Isaiah 63:1-19
God Will Save His People and Punish Their Enemies
Who 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 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.”
Why are your clothes red?
They look as if you have been stomping
on grapes in a winepress.
The 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.
I decided it was time to pay back Israel’s enemies.
The year for me to set my people free had come.
I 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 power to save my people.
I had the strength to do it because I was angry.
I walked all over the nations because I was angry with them.
I made them drink from the cup of my great anger.
I poured out their blood on the ground.”
Isaiah Praises the Lord and Prays to Him
I 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.
In the past he said, “They are my people.
They are children who will be faithful to me.”
So he saved them.
When 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.
But 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.
Then his people remembered what he did long ago.
They recalled the days of Moses and his people.
They asked, “Where is the God who brought
Israel through the Red Sea?
Moses led them as the shepherd of his flock.
Where is the God who put
his Holy Spirit among them?
He 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.
He led them through that deep sea.
Like a horse in open country,
they didn’t trip and fall.
They were like cattle that are taken down to the plains.
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.
Lord, 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?
You 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 One Who Always Sets Us Free.
Lord, 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.
For a little while your holy people possessed the land.
But now our enemies have torn your temple down.
We are like people you never ruled over.
We are like those who don’t belong to you.
Isaiah 64:1-12
I wish you would open up your heavens
and come down to us!
I wish the mountains would tremble
when you show your power!
Be 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!
Long ago you did some wonderful things we didn’t expect.
You came down, and the mountains trembled
when you showed your power.
No 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.
You 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?
All of us have become like someone who is “unclean.”
All the good things we do are like dirty rags to you.
All of us are like leaves that have dried up.
Our sins sweep us away like the wind.
No one prays to you.
No one asks you for help.
You have turned your face away from us.
You have let us feel the effects of our sins.
Lord, you are our Father.
We are the clay. You are the potter.
Your hands made all of us.
Don’t be so angry with us, Lord.
Don’t remember our sins anymore.
Please have mercy on us.
All of us belong to you.
Your sacred cities have become a desert.
Even Zion is a desert.
Jerusalem is a dry and empty place.
Our people of long ago used to praise you in our holy and glorious temple.
But now it has been burned down.
Everything we treasured has been destroyed.
Lord, won’t you help us even after everything that’s happened?
Will you keep silent and punish us more than we can stand?
Isaiah 65:1-16
The Lord Judges and Saves
The Lord says, “I made myself known to those who were not asking for me.
I was found by those who were not trying to find me.
I spoke to a nation that did not pray to me.
‘Here I am,’ I said. ‘Here I am.’
All day long I have held out my hands
to welcome a stubborn nation.
They lead sinful lives.
They go where their evil thoughts take them.
They are always making me very angry.
They do it right in front of me.
They offer sacrifices in the gardens of other gods.
They burn incense on altars that are made out of bricks.
They sit among the graves.
They spend their nights talking to the spirits of the dead.
They eat the meat of pigs.
Their cooking pots hold soup that has ‘unclean’ meat in it.
They say, ‘Keep away! Don’t come near us!
We are too sacred for you!’
Those people are like smoke in my nose.
They are like a fire that keeps burning all day.
“I will judge them. I have even written it down.
I will not keep silent.
Instead, I will pay them back for all their sins.
I will punish them for their sins.
I will also punish them for the sins of their people before them.”
This is what the Lord says.
“They burned sacrifices on the mountains.
They disobeyed me by worshiping other gods on the hills.
So I will make sure they are fully punished
for all the sins they have committed.”
The Lord says,
“Sometimes juice is still left in grapes that have been crushed.
So people say, ‘Don’t destroy them.’
They are still of some benefit.”
That is what I will do for the good of those who serve me.
I will not destroy all my people.
I will give children
to the families of Jacob and Judah.
They will possess my entire land.
My chosen people will be given all of it.
Those who serve me will live there.
Their flocks will eat in the rich grasslands of Sharon.
Their herds will rest in the Valley of Achor.
That is what I will do for my people who follow me.
“But some of you have deserted me.
You no longer worship on my holy mountain of Zion.
You spread a table for the god called Good Fortune.
You offer bowls of mixed wine to the god named Fate.
So I will make it your fate to be killed by swords.
All of you will die in the battle.
That’s because I called out to you, but you did not answer me.
I spoke to you, but you did not listen.
You did what is evil in my sight.
You chose to do what does not please me.”
So the Lord and King says,
“Those who serve me will have food to eat.
But you will be hungry.
My servants will have plenty to drink.
But you will be thirsty.
Those who serve me will be full of joy.
But you will be put to shame.
My servants will sing
with joy in their hearts.
But you will cry out
because of the great pain in your hearts.
You will cry because your spirits are sad.
My chosen ones will use your names
when they curse others.
I am your Lord and King.
I will put you to death.
But I will give new names to those who serve me.
They will ask me to bless their land.
They will do it in my name.
I am the one true God.
They will make promises in their land.
They will do it in my name.
I am the one true God.
The troubles of the past will be forgotten.
They will be hidden from my eyes.
