Isaiah 63–64

The Lord’s Day of Vengeance

63Who is this who comes from ^lEdom,

in crimsoned garments from ^lBozrah,

he who is splendid in his apparel,

^mmarching in the greatness of his strength?

“It is I, speaking in righteousness,

mighty to save.”

²Why is your ⁿapparel red,

and your garments like his ^owho treads in the winepress?

^3p“I have trodden the winepress alone,

^qand from the peoples no one was with me;

I trod them in my anger

and trampled them in my wrath;

their lifeblood¹ spattered on my garments,

and stained all my apparel.

^4rFor the day of vengeance was in my heart,

and my year of redemption² had come.

⁵I looked, but ^sthere was no one to help;

I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold;

so my own arm brought me salvation,

and my wrath upheld me.

⁶I trampled down the peoples in my anger;

^tI made them drunk in my wrath,

and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”

The Lord’s Mercy Remembered

⁷I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord,

the praises of the Lord,

according to all that the Lord has granted us,

^uand the great goodness to the house of Israel

that he has granted them according to his compassion,

according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

⁸For he said, “Surely they are my people,

children who will not deal falsely.”

And he became their Savior.

^9vIn all their affliction he was afflicted,³

and the angel of his presence saved them;

^win his love and in his pity he redeemed them;

^xhe lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

^10yBut they rebelled

^zand grieved his Holy Spirit;

therefore he turned to be their enemy,

and himself fought against them.

¹¹Then he remembered ^athe days of old,

of Moses and his people.⁴

^bWhere is he who brought them up out of the sea

with the shepherds of his flock?

Where is he who put in the midst of them

his Holy Spirit,

¹²who caused his glorious arm

to go at the right hand of Moses,

^cwho divided the waters before them

^dto make for himself an everlasting name,

¹³who led them through the depths?

Like a horse in the desert,

they did not stumble.

¹⁴Like livestock that go down into the valley,

^ethe Spirit of the Lord gave them rest.

So you led your people,

^dto make for yourself a glorious name.

Prayer for Mercy

^15fLook down from heaven and see,

^gfrom your holy and beautiful⁵ habitation.

Where are ^hyour zeal and your might?

The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion

are held back from me.

¹⁶For ⁱyou are our Father,

though Abraham does not know us,

and Israel does not acknowledge us;

you, O Lord, are our Father,

^jour Redeemer from of old is your name.

¹⁷O Lord, why do you make us wander from your ways

and ^kharden our heart, so that we fear you not?

^lReturn for the sake of your servants,

the tribes of your heritage.

^18mYour holy people held possession for a little while;⁶

ⁿour adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.

^19oWe have become like those over whom you have never ruled,

like those who are not called by your name.

64^pOh that you would rend the heavens and come down,

^qthat the mountains might quake at your presence—

²¹ as when fire kindles brushwood

and the fire causes water to boil—

^rto make your name known to your adversaries,

and that the nations might tremble at your presence!

^3sWhen you did awesome things that we did not look for,

you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.

^4tFrom of old no one has heard

or perceived by the ear,

^uno eye has seen a God besides you,

who acts for those who wait for him.

⁵You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,

those who remember you in your ways.

Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;

in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?²

^6vWe have all become like one who is unclean,

and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.

^wWe all fade like a leaf,

and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

^7xThere is no one who calls upon your name,

who rouses himself to take hold of you;

for you have hidden your face from us,

and have made us melt in³ the hand of our iniquities.

^8yBut now, O Lord, you are our Father;

^zwe are the clay, and you are our potter;

^awe are all the work of your hand.

^9bBe not so terribly angry, O Lord,

^cand remember not iniquity forever.

Behold, please look, we are all your people.

^10dYour holy cities have become a wilderness;

Zion has become a wilderness,

Jerusalem a desolation.

^11eOur holy and beautiful⁴ house,

where our fathers praised you,

has been burned by fire,

and all our pleasant places have become ruins.

^12fWill you restrain yourself at these things, O Lord?

Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?