Isaiah 41:25-29

¶“I have stirred up and put into action one from the north [the king of Persia, Cyrus the Great], and he has come; From the rising of the sun he will call on My Name [in prayer]. And he will trample on [the Babylonian] officials as on mortar, Even as a potter treads clay.” [2 Chr 36:23; Ezra 1:1-3] Who [among the idols] has declared this from the beginning, so that we could know? Or from earlier times, so that we could say, “He is [unquestionably] right!”? In fact, there was no one who declared it, Indeed, there was no one who proclaimed it; There was no one at all who heard you speak [for you pagan gods are speechless]. “I was first to say to Zion, ‘Listen carefully, here they are [the Jews who will be restored to their own land].’ And to Jerusalem, ‘I will provide a messenger (Isaiah) to bring the good news [that Cyrus will be stirred up and put into action to save them].’ [Is 40:9; 52:7] “But when I look [on the pagan prophets and priests], there is no one [who could predict these events], And there is no counselor among them, Who, if I ask, can give an answer. “In fact, all of these [pagan prophets and priests] are false; Their works are worthless, Their cast images are [merely] wind and emptiness.