Isaiah 63–64

The Lord Judges His People

63Who is this coming from Edom,

from the city of Bozrah, dressed in red?

Who is this dressed in fine clothes

and marching forward with his great power?

He says, “I, the Lord, speak what is right.

I have the power to save you.”

²Someone asks, “Why are your clothes bright red

as if you had walked on the grapes to make wine?”

³The Lord answers, “I have walked in the winepress alone,

and no one among the nations helped me.

I was angry and walked on the nations

and crushed them because of my anger.

Blood splashed on my clothes,

and I stained all my clothing.

⁴I chose a time to punish people,

and the time has come for me to save.

⁵I looked around, but I saw no one to help me.

I was surprised that no one supported me.

So I used my own power to save my people;

my own anger supported me.

⁶While I was angry, I walked on the nations.

In my anger I punished them

and poured their blood on the ground.”

The Lord’s Kindness to His People

⁷I will tell about the Lord’s kindness

and praise him for everything he has done.

I will praise the Lord for the many good things he has given us

and for his goodness to the people of Israel.

He has shown great mercy to us

and has been very kind to us.

⁸He said, “These are my people;

my children will not lie to me.”

So he saved them.

⁹When they suffered, he suffered also.

He sent his own angel to save them.

Because of his love and kindness, he saved them.

Since long ago he has picked them up and carried them.

¹⁰But they turned against him

and made his Holy Spirit very sad.

So he became their enemy,

and he fought against them.

¹¹But then his people remembered what happened long ago,

in the days of Moses and the Israelites with him.

Where is the Lord who brought the people through the sea,

with the leaders of his people?

Where is the one

who put his Holy Spirit among them,

¹²who led Moses by the right hand

with his wonderful power,

who divided the water before them

to make his name famous forever,

¹³who led the people through the deep waters?

Like a horse walking through a desert,

the people did not stumble.

¹⁴Like cattle that go down to the valley,

the Spirit of the Lord gave the people a place to rest.

Lord, that is the way you led your people,

and by this you won for yourself wonderful fame.

A Prayer for Help

¹⁵Lord, look down from the heavens and see;

look at us from your wonderful and holy home in heaven.

Where is your strong love and power?

Why are you keeping your love and mercy from us?

¹⁶You are our father.

Abraham doesn’t know we are his children,

and Israel doesn’t recognize us.

Lord, you are our father.

You are called “the one who has always saved us.”

¹⁷Lord, why are you making us wander from your ways?

Why do you make us stubborn so that we don’t honor you?

For our sake come back to us,

your servants, who belong to you.

¹⁸Your people had your Temple for a while,

but now our enemies have walked on your holy place and crushed it.

¹⁹We have become like people you never ruled over,

like those who have never worn your name.

64Tear open the skies and come down to earth

so that the mountains will tremble before you.

²Like a fire that burns twigs,

like a fire that makes water boil,

let your enemies know who you are.

Then all nations will shake with fear when they see you.

³You have done amazing things we did not expect.

You came down, and the mountains trembled before you.

⁴From long ago no one has ever heard of a God like you.

No one has ever seen a God besides you,

who helps the people who trust you.

⁵You help those who enjoy doing good,

who remember how you want them to live.

But you were angry because we sinned.

For a long time we disobeyed,

so how can we be saved?

⁶All of us are dirty with sin.

All the right things we have done are like filthy pieces of cloth.

All of us are like dead leaves,

and our sins, like the wind, have carried us away.

⁷No one worships you

or even asks you to help us.

That is because you have turned away from us

and have let our sins destroy us.

⁸But Lord, you are our father.

We are like clay, and you are the potter;

your hands made us all.

⁹Lord, don’t continue to be angry with us;

don’t remember our sins forever.

Please, look at us,

because we are your people.

¹⁰Your holy cities are empty like the desert.

Jerusalem is like a desert;

it is destroyed.

¹¹Our ancestors worshiped you

in our holy and wonderful Temple,

but now it has been burned with fire,

and all our precious things have been destroyed.

¹²When you see these things, will you hold yourself back from helping us, Lord?

Will you be silent and punish us beyond what we can stand?