Summary: Some Christians think it's ok; others would never dare. Can questions make God angry, and put us in danger? Or does God welcome the questions?

I'd like to start today by reading the first five verses of our passage, using the NET translation. As I read, just try to think about one thing: Is it okay to challenge God, or to ask God questions about what He's doing?

Isaiah 45:9-13 (NET):

9 One who argues with his Creator is in grave danger,[a]

one who is like a mere[b] shard among the other shards on the ground!

The clay should not say to the potter,[c]

“What in the world[d] are you doing?

Your work lacks skill!”[e]

10 Danger awaits one who says[f] to his father,

“What in the world[g] are you fathering?”

and to his mother,

“What in the world are you bringing forth?”[h]

11 This is what the LORD says,

the Holy One of Israel,[i] the one who formed him,

concerning things to come:[j]

“How dare you question me[k] about my children!

How dare you tell me what to do with[l] the work of my own hands!

12 I made the earth;

I created the people who live[m] on it.

It was me—my hands[n] stretched out the sky.[o]

I give orders to all the heavenly lights.[p]

13 It is me—I stir him up and commission him;[q]

I will make all his ways level.

He will rebuild my city;

he will send my exiled people home,

but not for a price or a bribe,”

says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

One of the biggest differences among Christians, that probably spans across every denominational or ethnic, or any other line, has to do with how Christians think they can talk to God. Some people-- let's call them Group #1-- feel very free to ask questions of God, to challenge Him when things don't go their way, to call on God to fulfill his half of the covenant. Other people, Group #2, have a very strong sense that God is God, and that we are not. They would never ask tough questions of God, or challenge him, or call on God to do something He should already have been doing. And when they hear Group #1 praying, they shift a little away from them, for fear of lightning.

My starting place for prayer, I think, is the psalms. In the psalms, the psalmists feel free to say pretty much anything to God. They don't tell God what they think He wants to hear. They tell him what He needs to hear. And they call on God to be faithful, to keep his promises, to rise up and act. [And particularly, I've found John Goldingay's three volume commentary on the psalms to be an incredible resource, in helping me become very free in how I talk to God].

The other thing my understanding of prayer is rooted in, is the book of Job. Through the whole book of Job, Job asks tough questions of God. He insists on a face-to-face meeting, and an explanation for what happened to him. The friends keep telling him, "Bad things happen to bad people." And Job insists that he's a righteous person, that he's done nothing wrong, and that God ought to show up, and explain himself.

Evangelicals tend to know the verse near the end of Job, which is probably slightly translated, where Job repents "concerning" (not "on") dust and ashes. They somehow get the idea that Job was in the wrong, and that Job repents of his misguided words.

But let's turn to Job 42:7:

(7) And then, after Yahweh spoke these words to Job, Yahweh said to Eliphaz the Temanite,

"My nose has become hot against you and against your two friends,

because you haven't spoken to me what's right, as my servant Job [has],

(8) and so then, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams,

and go to my servant Job,

that you may offer a burnt offering for yourself,

while Job my servant will pray for/concerning you.

Unless his face I lift up, I will act toward you according to your folly, [Hebrew uncertain?]

because you haven't spoken to me what's right, as my servant Job [has].

That last sentence in verse 8 is confusing, and I'm not quite sure what it means, but God very clearly says that Job spoke "to" ("to," not "about") God rightly, and that Job's friends didn't.

And when I read Job, how did Job speak to God? Job is super brave. There have been times I've challenged on God to fulfill his promises and commitments, and there's a part of me that wants to shrivel up, and get scared, at how brave my words sound. But I tell myself that God is a tough God, who has thick skin (so to speak), who can handle his people when they come to him with protests, and complaints, and challenges, and questions. If Job could talk to God the way he did, then so can I.

I'm a Group #1 person, all the way. I'm the kind of person who makes people nervous, and shift in their seats.

My guess is that our passage today, at first reading, is the kind of passage that Group #2 people build their theology around. Part of me wonders if this passage is at the very heart of Group #2 theology-- if it's the cornerstone that everything else is built around. As I got into studying this, I was all ready to give a passionate defense of Group #1 theology. But then, as I got further in, I realized that this passage has been badly misunderstood and translated. The NET Bible is pretty terrible here, honestly. And the passage actually means the opposite of what lots of people (= many Bible translators, and scholars) think it does.

Let's turn to Isaiah 45:9, and read just the first word.

"Hey."

Your English Bibles will all translate this first word as "woe." They view it as a word announcing God's judgment, perhaps mixed with some sadness (it's sometimes a funeral word; 1 Kings 13:30). So we hear this word "woe," and we find ourselves getting scared, and nervous, and gearing up for a really hard message. We know that in what follows, God is going to be upset, and that He's going to threaten certain things.

But the catch is that this Hebrew word "hoy," doesn't actually mean "woe." It's not necessarily a negative word at all. It's hard to translate, honestly, but it can be used positively. Sometimes it means something like "Hey!" It's an attention getter. Like when a teacher is trying to get everyone's attention, she might call out, "Hey."

Let's turn to Isaiah 55:1:

(1) Hey, all of the thirsty! Come to the waters!,

while whoever doesn't have silver/money, come!

Buy!, and eat!,

and come! Buy, with no (without?) silver/money and with no price, wine and milk!

This is an invitation that God sends out. Hey, you thirsty ones! Come drink! Come fill yourselves up for free!

It's the same Hebrew word. It's not "woe." It's something more like "Hey!." God isn't announcing coming judgment on thirsty people. He's inviting them to a marketplace, where everything is sold for free.

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Another good example is Zechariah 2:6-7 (Hebrew 2:10-11). Here, it's often translated as "get up," or "come!," but it also works here to translate it as "hey." The important thing (for my purposes) is that it's the introduction to an encouraging and positive message.

Zechariah 2:6-7 [Hebrew 2:10-11]: NIV:

6 “COME! COME! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD, “for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven,” declares the LORD.

7 “COME, Zion! Escape, you who live in Daughter Babylon!” 8 For this is what the LORD Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye— 9 I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them.[b] Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me.

10 “Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the LORD.

So, many times this word is used to open a prophetic word of judgment against sinful people, and get the attention of sinful people. God's people often sin, and so it's no surprise that this is common. But there's nothing in the word itself that demands a negative word of judgment. By itself, it's neutral, and should be translated neutrally. "Hey" is perhaps often the best equivalent.

HALOT lists times it's used in negative contexts: 2. grievous threatening cry of the prophets a) with pt. or adj. Am 5:18 6:1 Is 5:8, 11, 18, 20-22 10:1 29:15 31:1 33:1 45:9f Jr 22:13 Mi 2:1 Hab 2:9, 12, 15, 19 Zeph 2:5; b) with vocative Is 1:4 17:12 28:1 29:1 cj.16 30:1 Jr 23:1 47:6 Ezk 34:2 Zech 2:11 11:17 Zeph 3:1 Nah 3:1;

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So as we flip back to Isaiah 45:9, and start reading, let's not assume that God is angry, or that He's about to pour out his wrath. God is trying to get the attention of a particular group of people. And this group is the one who is rejecting God's offer of help that we read last week. God is going to free his people from exile, and bring them home, and restore the city of Jerusalem, and rebuild the temple, through King Cyrus-- a pagan, idol-worshipping, warmongering threat to the Babylonian empire. And God's people struggle with that. They find themselves quarreling with God, and with God's prophet. There's no way God would anoint Cyrus, treat him like a king from the line of David, bless him, and use him to rescue them. Right?

So the people are like, "No." And now the prophet, in response to that "no," comes back with another word from God.

Let's read vs. 9:

(9) Hey, O one quarreling with his Former/Fashioner-- a clay vessel among the clay vessels of the ground!

Does the clay say to its former/fashioner,

"What will you make?,"

while your finished product, [does it say,] there are no handles/hands for it!

The idea in verse 9 is that in this world, there are two kinds of things: there are makers, and there are made things. There's clay, and there's a potter. There's the finished clay pot, and the potter.

People who are creators, and makers, have the right to do it how they want. When my wife is making a nice homemade soup, the celery doesn't get to ask her what she's doing. The carrots don't get to complain that they were cut too big, or too small. And if my kids have any common sense, at all, they will keep as quiet as the carrots about what supper's going to be. They know, it's better not to ask what she's making. If you do ask, don't make a face when she tells you. And don't tell her you wished it was something else. Right? Over the years, I've had multiple conversations with my kids about this. "Dear child, if you want to eat, and want a happy mom, be careful what you say when she's been in the kitchen making supper for an hour." You don't question the decision-making process. You don't question the final product. You're accept her decision-making. You accept the final product. You eat it.

In verse 10, God/the prophet ups the stakes:

(10) Hey, O one saying to a father,

"What are you fathering/begetting?," [Gen. 5:3, etc.]

while to a woman/wife,

"What are you in labor for? [against backdrop of Isaiah 42:14];"

It's inappropriate for clay to ask the potter what exactly the plan is, or to complain about the finished product at the end of the day. It's even more inappropriate to ask a husband, "What are you having?" Or, when a woman is in labor in the hospital, you probably shouldn't go up to her, and be like, "What's going on? What's the plan?"

And so what God is saying here, is that you exiles are this kind of people. You are like people asking a woman in the middle of labor, what she's doing.

One of my favorite kids' books of all time to read is Julius: Baby of the World. It's about a little mouse named Lily who has a baby brother named Julian, and she hates how much attention he gets from everyone. She thinks he's a terrible, ugly, little thing. She thinks it's ridiculous, the way people ooh and ah over him. And on one of the pages, at the peak of her frustration, she walks by a pregnant mouse-- not her mom, just some random female-- and she says to her, "You'll regret that bump!"

Something like that is the idea here. Husbands and wives together decide when they will have babies. They decide how many they'll have. They have a plan in place, for how their lives will look, hopefully. But even if they don't, you still keep your mouth shut. Right? You can't be like Lily the mouse.

So the idea in verses 9-10 is that the one making things has the right to decide what is made, how it is made, and when it's made. And other people don't have the right to come along and ask the questions. Notice all the questions. "What are you making? What are you fathering? What are you in labor for?" Created things, and people who aren't in charge, have no right to ask these questions.

So God sends out this invitation to his people, who are quarreling with him. His people are clay pots. God is the One Forming them. And what's going on, up to this point, is that God asks questions of the questioners. Is it appropriate for made things, to ask questions of their maker? When you look at the world, and how it functions with cooks, and potters, and mothers, and fathers, is that normally how it works?

Up to this point, it feels like a solidly Group #2 type passage. Don't ask questions. Don't complain. Know your place. Know your role. Keep your mouth shut.

But then we get verse 11 [English Bibles alter the text here repeatedly to make it better fit what the prophet is trying to say. The NET Bible goes all Greta Thurnberg here and even adds in a double "How dare you." But the Hebrew makes good sense, and has no problems. The KJV actually gets it right here, perfectly]:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isaiah%2045%3A11&version=NLV;NRSVUE;NET;KJV

(11) Thus has said Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel,

while its Former/Fashioner: ["Former" is same word for potter from verse 9]

"The coming things-- ask me concerning my sons/children ["ask" is a command/imperative],

while concerning the work of my hands ("hands," same word as v. 9), may you command me ["may you command" is a jussive-- a polite way to request something].

In this verse, God is the Former. He is the Parent who has children. God is creating a work with his hands. By right, formed things have no right to ask him questions.

But God invites them to ask the questions. He commands them, He invites them, to ask. God commands them, to command Him, to explain himself.

One of my commentators who translates it (mostly) right, Alec Motyer, assumes that God here is sarcastic. Would God really invite his people to command him?

And I think the answer, is "yes." God is still really working hard at bringing his people back to himself, to a place of trust, and faithfulness. He wants them to become loyal servants, obedient children, who will do the job He has planned for them. And God is happy to explain himself, and walk them through the whole process. There's no secrets about Cyrus, or about their mission to be witnesses to God.

And you can tell that God is sincere about this, and not sarcastic, because of what follows. God goes on, starting in verse 12, to explain "the coming things" and "the work of his hands." God answers the questions they should ask Him [and that's almost certainly part of the problem-- we shouldn't quarrel "about" God to each other; we bring our beef with God to God]:

(12) I have made [same verb as line 3 in vs. 8] the earth,

while humanity upon it, I have created.

I-- my hands ["hands," a 3rd time]-- stretched out the heavens, [Isaiah 40:22; as you'd pitch a tent; Gen. 12:8]

while all their host/armies I commanded.

(13) I have stirred him [=Cyrus] up in/by/with righteousness, [compare Jer. 27:5-6; *Shalom Paul]

while all his paths I will straighten/smooth.

He will build my city, [Jerusalem; Isaiah 44:28]

while my exiles, he will set free.

Not for a price, and not for a gift/bribe, said Yahweh of Armies."

This is the homemade soup that God is cooking up. God stirred up (lol?) King Cyrus. God is smoothing and straightening all of his roads, and those roads point to straight to Babylon. Cyrus will conquer the superpower. Then, Cyrus will build Jerusalem. He will set free God's exiles. And God and Cyrus will partner together and do this, without requiring anything from you exiles. This will cost you nothing. This is the kind of offer you might watch on a TV infomercial, and wonder what the catch is. But there is no catch.

And actually, as we keep reading, we find out that this is exactly like a class TV infomercial. What God is offering is already amazing. Starting in verse 14, we get the classic line, "But wait, there's more."

Before I jump in, I should just say that these verses are a little tricky. It's hard to figure out who is speaking, and who is being addressed. The speaker changes twice, and we have to try to keep up (and these type of speaker changes are evidence that these verses were originally performed, using different voices or something, in the public square.].

Verse 14 starts off addressed to Jerusalem/Zion. That's not obvious right away, but eventually the addressee clears up. And what these verses do, I think, is answer one of the objections of God's exiled people. If God has anointed Cyrus, and God is blessing Cyrus, and God is treating Cyrus like He treated King David, then what blessings are left over for them? It feels a bit like Isaac giving all of the blessings he can think of to Jacob. What's left for Esau (Genesis 27:37)? And so what these verses do, is reassure God's people that God will make them rich, and that He will give them honor. They won't miss out because of Cyrus-- it will actually be through Cyrus that God blesses them. I'm just going to read this straight through to the end of verse 25. We won't catch everything, but just focus on three ideas: wealth, honor, and humiliation. These three ideas are a thread that run through the whole section:

(14) Thus has said Yahweh: [addressed to Jerusalem]

"The hard earned wealth of Egypt's labor, and the profit/merchandise of Cush and the Sabeans-- men of tribute [Ezra 4:20; 7:24] --

to you they shall pass over, ["to you" is focused; "you" is feminine singular],

and yours, they will be, ["yours" is focused, and feminine; "they" is the wealth of those 3].

Behind you, they will walk ["behind you" is focused"; =loyalty; Deut. 13:5; 1 Kings 14:8; *Paul].

In chains, they will pass over,

while to you [feminine singular] they will bow down, [Isaiah 60; they will treated as a Davidic king; Ps. 72:10-11; vassal language *Paul]

and to you [feminine] they will pray/plead."

[The speech of the nations, what they will say at that time, probably, to Zion and to God. "To you they will pray/plead," and this is what they will say:]

"Surely, with you, El/God [is],

and there is apart from him no god/elohim."

(15) Certainly, you [are] an El/God [who has been? who is?] hiding yourself-- the God/Elohim of Israel-- the Savior."

(16) They were ashamed,

and, what's more, they were humiliated-- all of them.

Together/as one (in unity) [Exodus 19:8], they have walked in disgrace-- the craftsmen of idols.

(17) Israel is being saved/rescued by Yahweh-- a long-lasting/forever salvation."

[The prophet to God's exiled people, applying the nations' future words to them; "This is what you should learn from their future speech"]:

You will not be ashamed,

and you will not be humiliated up to forever and ever,

(18) because thus has said Yahweh, the One Creating the heavens--

He [is] the God/Elohim Forming the earth,

and The One Making it;

He has established it;

Not [as] an emptiness/wasteland/void (Gen. 1:2), He created it;

To be inhabited, He formed it--

"I [am] Yahweh,

and there is no one besides me.

(19) Not in secrecy I have spoken--

in the place of a land of darkness.

I haven't said to the seed of Jacob,

"In a wasteland/emptily [same word as v. 18; here an adverb?], seek me [Exodus 33:7]."

I [am] Yahweh,

The One Speaking what is right [Prov. 8:8; 12:17];

The One declaring with integrity [Isaiah 33:15; Prov. 23:16].

[God/the prophet inviting the nations into the future pictured by the words of vs. 14-17]:

(20) Gather!, and Come!

Draw near together/in unity!, O survivors [Jer. 44:28; Ezek. 6:8; *Paul] of the nations.

They don't know/acknowledge-- the ones carrying the wood of their idols,

while praying to a god/el who can't save.

(21) Declare,

and present/bring forth.

What's more, may they consult together.

Who has spoken this long ago [Isaiah 46:10],

From ancient times declared it?

Is it not I, Yahweh?,

and there is no God/Elohim, except only me;

A righteous God/El and Savior, there isn't, apart from me.

(22) Turn to me,

and be saved, all the ends of the earth, [Isaiah 52:10]

because I [am] God/El,

and there is none besides me.

(23) By myself I have sworn.

It has gone out from my mouth in righteousness, a word,

and it will not return.

Surely, to me every knee will kneel down (1 Kings 19:18; 2 Kings 1:13);

[to me] every tongue will swear [loyalty/allegiance], [Ezekiel 16:8; 2 Chr. 15:14; *Paul]

(24) saying, "Only/surely in Yahweh, [are] righteousness and strength."

To Him [=God?], they [the one kneeling/swearing?] will come,

and they will be ashamed-- all of the ones angry with Him.

(25) In Yahweh they will be vindicated/proven right,

and they will boast-- all the seed of Israel ["seed" also in v. 19].

At the end of everything, all who built idols, and trust in idols, will be humiliated. They trusted something that can't save them, and that will be proven to have been powerless. And everyone who was angry with God-- whether that's God's people, or the nations-- will be ashamed. They were publicly wrong, and will find themselves having to eat crow.

On the other hand, God's (faithful?) people will be richly blessed. They will receive the wealth of the nations [Revelation 21:24]. They will receive glory, and honor. They will be like King David, or King Solomon. People will recognize their connection to Yahweh, and how good Yahweh has been to them. And God's people will be able to hold their heads high, and know that their current humiliation will be replaced by honor (Matthew 5).

And so, if you were the prophet's first audience, hearing these words, you find that God has answered the questions that you are free to ask. God is rescuing you, and blessing you, through King Cyrus. You will be given wealth, and honor, through him. You won't miss out on anything.

Now, if you're God's exiled people, you'd find yourselves have to make a choice here again. Will you trust this word as true? Will you shift your thinking? Will you turn from your idols to Yahweh? Will you praise God, as King Cyrus gets closer and closer to conquering Babylon? Will you join the nations in understanding who Yahweh is, and will you join them in bending your knee, and giving your allegiance to Yahweh (verse 23)?

Those are the only questions that remain.

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So that's our passage for today. I kind of ripped you off, starting at about verse 14, and I feel bad about that. But all I really want you to see today is what kind of relationship God wants to have with you. God wants you to be the kind of people who bring your questions, and complaints, and protests, to Him. If you feel like God isn't holding up his half of the covenant, that He's not keeping his promises and commitments, that He's misled you in some way or been unfair to you-- bring that to Him. Hash it out with Him. God can handle your beef with Him. Ask Him for an explanation. Challenge Him to rise up, and act on your behalf. God doesn't want you to blindly accept what's going on in the world. God is happy to explain to himself.

If you look at the world, and what God seems to be doing doesn't make any sense, bring your questions to God. Ask him what He's doing. And perhaps, if you bring your questions to God, God will reveal himself to you, and tell you what's going on, just as He did to his exiled people in Babylon.

It's true that we are God's made thing. We are clay pots. We are his children. We have no right to ask God anything. But the kind of relationship God is looking for with his people, is the kind where God invites us to ask, and challenge, and call on God to help.

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Translation:

(9) Hey [Isaiah 55:1], O one quarreling with his Former/Fashioner-- a clay vessel among the clay vessels of the ground!

Does the clay say to its former/fashioner,

"What will you make?,"

while your finished product, [does it say,] there are no handles/hands for it/him!

(10) Hey, O one saying to a father,

"What are you begetting?",

while to a woman/wife,

"What are you in labor for? [Isaiah 13:8]"

(11) Thus has said Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel,

while its Former/Fashioner:

"The coming things-- ask me concerning my sons/children,

while concerning the work of my hands (same word as v. 9), may you command me.

(12) I have made [same verb as line 3 in vs. 8] the earth,

while humanity upon it, I have created.

I-- my hands ["hands," a 3rd time]-- stretched out the heavens, [Isaiah 40:22; as you'd pitch a tent; Gen. 12:8]

while all their host/armies I commanded.

(13) I have stirred him [=Cyrus] up in/by/with righteousness, [compare Jer. 27:5-6; *Shalom Paul]

while all his paths I will straighten/smooth.

He will build my city, [Jerusalem; Isaiah 44:28]

while my exiles, he will set free.

Not for a price, and not for a gift/bribe, said Yahweh of Armies."

(14) Thus has said Yahweh:

"The hard earned wealth of Egypt's labor, and the profit/merchandise of Cush and the Sabeans-- men of tribute [Ezra 4:20; 7:24] --

to you they shall pass over, ["to you" is focused; "you" is feminine singular],

and yours, they will be, ["yours" is focused, and feminine; "they" is the wealth of those 3].

Behind you, they will walk ["behind you" is focused"; =loyalty; Deut. 13:5; 1 Kings 14:8; *Paul].

In chains, they will pass over,

while to you [feminine singular] they will bow down, [Isaiah 60; they will treated as a Davidic king; Ps. 72:10-11; vassal language *Paul]

and to you [feminine] they will pray."

[The speech of the nations, what they will say at that time. "To you they will pray/plead, and this is what they'll say":]

"Surely, with you, El/God [is],

and there is apart from him no god/elohim."

(15) Certainly, you [are] an El/God [who has been? who is?] hiding yourself-- the God/Elohim of Israel-- the Savior."

(16) They were ashamed,

and, what's more, they were humiliated-- all of them.

Together/as one (in unity) [Exodus 19:8], they have walked in disgrace-- the craftsmen of idols.

(17) Israel is being saved/rescued by Yahweh-- a long-lasting/forever salvation."

[The prophet to God's exiled people, applying the nations' future words to them. "This is what you should learn from their future speech"]:

You will not be ashamed,

and you will not be humiliated up to forever and ever,

(18) because thus has said Yahweh, the One Creating the heavens--

He [is] the God/Elohim Forming the earth,

and The One Making it;

He has established it;

Not [as] an emptiness/wasteland/void (Gen. 1:2), He created it;

To be inhabited, He formed it--

"I [am] Yahweh,

and there is no one besides me.

(19) Not in secrecy I have spoken--

in the place of a land of darkness.

I haven't said to the seed of Jacob,

"In a wasteland/emptily [same word as v. 18; here an adverb?], seek me [Exodus 33:7]."

I [am] Yahweh,

The One Speaking what is right [Prov. 8:8; 12:17];

The One declaring with integrity [Isaiah 33:15; Prov. 23:16].

[God/the prophet inviting the nations into the future pictured by the words of vs. 14-17]:

(20) Gather!, and Come!

Draw near together/in unity!, O survivors [Jer. 44:28; Ezek. 6:8; *Paul] of the nations.

They don't know/acknowledge-- the ones carrying the wood of their idols,

while praying to a god/el who can't save.

(21) Declare,

and present/bring forth.

What's more, may they consult together.

Who has spoken this long ago [Isaiah 46:10],

From ancient times declared it?

Is it not I, Yahweh?,

and there is no God/Elohim, except only me;

A righteous God/El and Savior, there isn't, apart from me.

(22) Turn to me,

and be saved, all the ends of the earth, [Isaiah 52:10]

because I [am] God/El,

and there is none besides me.

(23) By myself I have sworn.

It has gone out from my mouth in righteousness, a word,

and it will not return.

Surely, to me every knee will kneel down (1 Kings 19:18; 2 Kings 1:13);

[to me] every tongue will swear [loyalty/allegiance], [Ezekiel 16:8; 2 Chr. 15:14; *Paul]

(24) saying, "Only/surely in Yahweh, [are] righteousness and strength."

To Him [=God?], they [the one kneeling/swearing?] will come,

and they will be ashamed-- all of the ones angry with Him.

(25) In Yahweh they will be vindicated/proven right,

and they will boast-- all the seed of Israel ["seed" also in v. 19].