World English Bible
- Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? Who is this who is glorious in his clothing, marching in the greatness of his strength? “It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”
- Why is your clothing red, and your garments like him who treads in the wine vat?
- “I have trodden the wine press alone. Of the peoples, no one was with me. Yes, I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath. Their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garments, and I have stained all my clothing.
- For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redeemed has come.
- I looked, and there was no one to help; and I wondered that there was no one to uphold. Therefore my own arm brought salvation to me. My own wrath upheld me.
- I trod down the peoples in my anger and made them drunk in my wrath. I poured their lifeblood out on the earth.”
- I will tell of the loving kindnesses of the LORD and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has given to us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he has given to them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.
- For he said, “Surely, they are my people, children who will not deal falsely;” so he became their Savior.
- In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in his pity he redeemed them. He bore them, and carried them all the days of old.
- But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. Therefore he turned and became their enemy, and he himself fought against them.
- Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying, “Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put his Holy Spirit among them?”
- Who caused his glorious arm to be at Moses’ right hand? Who divided the waters before them, to make himself an everlasting name?
- Who led them through the depths, like a horse in the wilderness, so that they didn’t stumble?
- As the livestock that go down into the valley, the LORD’s Spirit caused them to rest. So you led your people to make yourself a glorious name.
- Look down from heaven, and see from the habitation of your holiness and of your glory. Where are your zeal and your mighty acts? The yearning of your heart and your compassion is restrained toward me.
- For you are our Father, though Abraham doesn’t know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, LORD, are our Father. Our Redeemer from everlasting is your name.
- O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways, and harden our heart from your fear? Return for your servants’ sake, the tribes of your inheritance.
- Your holy people possessed it but a little while. Our adversaries have trodden down your sanctuary.
- We have become like those over whom you never ruled, like those who were not called by your name.
Yesterday, Isaiah pictured Zion as a bride. Today, a figure approaches in bloodstained clothes. The change is jarring, and it should be. Scripture will not let us celebrate homecoming without asking what becomes of the violence that made exile possible.
The figure comes from Edom. Edom traced its ancestry to Esau, Jacob’s brother, and was remembered for its conduct when Jerusalem fell (Obadiah 10–14). Bozrah was an Edomite center, not a name chosen at random. The winepress image is equally severe: this is not a cheerful harvest scene. Isaiah describes judgment in the language of blood. We should neither soften it into a harmless metaphor nor borrow its fury for our own grudges.
Then comes the chapter’s disturbing turn. The singer begins to recall God’s faithful love, only to confess that Israel grieved his Holy Spirit and found God fighting against them. Edom cannot bear the whole weight of the story’s evil. The people longing for rescue must also reckon with their own rebellion. It is possible to want God to confront injustice elsewhere while asking him to overlook it in us.
Yet the confession does not end in silence. The worshippers remember the arm that opened a path through the sea, then ask where that power is now. Their praise becomes a plea. This is one of Scripture’s gifts to wounded faith: remembering God’s mercy does not forbid hard questions. It gives us someone to ask. Even when Abraham seems unable to recognize his descendants and the sanctuary lies trampled, they can still appeal to the name no enemy can take away: Father.
Christians can hear this chapter beside Isaiah 53 without pretending the two images are identical. In Isaiah 63, the warrior’s garments are stained with his enemies’ blood. At the cross, Jesus gives his own blood for those who were his enemies (Romans 5:10). That difference matters. The gospel does not declare evil harmless; it reveals how far God goes to make reconciliation possible before judgment has the last word.
If your prayers have become a mixture of gratitude, confession, and Where are you?, Isaiah 63 gives you words. Bring all three. The Father who carried his people through the sea can bear an honest cry from those who need him to return.
For further reading: Isaiah 61:2; Obadiah 10–14; Ephesians 4:30. The hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” gives voice to this chapter’s longing.
Prayer: Father, judge what is cruel without letting me hide my own sin. Remember your mercy toward us. Carry those who are weary, and teach us to call for you with honest hearts. Amen.