Isaiah 63
The Voice
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.
2 And why are all your clothes red,
as if you’ve been stomping on the grapes in the winepress?
3 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.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 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.
Isaiah 63
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Vengeance on Edom
63 “Who is this coming from Edom,
from Bozrah in garments stained crimson?
Who is this so splendidly robed,
marching in his great might?”
“It is I, announcing vindication,
mighty to save.”(A)
2 “Why are your robes red
and your garments like theirs who tread the winepress?”(B)
3 “I have trodden the winepress alone,
and from the peoples no one was with me;
I trod them in my anger
and trampled them in my wrath;
their juice spattered on my garments,
and I stained all my robes.(C)
4 For the day of vengeance was in my mind,
and the year for my redeeming work had come.(D)
5 I looked, but there was no helper;
I was abandoned, and there was no one to sustain me,
so my own arm brought me victory,
and my wrath sustained me.(E)
6 I trampled down peoples in my anger;
I crushed them[a] in my wrath,
and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”(F)
God’s Mercy Remembered
7 I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord,
the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,
because of all that the Lord has done for us
and the great favor to the house of Israel
that he has shown them according to his mercy,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love.(G)
8 For he said, “Surely they are my people,
children who will not act deceitfully,”
and he became their savior
9 in all their distress.
It was no messenger or angel
but his presence that saved them;
in his love and pity it was he who redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.(H)
10 But they rebelled
and grieved his holy spirit;
therefore he became their enemy;
he himself fought against them.(I)
11 Then they[b] remembered the days of old,
of Moses his servant.[c]
Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea
with the shepherds of his flock?
Where is the one who put within them
his holy spirit,(J)
12 who caused his glorious arm
to march at the right hand of Moses,
who divided the waters before them
to make for himself an everlasting name,(K)
13 who led them through the depths?
Like a horse in the desert,
they did not stumble.(L)
14 Like cattle that go down into the valley,
the spirit of the Lord gave them rest.
Thus you led your people,
to make for yourself a glorious name.(M)
A Prayer of Penitence
15 Look down from heaven and see,
from your holy and glorious habitation.
Where are your zeal and your might?
Your great pity and your compassion are withheld from me.(N)
16 For you are our father,
though Abraham does not know us
and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, O Lord, are our father;
our Redeemer from of old is your name.(O)
17 Why, O Lord, do you let us stray from your ways
and let our heart harden, so that we do not fear you?
Turn back for the sake of your servants,
the tribes that are your heritage.(P)
18 Your holy people took possession for a little while,
but now our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.(Q)
19 We have long been like those whom you do not rule,
like those not called by your name.(R)
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.