Jehovah’s Pronouncement Against Babylon

3. With what vivid expressions does Isaiah 45:1-3a describe Cyrus’ conquest?

³ “This is what Jehovah has said to his anointed one, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have taken hold of, to subdue before him nations, so that I may ungird even the hips of kings; to open before him the two-leaved doors, so that even the gates will not be shut:

Isaiah 45:1

4. (a) Why does Jehovah call Cyrus his “anointed one”? (b) How will Jehovah ensure victory for Cyrus?

⁴ Jehovah, through Isaiah, speaks to Cyrus as if he were alive, although in Isaiah’s day Cyrus has not yet been born. (Romans 4:17) Since Jehovah appoints Cyrus in advance to accomplish a specific task, Cyrus can be said to be God’s “anointed one.” With God leading him, he will subdue nations, rendering kings weak and incapable of resistance. Then, when Cyrus attacks Babylon, Jehovah will see to it that the doors of the city are left open, making them as useless as gates that have been shattered.

5, 6. When and how does the prophecy about the fall of Babylon come true?

⁵ In the year 539 B.C.E.​—some 200 years after Isaiah records this prophecy—​Cyrus does indeed arrive at the walls of Babylon to attack the city. (Jeremiah 51:11, 12) The Babylonians, however, are not concerned. They feel that their city is unconquerable. Its towering walls loom over deep moats filled with water from the Euphrates River, which forms part of the city’s defense system. For over a hundred years, no enemy has been able to take Babylon by storm! In fact, Babylon’s ruler in residence, Belshazzar, feels so secure that he feasts with members of his court. (Daniel 5:1) That night​—the night of October 5/6—​Cyrus completes a brilliant military maneuver.

⁶ Upstream from Babylon, Cyrus’ engineers have cut through the bank of the Euphrates River, diverting its waters so that they no longer flow southward toward the city. Before long, the water level of the river in and around Babylon falls so low that Cyrus’ troops are able to slosh along the riverbed toward the heart of the city. (Isaiah 44:27; Jeremiah 50:38) Amazingly, just as Isaiah foretold, the gates along the river are open. Cyrus’ forces swarm into Babylon, take the palace, and put King Belshazzar to death. (Daniel 5:30) In one night the conquest is all over. Babylon has fallen, and the prophecy is fulfilled to the letter.