Isaiah 63–64

Chapter 63

Judgment against the Lord’s Enemies

¹Who is this who comes from Edom,

from the city of Bozrah,

with his clothing stained red?

Who is this in royal robes,

marching in his great strength?

“It is I, the Lord, announcing your salvation!

It is I, the Lord, who has the power to save!”

²Why are your clothes so red,

as if you have been treading out grapes?

³“I have been treading the winepress alone;

no one was there to help me.

In my anger I have trampled my enemies

as if they were grapes.

In my fury I have trampled my foes.

Their blood has stained my clothes.

⁴For the time has come for me to avenge my people,

to ransom them from their oppressors.

⁵I was amazed to see that no one intervened

to help the oppressed.

So I myself stepped in to save them with my strong arm,

and my wrath sustained me.

⁶I crushed the nations in my anger

and made them stagger and fall to the ground,

spilling their blood upon the earth.”

Praise for Deliverance

⁷I will tell of the Lord’s unfailing love.

I will praise the Lord for all he has done.

I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel,

which he has granted according to his mercy and love.

⁸He said, “They are my very own people.

Surely they will not betray me again.”

And he became their Savior.

⁹In all their suffering he also suffered,

and he personally rescued them.

In his love and mercy he redeemed them.

He lifted them up and carried them

through all the years.

¹⁰But they rebelled against him

and grieved his Holy Spirit.

So he became their enemy

and fought against them.

¹¹Then they remembered those days of old

when Moses led his people out of Egypt.

They cried out, “Where is the one who brought Israel through the sea,

with Moses as their shepherd?

Where is the one who sent his Holy Spirit

to be among his people?

¹²Where is the one whose power was displayed

when Moses lifted up his hand—

the one who divided the sea before them,

making himself famous forever?

¹³Where is the one who led them through the bottom of the sea?

They were like fine stallions

racing through the desert, never stumbling.

¹⁴As with cattle going down into a peaceful valley,

the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest.

You led your people, Lord,

and gained a magnificent reputation.”

Prayer for Mercy and Pardon

¹⁵Lord, look down from heaven;

look from your holy, glorious home, and see us.

Where is the passion and the might

you used to show on our behalf?

Where are your mercy and compassion now?

¹⁶Surely you are still our Father!

Even if Abraham and Jacob would disown us,

Lord, you would still be our Father.

You are our Redeemer from ages past.

¹⁷Lord, why have you allowed us to turn from your path?

Why have you given us stubborn hearts so we no longer fear you?

Return and help us, for we are your servants,

the tribes that are your special possession.

¹⁸How briefly your holy people possessed your holy place,

and now our enemies have destroyed it.

¹⁹Sometimes it seems as though we never belonged to you,

as though we had never been known as your people.

Chapter 64

¹ Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down!

How the mountains would quake in your presence!

² As fire causes wood to burn

and water to boil,

your coming would make the nations tremble.

Then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame!

³When you came down long ago,

you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations.

And oh, how the mountains quaked!

⁴For since the world began,

no ear has heard

and no eye has seen a God like you,

who works for those who wait for him!

⁵You welcome those who gladly do good,

who follow godly ways.

But you have been very angry with us,

for we are not godly.

We are constant sinners;

how can people like us be saved?

⁶We are all infected and impure with sin.

When we display our righteous deeds,

they are nothing but filthy rags.

Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall,

and our sins sweep us away like the wind.

⁷Yet no one calls on your name

or pleads with you for mercy.

Therefore, you have turned away from us

and turned us over to our sins.

⁸And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.

We are the clay, and you are the potter.

We all are formed by your hand.

⁹Don’t be so angry with us, Lord.

Please don’t remember our sins forever.

Look at us, we pray,

and see that we are all your people.

¹⁰Your holy cities are destroyed.

Zion is a wilderness;

yes, Jerusalem is a desolate ruin.

¹¹The holy and beautiful Temple

where our ancestors praised you

has been burned down,

and all the things of beauty are destroyed.

¹²After all this, Lord, must you still refuse to help us?

Will you continue to be silent and punish us?