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63 Who comes with long, strong strides, marching in strength
    from Edom, from Bozrah?
Who is coming, with such grand clothes, steeped in crimson and awesome to see?

Eternal One: It is I, the Eternal, who in righteousness declares victory.
        I am coming with great power and I’m ready to save.

And why are all your clothes red,
    as if you’ve been stomping on the grapes in the winepress?

Eternal One: And so I have. I have pressed by Myself.
        No one was with Me. In my anger, I trampled them;
    In my fury, I alone squashed them till their blood soaked my clothes
        and stained everything I wore.
    For it was time for Me to act, time for Me to pay back My enemies
        in response to their actions—My time to set things right again.
    But I looked and there was no one to help.
        I was amazed, but none was ready to offer support.
    So I had to do it alone, and I did;
        My own power brought salvation; My own wrath energized Me.
    I stomped and squashed them furiously.
        I made them reel and stagger on the wine of My anger,
    And I spilled their blood on the ground.

So let me remind you of the Eternal’s enduring love, and why we should praise Him.
    Let me tell you again how the Eternal gives and gives and gives.
All God’s wonders and goodness are done for Israel’s benefit
    according to His great mercy and compassion.

Eternal One: Surely, these are My people, and they will be true to Me.
        My children will not try to deceive Me.

And indeed, God became their Savior.
    And when they suffered, God suffered too;
And the messenger of His presence acted to save them.
    Out of enduring love, compassion, and concern,
God Himself rescued them. Through all those years long ago,
    God picked them up and carried them through.
10 But they rebelled and ran away;
    they turned their backs on Him and grieved His Holy Spirit.
And then, God turned against them, became their enemy,
    went after them, and took them on.
11 Then they remembered Moses and those days long ago:
    Where is the One who brought them safely through the perils of the sea
With the shepherd of His flock leading them?
    Where is the One who sent His Holy Spirit among the people?

12 Where is the God who put His power in Moses’ right hand
    and divided the waters before the Israelites,
Making an everlasting name for Himself as the true and living God?
13 Where is the One who led them through the sea?
    Like a horse in the desert, they never stumbled.
14 Like cattle that move down to find rest in the valley,
    the Spirit of the Eternal led them to rest.
You did that for Your people and gained a glorious reputation in the world.

15 People: Look down from heaven—
        peer down from that sacred, magnificent place where You live.
    What happened to Your passion, love, and compassion that sought us out?
        Where are Your powerful actions that used to support us?
16     Even though Abraham would not know us and Israel would disown us,
        You are our Father!
    Nevertheless, from way back,
        You, the Eternal, are our Father;
        we have called You our Redeemer from long ago.
17     O Eternal One, why do You make us wander off and direct our minds
        and harden our hearts, so that we no longer respect You?
    Please come back to us, for we are Your servants;
        we are the tribes that have been Yours through the generations.
18     For such a short time Your holy people possessed Your holy place in Jerusalem;
        then our enemies invaded and trampled all over it.
19     We’ve become like strangers to You,
        like people You never ruled,
    Like those never associated with Your name.

The Lord's Victory over the Nations

63 (A) Who is this coming
from Bozrah[a] in Edom
    with clothes stained red?
Who is this hero marching
    in his glorious uniform?

“It's me, the Lord!
I have won the battle,
    and I can save you!”

What are those red spots?
Your clothes look stained
    from trampling on grapes.[b]

(B) “I alone trampled the grapes!
    None of the nations helped.
I trampled nations in my anger
and stained my clothes
    with their blood.
I did this because I wanted
    to take revenge—
the time had come
    to rescue my people.
(C) No one was there to help me
    or to give support;
my mighty arm won the battle,
    strengthened by my anger.
In my fury I trampled on nations
    and made them drunk;
their blood poured out
    everywhere on earth.”

The Lord's Goodness to His People

I will tell about the kind deeds
the Lord has done.
    They deserve praise!
The Lord has shown mercy
to the people of Israel;
    he has been kind and good.

The Lord rescued his people,
and said, “They are mine.
    They won't betray me.”
It troubled the Lord
to see them in trouble,
    and his angel saved them.[c]
The Lord was truly merciful,
    so he rescued his people.
He took them in his arms
and carried them all those years.

10 Then the Lord's people
turned against him and made
    his Holy Spirit sad.
So he became their enemy
    and attacked them.
11 But his people remembered
what had happened
    during the time of Moses.[d]
Didn't the Lord[e] bring them
and their leaders
    safely through the sea?
Didn't he[f] give them
    his Holy Spirit?
12 (D) The glorious power of the Lord
    marched beside Moses.
The Lord will be praised forever
    for dividing the sea.
13 He led his people across
like horses running wild
    without stumbling.
14 His Spirit gave them rest,
just as cattle find rest
    when led into a valley.[g]
The name of the Lord was praised
    for doing these things.

A Prayer for Mercy and Help

15 Please, Lord, look down
    from your holy and glorious
home in the heavens
    and see what's going on.
Have you lost interest?
    Where is your power?
Show that you care about us[h]
    and have mercy!
16 (E) Our ancestors Abraham and Jacob
    have both rejected us.
But you are still our Father;
you have been our protector
    since ancient times.

17 Why did you make us turn away
    from you, our Lord?
Why did you make us want
    to disobey you?
Please change your mind!
We are your servants,
    your very own people.
18 For a little while,
    your temple belonged to us;[i]
and now our enemies
    have torn it down.
19 We act as though you
had never ruled us
    or called us your people.

Footnotes

  1. 63.1 Bozrah: The main city of Edom.
  2. 63.2 trampling on grapes: This is one way that grapes were crushed to make them into juice.
  3. 63.9 It … them: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  4. 63.11 But … Moses: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  5. 63.11 the Lord: Or “Moses.”
  6. 63.11 he: Or “Moses.”
  7. 63.14 His … valley: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  8. 63.15 us: Hebrew “me.”
  9. 63.18 For … us: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.