down, hew off, cut off, cut in two, shave off.