Vengeance on Edom
63 Who is this that comes from Edom,
in crimsoned garments from Bozrah,
he that is glorious in his apparel,
marching in the greatness of his strength?
“It is I, announcing vindication,
mighty to save.”
2 Why is thy apparel red,
and thy garments like his that treads in the wine press?
3 “I have trodden the wine press alone,
and from the peoples no one was with me;
I trod them in my anger
and trampled them in my wrath;
their lifeblood is sprinkled upon my garments,
and I have stained all my raiment.
4 For the day of vengeance was in my heart,
and my year of redemption[a] has come.
5 I looked, but there was no one to help;
I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold;
so my own arm brought me victory,
and my wrath upheld me.
6 I trod down the peoples in my anger,
I made them drunk in my wrath,
and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”
God’s Mercy Remembered
7 I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord,
the praises of the Lord,
according to all that the Lord has granted us,
and the great goodness to the house of Israel
which he has granted them according to his mercy,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
8 For he said, Surely they are my people,
sons who will not deal falsely;
and he became their Savior.
9 In all their affliction he was afflicted,[b]
and the angel of his presence saved them;
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
10 But they rebelled
and grieved his holy Spirit;
therefore he turned to be their enemy,
and himself fought against them.
11 Then he remembered the days of old,
of Moses his servant.
Where is he who brought up out of the sea
the shepherds of his flock?
Where is he who put in the midst of them
his holy Spirit,
12 who caused his glorious arm
to go at the right hand of Moses,
who divided the waters before them
to make for himself an everlasting name,
13 who led them through the depths?
Like a horse in the desert,
they did not stumble.
14 Like cattle that go down into the valley,
the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest.
So thou didst lead thy people,
to make for thyself a glorious name.
A Prayer of Penitence
15 Look down from heaven and see,
from thy holy and glorious habitation.
Where are thy zeal and thy might?
The yearning of thy heart and thy compassion
are withheld from me.
16 For thou art our Father,
though Abraham does not know us
and Israel does not acknowledge us;
thou, O Lord, art our Father,
our Redeemer from of old is thy name.
17 O Lord, why dost thou make us err from thy ways
and harden our heart, so that we fear thee not?
Return for the sake of thy servants,
the tribes of thy heritage.
18 Thy holy people possessed thy sanctuary a little while;
our adversaries have trodden it down.
19 We have become like those over whom thou hast never ruled,
like those who are not called by thy name.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 63:4 Or the year of my redeemed
- Isaiah 63:9 Another reading is he did not afflict