A reading from
the Book of the Prophet Isaiah45:1, 4-6
Thus says the Lord to his anointed, Cyrus,/ whose right hand I grasp,/ subduing nations before him,/ and making kings run in his service,/ opening doors before him/ and leaving the gates unbarred:/ For the sake of Jacob, my servant,/ of Israel, my chosen one,/ I have called you by your name,/ giving you a title, though you knew me not./ I am the Lord and there is no other,/ there is no God besides me./ It is I who arm you, though you know me not,/ so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun/ people may know that there is none besides me./ I am the Lord, there is no other.
The word of the Lord.
