Chapter 63

God’s Vengeance on the Nations

1 Who is this who comes from aEdom,

With bgarments of 1glowing colors from cBozrah,

This One who is majestic in His apparel,

2Marching in the greatness of His strength?

“It is I who speak in righteousness, dmighty to save.”

2 Why is Your apparel red,

And Your garments like the one who atreads in the wine press?

3 “aI have trodden the wine trough alone,

And from the peoples there was no man with Me.

I also btrod them in My anger

And ctrampled them in My wrath;

And dtheir 1lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments,

And I 2stained all My raiment.

4 “For the aday of vengeance was in My heart,

And My year of redemption has come.

5 “I looked, and there was ano one to help,

And I was astonished and there was no one to uphold;

So My bown arm brought salvation to Me,

And My wrath upheld Me.

6 “I atrod down the peoples in My anger

And made them bdrunk in My wrath,

And I 1poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”

God’s Ancient Mercies Recalled

7 I shall make mention of the alovingkindnesses of the Lord, the praises of the Lord,

According to all that the Lord has granted us,

And the great bgoodness toward the house of Israel,

Which He has granted them according to His ccompassion

And according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses.

8 For He said, “Surely, they are aMy people,

Sons who will not deal falsely.”

So He became their bSavior.

9 In all their affliction 1aHe was afflicted,

And the bangel of His presence saved them;

In His clove and in His mercy He dredeemed them,

And He elifted them and carried them all the days of old.

10 But they arebelled

And grieved His bHoly Spirit;

Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy,

He fought against them.

11 Then aHis people remembered the days of old, of Moses.

Where is bHe who brought them up out of the sea with the 1shepherds of His flock?

Where is He who cput His Holy Spirit in the midst of 2them,

12 Who caused His aglorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses,

Who bdivided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name,

13 Who led them through the depths?

Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not astumble;

14 As the cattle which go down into the valley,

The Spirit of the aLord gave 1them rest.

So You bled Your people,

To make for Yourself a glorious name.

“You Are Our Father”

15 aLook down from heaven and see from Your holy and glorious bhabitation;

Where are Your czeal and Your mighty deeds?

The dstirrings of Your heart and Your compassion are restrained toward me.

16 For You are our aFather, though bAbraham does not know us

And Israel does not recognize us.

You, O Lord, are our Father,

Our cRedeemer from of old is Your name.

17 Why, O Lord, do You acause us to stray from Your ways

And bharden our heart from fearing You?

cReturn for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage.

18 Your holy people possessed Your sanctuary for a little while,

Our adversaries have atrodden it down.

19 We have become like those over whom You have never ruled,

Like those who were not called by Your name.

Chapter 64

Prayer for Mercy and Help

1 1Oh, that You would rend the heavens and acome down,

That the mountains might bquake at Your presence—

2 1As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil—

To make Your name known to Your adversaries,

That the anations may tremble at Your presence!

3 When You did aawesome things which we did not expect,

You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence.

4 For from days of old athey have not heard or perceived by ear,

Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,

Who acts in behalf of the one who bwaits for Him.

5 You ameet him who rejoices in bdoing righteousness,

Who cremembers You in Your ways.

Behold, dYou were angry, for we sinned,

We continued in them a long time;

And shall we be saved?

6 For all of us have become like one who is aunclean,

And all our brighteous deeds are like a filthy garment;

And all of us cwither like a leaf,

And our diniquities, like the wind, take us away.

7 There is ano one who calls on Your name,

Who arouses himself to take hold of You;

For You have bhidden Your face from us

And have 1delivered us into the power of our iniquities.

8 But now, O Lord, aYou are our Father,

We are the bclay, and You our potter;

And all of us are the cwork of Your hand.

9 Do not be aangry beyond measure, O Lord,

bNor remember iniquity forever;

Behold, look now, all of us are cYour people.

10 Your aholy cities have become a bwilderness,

Zion has become a wilderness,

Jerusalem a desolation.

11 Our holy and beautiful ahouse,

Where our fathers praised You,

Has been burned by fire;

And ball our precious things have become a ruin.

12 Will You arestrain Yourself at these things, O Lord?

Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?

Chapter 65

A Rebellious People

1 “I permitted Myself to be sought by athose who did not ask for Me;

I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.

I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’

To a nation which bdid not call on My name.

2 “aI have spread out My hands all day long to a brebellious people,

Who walk in the way which is not good, 1following their own cthoughts,

3 A people who continually aprovoke Me to My face,

Offering sacrifices in bgardens and cburning incense on bricks;

4 Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;

Who aeat swine’s flesh,

And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.

5 “Who say, ‘aKeep to yourself, do not come near me,

For I am holier than you!’

These are smoke in My 1nostrils,

A fire that burns all the day.

6 “Behold, it is written before Me,

I will anot keep silent, but bI will repay;

I will even repay into their bosom,

7 Both 1their own ainiquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says the Lord.

“Because they have bburned incense on the mountains

And cscorned Me on the hills,

Therefore I will dmeasure their former work into their bosom.”

8 Thus says the Lord,

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,

And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is 1benefit in it,’

So I will act on behalf of My servants

In order anot to destroy 2all of them.

9 “I will bring forth aoffspring from Jacob,

And an bheir of My mountains from Judah;

Even cMy chosen ones shall inherit it,

And dMy servants will dwell there.

10 “aSharon will be a pasture land for flocks,

And the bvalley of Achor a resting place for herds,

For My people who cseek Me.

11 “But you who aforsake the Lord,

Who forget My bholy mountain,

Who set a table for 1Fortune,

And who fill cups with mixed wine for 2Destiny,

12 I will destine you for the asword,

And all of you will bow down to the bslaughter.

Because I called, but you cdid not answer;

I spoke, but you did not hear.

And you did evil in My sight

And chose that in which I did not delight.”

13 Therefore, thus says the Lord 1God,

“Behold, My servants will aeat, but you will be bhungry.

Behold, My servants will cdrink, but you will be dthirsty.

Behold, My servants will erejoice, but you will be fput to shame.

14 “Behold, My servants will ashout joyfully with a glad heart,

But you will bcry out with a 1heavy heart,

And you will wail with a broken spirit.

15 “You will leave your name for a acurse to My chosen ones,

And the Lord 1God will slay you.

But 2My servants will be called by banother name.

16 “Because he who 1is blessed in the earth

Will 1be blessed by the aGod of truth;

And he who swears in the earth

Will bswear by the God of truth;

Because the former troubles are forgotten,

And because they are hidden from My sight!

New Heavens and a New Earth

17 “For behold, I create anew heavens and a new earth;

And the bformer things will not be remembered or come to 1mind.

18 “But be aglad and rejoice forever in what I create;

For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing

And her people for gladness.

19 “I will also arejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;

And there will no longer be heard in her

The voice of bweeping and the sound of crying.

20 “No longer will there be 1in it an infant who lives but a few days,

Or an old man who does anot 2live out his days;

For the youth will die at the age of one hundred

And the 3bone who does not reach the age of one hundred

Will be thought accursed.

21 “They will abuild houses and inhabit them;

They will also bplant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22 “They will not build and aanother inhabit,

They will not plant and another eat;

For bas the 1lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,

And My chosen ones will cwear out the work of their hands.

23 “They will anot labor in vain,

Or bear children for calamity;

For they are the 1boffspring of those blessed by the Lord,

And their descendants with them.

24 “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will aanswer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

25 “The awolf and the lamb will graze together, and the blion will eat straw like the ox; and cdust will be the serpent’s food. They will ddo no evil or harm in all My eholy mountain,” says the Lord.