Isa 63 | EE | STEP | Someone is coming from Edom and from Bozrah. A bright colour makes his clothes seem to shine. It is someone who is wearing beautiful clothes. He marches on his way and he is very strong. He says, ‘I am speaking to you. I am righteous. I am not too weak to save you.’

Isaiah 63

The fourth Song of the Messiah

1 Someone is coming from Edom and from Bozrah. A bright colour makes his clothes seem to shine. It is someone who is wearing beautiful clothes. He marches on his way and he is very strong. He says, ‘I am speaking to you. I am righteous. I am not too weak to save you.’

2 Why are your clothes red? They are like the clothes of somebody who has worked in a winepress.

3 ‘I have worked in the winepress alone. From all the countries, nobody was with me. I walked on them because I was angry. And I put them under my feet because I was angry. Their blood went all over my clothes and I made all my clothes red.

4 I did those things because I was thinking about a certain day. On that day I would punish people. Also, the year when I would redeem people had come.’ ^{▼▼63:4 Verse 4 ‘I was thinking about’. In the Hebrew Bible this is ‘it was in my heart’.}

5 ‘I had looked. But there was nobody to help me. And I was not happy, because nobody helped me. So my own arm did the work to save them. And I was so angry that it helped me.

6 I walked on all the countries, because I was angry. I was so angry that I caused them to seem like drunks. Then, I poured their blood on to the ground.’

Isaiah’s Prayer

7 I will tell people about all the kind things that the LORD does for us, his people. It will make me happy when I can tell them about that. I will talk about how people praise the LORD. That is because of all that the LORD has done on our behalf. He has done many good things on behalf of Israel’s people. He did those things because of his great love on their behalf. And he did them because he was very kind to them.

8 And he said, ‘Surely, they are my people. They are sons who will always follow me.’ So he became the person who saved them.

9 When they were in trouble, he was in their trouble with them. And his angel saved them because he was with them. And because of his love and because of his mercy he redeemed them. Also, he lifted them up and he carried them. He did those things as he had done them in past years.

10 But they did not obey him and they made his Holy Spirit angry. So, his thoughts about them changed and he became their enemy. He fought against them.

11 Then he remembered past years. He remembered Moses and his people. They said, ‘We need the Person who brought them up out of the sea, with the leaders of his people. We need the Person who put his Holy Spirit on him.

12 His arm shone while he went at Moses’ right hand. We need that Person. He caused the waters to become separate. Because of that, he caused his name always to be famous.

13 We need the Person who led them through the deep places in the sea. As a horse runs in flat country, so they did not fall.’ ^{▼▼63:13 Verses 8-13 ‘He’ and ‘him’ and ‘the Person’ in these verses mean the LORD God.}

14 ‘The (Holy) Spirit of the LORD gave rest to them, like cows and sheep that go down to their fields. That is how he was the guide of your people. And you made for yourself a famous name!’

15 Look down from your holy and beautiful house in heaven and see us. You want to do what you have promised to us. And you are strong. Show to us again that you want to do great things for us. Show to us again that you love us. And be kind to us again. Do not leave me alone without you.

16 But you are our father, even if Abraham does not know us. You are our father even if Israel does not recognise us. You, LORD, are our father. Your name is our Redeemer, from days a long time ago until now.

17 LORD, you seem to cause us to go away from the things that you want. But we do not know why you do that. You make our hearts like something that is very hard. So then we do not love you. We do not know why you do that. Come back to us, on behalf of your servants. We are your tribes!

18 Your holy people will have your holy place only for a very short time. Our enemies will walk all over your holy place.

19 For a long time, we are like people that you have not ruled. People did not call us by your name!