The Lord’s Day of Vengeance

63 Who is this coming from Edom(A)
in crimson-stained garments from Bozrah—
this one who is splendid in his apparel,
striding in his formidable[a] might?
It is I, proclaiming vindication,[b]
powerful to save.
Why are your clothes red,
and your garments like one who treads a winepress?(B)
I trampled the winepress alone,
and no one from the nations was with me.
I trampled them in my anger
and ground them underfoot in my fury;
their blood spattered my garments,
and all my clothes were stained.
For I planned the day of vengeance,(C)
and the year of my redemption[c] came.

I looked, but there was no one to help,(D)
and I was amazed that no one assisted;
so my arm accomplished victory for me,
and my wrath assisted me.

I crushed nations in my anger;
I made them drunk with my wrath(E)
and poured out their blood on the ground.(F)

Remembrance of Grace

I will make known the Lord’s faithful love
and the Lord’s praiseworthy acts,
because of all the Lord has done for us—
even the many good things
he has done for the house of Israel,
which he did for them based on his compassion
and the abundance of his faithful love.
He said, “They are indeed my people,
children who will not be disloyal,”
and he became their Savior.
In all their suffering, he suffered,[d](G)
and the angel of his presence saved them.
He redeemed them
because of his love and compassion;(H)
he lifted them up and carried them
all the days of the past.(I)
10 But they rebelled
and grieved his Holy Spirit.(J)
So he became their enemy
and fought against them.
11 Then he[e] remembered the days of the past,
the days of Moses and his people.
Where is he who brought them out of the sea
with the shepherds[f] of his flock?
Where is he who put his Holy Spirit among the flock?
12 He made his glorious strength
available at the right hand of Moses,
divided the water before them(K)
to make an eternal name for himself,
13 and led them through the depths
like a horse in the wilderness,
so that they did not stumble.

14 Like cattle that go down into the valley,
the Spirit of the Lord gave them[g] rest.
You led your people this way
to make a glorious name for yourself.

Israel’s Prayer

15 Look down from heaven and see(L)
from your lofty home—holy and beautiful.
Where is your zeal and your might?
Your yearning[h] and your compassion
are withheld from me.
16 Yet you are our Father,
even though Abraham does not know us
and Israel doesn’t recognize us.
You, Lord, are our Father;
your name is Our Redeemer(M)
from Ancient Times.
17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray from your ways?
You harden our hearts so we do not fear[i] you.(N)
Return, because of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
18 Your holy people had a possession[j]
for a little while,
but our enemies have trampled down
your sanctuary.(O)
19 We have become like those you never ruled,
like those who did not bear your name.(P)

Footnotes

  1. 63:1 Syr, Vg read apparel, striding forward in
  2. 63:1 Or righteousness
  3. 63:4 Or blood retribution
  4. 63:9 Alt Hb tradition reads did not suffer
  5. 63:11 Or they
  6. 63:11 LXX, Tg, Syr read shepherd
  7. 63:14 Lit him
  8. 63:15 Lit The agitation of your inward parts
  9. 63:17 Lit our heart from fearing
  10. 63:18 Or Your people possessed your holy place

64 If only you would tear the heavens open
and come down,(A)
so that mountains would quake at your presence(B)
just as fire kindles brushwood,
and fire boils water—
to make your name known to your enemies,
so that nations would tremble at your presence!
When you did awesome works(C)
that we did not expect,
you came down,(D)
and the mountains quaked at your presence.
From ancient times no one has heard,
no one has listened to,
no eye has seen any God except you
who acts on behalf of the one who waits for him.(E)
You welcome the one who joyfully does what is right;
they remember you in your ways.
But we have sinned, and you were angry.
How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?[a]
All of us have become like something unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like a polluted[b] garment;(F)
all of us wither like a leaf,(G)
and our iniquities(H) carry us away like the wind.
No one calls on your name,
striving to take hold of you.
For you have hidden your face from us(I)
and made us melt because of[c][d] our iniquity.
Yet Lord, you are our Father;(J)
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we all are the work of your hands.(K)
Lord, do not be terribly angry
or remember our iniquity forever.(L)
Please look—all of us are your people!
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.(M)
11 Our holy and beautiful[e] temple,
where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned down,
and all that was dear to us lies in ruins.(N)
12 Lord, after all this, will you restrain yourself?
Will you keep silent and afflict us severely?(O)

Footnotes

  1. 64:5 Lit angry; in them continually and we will be saved; Hb obscure
  2. 64:6 Lit menstrual
  3. 64:7 LXX, Syr, Vg, Tg read and delivered us into the hand of
  4. 64:7 Lit melt by the hand of
  5. 64:11 Or glorious; Is 60:7

The Lord’s Response

65 “I was sought by those who did not ask;
I was found by those who did not seek me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’
to a nation that did not call on[a] my name.(A)
I spread out my hands all day long
to a rebellious people(B)
who walk in the path that is not good,
following their own thoughts.
These people continually anger me
to my face,
sacrificing in gardens,(C)
burning incense on bricks,
sitting among the graves,
spending nights in secret places,
eating the meat of pigs,(D)
and putting polluted broth in their bowls.[b]
They say, ‘Keep to yourself,
don’t come near me, for I am too holy for you!’
These practices are smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that burns all day long.
Look, it is written in front of me:
I will not keep silent,(E) but I will repay;(F)
I will repay them fully[c]
for your iniquities and the iniquities(G)
of your[d] ancestors together,”
says the Lord.
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and reproached me on the hills,(H)
I will reward them fully[e]
for their former deeds.”

The Lord says this:

“As the new wine is found in a bunch of grapes,
and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it,
for there’s some good[f] in it,’
so I will act because of my servants
and not destroy them all.
I will produce descendants from Jacob,(I)
and heirs to my mountains from Judah;
my chosen(J) ones will possess it,
and my servants will dwell there.(K)
10 Sharon will be a pasture for flocks,(L)
and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,(M)
for my people who have sought me.(N)
11 But you who abandon the Lord,
who forget my holy mountain,
who prepare a table for Fortune
and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,[g]
12 I will destine you for the sword,
and all of you will kneel down to be slaughtered,
because I called and you did not answer,
I spoke and you did not hear;
you did what was evil in my sight
and chose what I did not delight in.”(O)

13 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:

“Look! My servants will eat,
but you will be hungry.
Look! My servants will drink,
but you will be thirsty.
Look! My servants will rejoice,
but you will be put to shame.
14 Look! My servants will shout for joy from a glad heart,
but you will cry out from an anguished heart,
and you will lament out of a broken spirit.
15 You will leave your name behind
as a curse for my chosen ones,(P)
and the Lord God will kill you;
but he will give his servants another name.(Q)
16 Whoever asks for a blessing in the land
will ask for a blessing by the God of truth,(R)
and whoever swears in the land
will swear by the God of truth.
For the former troubles will be forgotten
and hidden from my sight.

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Footnotes

  1. 65:1 Or that was not called by
  2. 65:3–4 These vv. describe pagan worship.
  3. 65:6 Lit repay into their lap
  4. 65:7 LXX, Syr read for their iniquities and the iniquities of their
  5. 65:7 Lit reward into their lap
  6. 65:8 Or there’s a blessing
  7. 65:11 Pagan gods

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