Isaiah 62–63

The Lord Gives Zion a New Name

62The Lord says, “For the good of Zion I will not keep silent.

For Jerusalem’s benefit I will not remain quiet.

I will not keep silent until its people’s godliness

shines like the sunrise.

I will not remain quiet until they are saved

and shine like a blazing torch.

²Jerusalem, the nations will see

that I have made everything right for you.

All of their kings will see your glory.

You will be called by a new name.

I myself will give it to you.

³You will be like a glorious crown in my strong hand.

You will be like a royal crown in my powerful hand.

⁴People will not call you Deserted anymore.

They will no longer name your land Empty.

Instead, you will be called The One the Lord Delights In.

Your land will be named The Married One.

I will take delight in you.

And your land will be like a bride.

⁵As a young man gets married to a young woman,

your people will marry you.

As a groom is happy with his bride,

I will be full of joy over you.”

⁶Jerusalem, I have stationed guards on your walls.

They must never be silent day or night.

You who call out to the Lord

must not give yourselves any rest.

⁷And don’t give him any rest

until he makes Jerusalem secure.

Don’t give him any peace

until people all over the earth praise that city.

⁸The Lord has taken an oath and made a promise.

He has lifted up his right hand and mighty arm.

He has promised, “I will never give your grain

to your enemies for food again.

Outsiders will never again drink the fresh wine

you have worked so hard for.

⁹Instead, those who gather the grain will eat it themselves.

And they will praise me.

Those who gather grapes to make the wine will enjoy it.

They will drink it in the courtyards of my temple.”

¹⁰Go out through your gates, people of Jerusalem! Go out!

Prepare the way for the rest of your people to return.

Build up the road! Build it up!

Remove the stones.

Raise a banner over the city

for the nations to see.

¹¹The Lord has announced a message

from one end of the earth to the other.

He has said, “Tell the people of Zion,

‘Look! Your Savior is coming!

He is bringing his people back as his reward.

He has won the battle over their enemies.’ ”

¹²They will be called The Holy People.

The Lord will set them free.

And Jerusalem will be named The City the Lord Cares About.

It won’t be deserted anymore.

God Will Save His People and Punish Their Enemies

63Who is this man coming from the city of Bozrah in Edom?

His clothes are stained bright red.

Who is he? He is dressed up in all of his glory.

He is marching toward us with great strength.

The Lord answers, “It is I.

I have won the battle.

I am mighty.

I have saved my people.”

²Why are your clothes red?

They look as if you have been stomping

on grapes in a winepress.

³The Lord answers, “I have been stomping on the nations

as if they were grapes.

No one was there to help me.

I walked all over the nations because I was angry.

That is why I stomped on them.

Their blood splashed all over my clothes.

So my clothes were stained bright red.

⁴I decided it was time to pay Israel’s enemies back.

The year for me to set my people free had come.

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

I was shocked that no one gave me any help.

So I used my own powerful arm to save my people.

I had the strength to do it because I was angry.

⁶I walked all over the nations because I was angry with them.

I made them drink from the cup of my burning anger.

I poured their blood out on the ground.”

Isaiah Prays to the Lord

⁷I will talk about the kind things the Lord has done.

I’ll praise him for everything he’s done for us.

He has done many good things

for the nation of Israel.

That’s because he loves us and is very kind to us.

⁸In the past he said, “They are my people.

They will not turn against me.”

So he saved them.

⁹When they suffered, he suffered with them.

He sent his angel to save them.

He set them free because he is loving and kind.

He lifted them up and carried them.

He did it again and again in days long ago.

¹⁰But they refused to obey him.

They made his Holy Spirit sad.

So he turned against them and became their enemy.

He himself fought against them.

¹¹Then his people remembered what he did long ago.

They recalled the days of Moses and his people.

They asked, “Where is the One who brought

Israel through the Red Sea?

Moses led them as the shepherd of his flock.

Where is the One who put

his Holy Spirit among them?

¹²He used his glorious and powerful arm

to help Moses.

He parted the waters of the sea in front of them.

That mighty act made him famous forever.

¹³He led them through that deep sea.

Like a horse in open country,

they didn’t trip and fall.

¹⁴Like cattle that are taken down to the flatlands,

they were given rest by the Spirit of the Lord.”

That’s how he guided his people.

So he made a glorious name for himself.

¹⁵Lord, look down from heaven.

Look down from your holy and glorious throne.

Where is your great love for us?

Where is your power?

Why don’t you show us

your tender love and concern?

¹⁶You are our Father.

Abraham might not accept us as his children.

Jacob might not recognize us as his family.

But you are our Father, Lord.

Your name is The One Who Always Sets Us Free.

¹⁷Lord, why do you let us wander away from you?

Why do you let us become so stubborn

that we don’t respect you?

Come back and help us.

We are the tribes that belong to you.

¹⁸For a little while your holy people possessed the land.

But now our enemies have torn your temple down.

¹⁹We are like people you never ruled over.

We are like those who don’t belong to you.