Isaiah 63:1-19
The Day of Vengeance and the Year of Redemption
1Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah with crimson-stained garments? Who is this robed in splendor, marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, proclaiming vindication, mighty to save.”
2Why are Your clothes red, and Your garments like one who treads the winepress?
3“I have trodden the winepress alone, and no one from the nations was with Me. I trampled them in My anger and trod them down in My fury; their blood spattered My garments, and all My clothes were stained.
4For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redemption had come.
5I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled that no one assisted. So My arm brought Me salvation, and My own wrath upheld Me.
6I trampled the nations in My anger; in My wrath I made them drunk and poured out their blood on the ground.”
7I will make known the LORD’s loving devotion and His praiseworthy acts, because of all that the LORD has done for us—the many good things for the house of Israel according to His great compassion and loving devotion.
8For He said, “They are surely My people, sons who will not be disloyal.” So He became their Savior.
9In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
10But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.
11Then His people remembered the days of old, the days of Moses. Where is He who brought them through the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is the One who set His Holy Spirit among them,
12who sent His glorious arm to lead them by the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to gain for Himself everlasting renown,
13who led them through the depths like a horse in the wilderness, so that they did not stumble?
14Like cattle going down to the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. You led Your people this way to make for Yourself a glorious name.
15Look down from heaven and see, from Your holy and glorious habitation. Where are Your zeal and might? Your yearning and compassion for me are restrained.
16Yet 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 Everlasting is Your name.
17Why, O LORD, do You make us stray from Your ways and harden our hearts from fearing You? Return, for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage.
18For a short while Your people possessed Your holy place, but our enemies have trampled Your sanctuary.
19We have become like those You never ruled, like those not called by Your name.
Berean Standard Bible
A figure comes from Edom with garments stained red. He is glorious in his apparel and mighty to save. When asked why his garments are red, he says he has trodden the winepress alone because the day of vengeance was in his heart and the year of redemption had come.
No one from the peoples was with him. His own arm brought salvation, and his wrath sustained him. The language is a vision of judgment belonging to God, not a script for human revenge. The conqueror has acted because injustice has reached its appointed reckoning.
Then the song remembers the LORD's loving devotion. He became their Savior, carried them, and was distressed in their distress. Yet they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit, so He became their enemy. The poem refuses to separate the God who saves from the God whose people can resist Him.
The people remember Moses, the shepherd, and the Spirit who led them through the sea. They ask where the LORD's zeal and compassion are. They want Him to return for the sake of His servants, because the holy people have possessed the land only briefly and their adversaries have trampled the sanctuary.
Questions
1 Why are the figure's garments red?
AnswerThey are red because he has trodden the winepress of judgment alone.
2 Who brought salvation?
AnswerHis own arm brought salvation because no one from the peoples stood with him.
3 How did the LORD treat His people in their distress?
AnswerHe became their Savior, carried them, and shared their distress.
4 Why do the people cry out at the end?
AnswerThey cry out because they feel forgotten and ask the LORD to return for His servants and sanctuary.
What This Means for Us
Isaiah gives judgment back to God and gives grief a voice. The people can remember their rebellion and still ask the LORD to show compassion.
When your family feels abandoned, pray with the honesty of this chapter. Confess your part, refuse personal vengeance, and ask God to bring justice and redemption in His own time.
Prayer
LORD, you alone are righteous enough to judge and merciful enough to save. Remember us in our distress, forgive our rebellion, and teach us to wait for your redemption without taking vengeance. Amen.