Isaiah 63–64

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.

64I wish you would open up your heavens

and come down to us!

I wish the mountains would tremble

when you show your power!

²Be like a fire that causes twigs to burn.

It also makes water boil.

So come down and make yourself known to your enemies.

Cause the nations to shake with fear

when they see your power!

³Long ago you did some wonderful things we didn’t expect.

You came down, and the mountains trembled

when you showed your power.

⁴No one’s ears have ever heard of a God like you.

No one’s eyes have ever seen a God who is greater than you.

No God but you acts for the good

of those who trust in him.

⁵You come to help those who enjoy doing what is right.

You help those who thank you for teaching them how to live.

But when we continued to disobey you,

you became angry with us.

So how can we be saved?

⁶All of us have become like someone who is “unclean.”

All of the good things we do are like polluted rags to you.

All of us are like leaves that have dried up.

Our sins sweep us away like the wind.

⁷No one prays to you.

No one asks you for help.

You have turned your face away from us.

You have let us waste away

because we have sinned so much.

⁸Lord, you are our Father.

We are the clay. You are the potter.

Your hands made all of us.

⁹Don’t be so angry with us, Lord.

Don’t remember our sins anymore.

Please show us your favor.

All of us belong to you.

¹⁰Your sacred cities have become a desert.

Even Zion is a desert.

Jerusalem is a dry and empty place.

¹¹Our people used to praise you in our holy and glorious temple.

But now it has been burned down.

Everything we treasured has been destroyed.

¹²Lord, won’t you help us even after everything that’s happened?

Will you keep silent and punish us more than we can stand?