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!”
2 What are those red spots?
Your clothes look stained
from trampling on grapes.[b]
3 (B) “I alone trampled the grapes!
None of the nations helped.
I trampled nations in my anger
and stained my clothes
with their blood.
4 I did this because I wanted
to take revenge—
the time had come
to rescue my people.
5 (C) No one was there to help me
or to give support;
my mighty arm won the battle,
strengthened by my anger.
6 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
7 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.
8 The Lord rescued his people,
and said, “They are mine.
They won't betray me.”
9 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
- 63.1 Bozrah: The main city of Edom.
- 63.2 trampling on grapes: This is one way that grapes were crushed to make them into juice.
- 63.9 It … them: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 63.11 But … Moses: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 63.11 the Lord: Or “Moses.”
- 63.11 he: Or “Moses.”
- 63.14 His … valley: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 63.15 us: Hebrew “me.”
- 63.18 For … us: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.