Isaiah 62–63

Zion’s New Identity

62For the sake of Zion I will not be silent,

and for the sake of Jerusalem I will not maintain a quiet attitude,

until her righteousness goes out like the bright light,

and her salvation burns like a torch.

²And the nations shall see your righteousness,

and all the kings your glory,

and you will be called^a a new name

that the mouth of Yahweh will designate.

³And you shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of Yahweh,

and a headband of royalty in the hand of your God.

⁴It shall no longer be said of you, “Forsaken,”

and it shall no longer be said of your land, “Desolation!”

but you will^b be called “My Delight Is In Her,”

and your land, “Married,”

for Yahweh delights in you,

and your land shall be married.

⁵For as a young man marries a virgin,

so shall your sons marry you,

and as is the joy of the bridegroom over the bride,

so shall your God rejoice over you.

⁶I have appointed watchmen upon your walls, Jerusalem;

all day and all night they shall never be silent.

You who profess Yahweh have no rest.

⁷And you must not give him rest until he establishes,

and until he makes^c Jerusalem an object of praise^d in the earth.

⁸Yahweh has sworn by his right hand,

and by his mighty arm,^e

“Surely I will never again give your grain as food to your enemies,^f

and surely foreigners^g shall not drink your new wine at which you have labored.”

⁹But those who gather it shall eat it, and they shall praise Yahweh,

and those who gather it shall drink it in my holy courts.^h

¹⁰Pass through, pass through the gates!

Make the way clear forⁱ the people!

Pile up, pile up the highway; clear it of stones!^j

Lift up an ensign over the peoples!

¹¹Look! Yahweh has proclaimed to the end of the earth:

Say to daughter Zion, “Look, your salvation is coming!

Look, his reward is with him,

and his reward before him.

¹²And they shall call them “The Holy People,^k The Redeemed Of Yahweh,”

and you^l shall be called “Sought After, A City Not Forsaken.”

Yahweh’s Day of Vengeance

63Who is this, coming from Edom,

from Bozrah in bright red garments?

Who is this honored in his garment,

lying down in his great strength?

“It is I, speaking in justice,

mighty^a to save!”

²Why are your garments^b red,

and your garments like he who treads in the winepress?

³“I have trodden the winepress alone,

and there was no man from the peoples with me.

And I trod them in my anger,

and I trampled them in my wrath,

and spattered their juice on my garments,

and stained all my clothing,

⁴for the day of vengeance was in my heart,

and the year of my blood-vengeance has come!

⁵And I looked, but^c there was no helper,

and I was appalled, but^d there was no one who sustains,

so^e my arm came to assist me,

and my wrath was what^f sustained me.

⁶And I trampled peoples in my anger,

and I made them drunk in my wrath,

and I brought their juice down to the earth.”

Remembering Yahweh’s Mercy

⁷I will mention the loyal love of Yahweh, the praises of Yahweh, according to all that Yahweh has done for us,

and the greatness of goodness to the house of Israel that he has done to them according to his mercy and the abundance of his loyal love.

⁸And he said, “Surely my people are children; they will not break faith.” And he became a Savior to them.

⁹In all their distress, there was no distress,^g

and the messenger of his presence^h saved them,

in his love and compassion he himself redeemed them,

and he lifted them up,

and he supported them all the days of old.

¹⁰Butⁱ they were the ones who^j rebelled,

and they grieved his Holy Spirit,^k

so^l he became an enemy to them;^m

he himself fought against them.

¹¹Thenⁿ his people remembered the days of old, of Moses.

Where is the one who led up them from the sea with the shepherds of his flock?

Where is the one who puts his Holy Spirit^o inside him,

¹²who made^p his magnificent arm move at^q the right hand of Moses,

who divided^r the waters before them,^s

to make an everlasting name for himself,

¹³who led^t them through the depths?

They did not stumble like a horse in the desert;

¹⁴like cattle in the valley that goes down, the Spirit of Yahweh gave him rest,^u

so you lead your people to make a magnificent name for yourself.

Prayer for Mercy

¹⁵Look from heaven,

and see from the lofty residence of your holiness and glory.

Where are your zeal and strength?

Your compassion^v and mercy to me hold themselves back.

¹⁶For you are our father, although Abraham does not know us,

and Israel does not acknowledge us.

You, Yahweh are our father,

Our Redeemer from of old is your name.

¹⁷Why do you make us wander from your ways, Yahweh?

You harden our heart so that we do not fear^w you.

Turn back for the sake of your servants,

the tribes of your inheritance.

¹⁸Your holy people^x took possession for a little while;

our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.

¹⁹We have been since antiquity; you did not rule them;

they were not called by your name.^y