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.