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The Lord Takes Delight in Zion

62 For the sake of Zion I will not be silent;
for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet,
until her vindication shines brightly[a]
and her deliverance burns like a torch.
Nations will see your vindication,
and all kings your splendor.
You will be called by a new name
that the Lord himself will give you.[b]
You will be a majestic crown in the hand of the Lord,
a royal turban in the hand of your God.
You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,”
and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.”
Indeed,[c] you will be called “My Delight is in Her,”[d]
and your land “Married.”[e]
For the Lord will take delight in you,
and your land will be married to him.[f]
As a young man marries a young woman,
so your sons[g] will marry you.
As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,
so your God will rejoice over you.
I[h] post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
they should keep praying all day and all night.[i]
You who pray to[j] the Lord, don’t be silent!
Don’t allow him to rest until he reestablishes Jerusalem,[k]
until he makes Jerusalem the pride[l] of the earth.
The Lord swears an oath by his right hand,
by his strong arm:[m]
“I will never again give your grain
to your enemies as food,
and foreigners will not drink your wine,
which you worked hard to produce.

But those who harvest the grain[n] will eat it,
and will praise the Lord.
Those who pick the grapes will drink the wine[o]
in the courts of my holy sanctuary.”
10 Come through! Come through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people!
Build it—Build the roadway!
Remove the stones.
Lift a signal flag for the nations.
11 Look, the Lord announces to the entire earth:[p]
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘Look, your deliverer comes!
Look, his reward is with him,
and his reward goes before him!’”[q]
12 They will be called, “The Holy People,
the Ones Protected[r] by the Lord.”
You will be called, “Sought After,
City Not Abandoned.”

The Victorious Divine Warrior

63 Who is this who comes from Edom,[s]
dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah?[t]
Who[u] is this one wearing royal attire,[v]
who marches confidently[w] because of his great strength?
“It is I, the one who announces vindication,
and who is able to deliver!”[x]
Why are your clothes red?
Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat?[y]
“I have stomped grapes in the winepress all by myself;
no one from the nations joined me.
I stomped on them[z] in my anger;
I trampled them down in my rage.
Their juice splashed on my garments,
and stained[aa] all my clothes.
For I looked forward to the day of vengeance,
and then payback time arrived.[ab]
I looked, but there was no one to help;
I was shocked because there was no one offering support.[ac]
So my right arm accomplished deliverance;
my raging anger drove me on.[ad]
I trampled nations in my anger;
I made them drunk[ae] in my rage;
I splashed their blood on the ground.”[af]

A Prayer for Divine Intervention

I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord,
of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds.
I will tell about all[ag] the Lord did for us,
the many good things he did for the family of Israel,[ah]
because of[ai] his compassion and great faithfulness.
He said, “Certainly they will be my people,
children who are not disloyal.”[aj]
He became their deliverer.
Through all that they suffered, he suffered too.[ak]
The messenger sent from his very presence[al] delivered them.
In his love and mercy he protected[am] them;
he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times.[an]
10 But they rebelled and offended[ao] his holy Spirit,[ap]
so he turned into an enemy
and fought against them.
11 His people remembered the ancient times.[aq]
Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea,
along with the shepherd of[ar] his flock?
Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them,[as]
12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses,[at]
who divided the water before them,
gaining for himself a lasting reputation,[au]
13 who led them through the deep water?
Like a horse running through the wilderness[av] they did not stumble.
14 As an animal that goes down into a valley to graze,[aw]
so the Spirit of the Lord granted them rest.
In this way[ax] you guided your people,
gaining for yourself an honored reputation.[ay]
15 Look down from heaven and take notice,
from your holy, majestic palace!
Where are your zeal[az] and power?
Do not hold back your tender compassion![ba]
16 For you are our father,
though Abraham does not know us
and Israel does not recognize us.
You, Lord, are our father;
you have been called our Protector from ancient times.[bb]
17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray[bc] from your ways,[bd]
and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you?[be]
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your inheritance!
18 For a short time your special[bf] nation possessed a land,[bg]
but then our adversaries knocked down[bh] your holy sanctuary.
19 We existed from ancient times,[bi]
but you did not rule over them;
they were not your subjects.[bj]
64 (63:19b)[bk] If only you would tear apart the sky[bl] and come down!
The mountains would tremble[bm] before you!
(64:1) As when fire ignites dry wood,
or fire makes water boil,
let your adversaries know who you are,[bn]
and may the nations shake at your presence!
When you performed awesome deeds that took us by surprise,[bo]
you came down, and the mountains trembled[bp] before you.
Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived,[bq]
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who intervenes for those who wait for him.
You assist[br] those who delight in doing what is right,[bs]
who observe your commandments.[bt]
Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.
How then can we be saved?[bu]
We are all like one who is unclean,
all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight.[bv]
We all wither like a leaf;
our sins carry us away like the wind.
No one invokes[bw] your name,
or makes an effort[bx] to take hold of you.
For you have rejected us[by]
and handed us over to our own sins.[bz]
Yet,[ca] Lord, you are our father.
We are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the product of your labor.[cb]
Lord, do not be too angry!
Do not hold our sins against us continually.[cc]
Take a good look at your people, at all of us.[cd]
10 Your chosen[ce] cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem, a desolate ruin.
11 Our holy temple, our pride and joy,[cf]
the place where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned with fire;
all our prized possessions have been destroyed.[cg]
12 In light of all this,[ch] how can you still hold back, Lord?
How can you be silent and continue to humiliate us?

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 62:1 tn Heb “goes forth like brightness.”
  2. Isaiah 62:2 tn Heb “which the mouth of the Lord will designate.”
  3. Isaiah 62:4 tn Or “for”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “but.”
  4. Isaiah 62:4 tn Hebrew חֶפְצִי־בָהּ (kheftsi vah), traditionally transliterated “Hephzibah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).
  5. Isaiah 62:4 tn Hebrew בְּעוּלָה (beʿulah), traditionally transliterated “Beulah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).
  6. Isaiah 62:4 tn That is, the land will be restored to the Lord’s favor and once again enjoy his blessing and protection. To indicate the land’s relationship to the Lord, the words “to him” have been supplied at the end of the clause.
  7. Isaiah 62:5 tc The Hebrew text has “your sons,” but this produces an odd metaphor and is somewhat incongruous with the parallelism. In the context (v. 4b, see also 54:5-7) the Lord is the one who “marries” Zion. Therefore several prefer to emend “your sons” to בֹּנָיִךְ (bonayikh, “your builder”; e.g., NRSV). In Ps 147:2 the Lord is called the “builder of Jerusalem.” However, this emendation is not the best option for at least four reasons. First, although the Lord is never called the “builder” of Jerusalem in Isaiah, the idea of Zion’s children possessing the land does occur (Isa 49:20; 54:3; cf. also 14:1; 60:21). Secondly, all the ancient versions support the MT reading. Thirdly, although the verb בָּעַל (baʿal) can mean “to marry,” its basic idea is “to possess.” Consequently, the verb stresses a relationship more than a state. All the ancient versions render this verb “to dwell in” or “to dwell with.” The point is not just that the land will be reinhabited, but that it will be in a relationship of “belonging” to the Israelites. Hence a relational verb like בָּעַל is used (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:581). Finally, “sons” is a well-known metaphor for “inhabitants” (J. de Waard, Isaiah, 208).
  8. Isaiah 62:6 sn The speaker here is probably the prophet.
  9. Isaiah 62:6 tn Heb “all day and all night continually they do not keep silent.” The following lines suggest that they pray for the Lord’s intervention and restoration of the city.
  10. Isaiah 62:6 tn Or “invoke”; NIV “call on”; NASB, NRSV “remind.”
  11. Isaiah 62:7 tn “Jerusalem” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons; note the following line.
  12. Isaiah 62:7 tn Heb “[the object of] praise.”
  13. Isaiah 62:8 tn The Lord’s right hand and strong arm here symbolize his power and remind the audience that his might guarantees the fulfillment of the following promise.
  14. Isaiah 62:9 tn Heb “it,” the grain mentioned in v. 8a.
  15. Isaiah 62:9 tn Heb “and those who gather it will drink it.” The masculine singular pronominal suffixes attached to “gather” and “drink” refer back to the masculine noun תִּירוֹשׁ (tirosh, “wine”) in v. 8b.
  16. Isaiah 62:11 tn Heb “to the end of the earth” (so NASB, NRSV).
  17. Isaiah 62:11 sn As v. 12 indicates, the returning exiles are the Lord’s reward/prize. See also 40:10 and the note there.
  18. Isaiah 62:12 tn Or “the redeemed of the Lord” (KJV, NAB).
  19. Isaiah 63:1 sn Edom is here an archetype for the Lord’s enemies. See 34:5.
  20. Isaiah 63:1 tn Heb “[in] bright red garments, from Bozrah.”
  21. Isaiah 63:1 tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the first line of the verse.
  22. Isaiah 63:1 tn Heb “honored in his clothing”; KJV, ASV “glorious in his apparel.”
  23. Isaiah 63:1 tc The Hebrew text has צָעָה (tsaʿah), which means “stoop, bend” (51:14). The translation assumes an emendation to צָעַד (tsaʿad, “march”; see BDB 858 s.v. צָעָה).
  24. Isaiah 63:1 tn Heb “I, [the one] speaking in vindication [or “righteousness”], great to deliver.”
  25. Isaiah 63:2 tn Heb “and your garments like one who treads in a vat?”
  26. Isaiah 63:3 sn Nations, headed by Edom, are the object of the Lord’s anger (see v. 6). He compares military slaughter to stomping on grapes in a vat.
  27. Isaiah 63:3 tn Heb “and I stained.” For discussion of the difficult verb form, see HALOT 170 s.v. II גאל. Perhaps the form is mixed, combining the first person forms of the imperfect (note the alef prefix) and perfect (note the תי- ending).
  28. Isaiah 63:4 tn Heb “for the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my revenge came.” The term גְּאוּלַי (geʾulay) is sometimes translated here “my redemption,” for the verbal root גאל often means “deliver, buy back.” A גֹּאֵל (goʾel, “kinsman-redeemer”) was responsible for protecting the extended family’s interests, often by redeeming property that had been sold outside the family. However, the responsibilities of a גֹּאֵל extended beyond financial concerns. He was also responsible for avenging the shed blood of a family member (see Num 35:19-27; Deut 19:6-12). In Isa 63:4, where vengeance is a prominent theme (note the previous line), it is probably this function of the family protector that is in view. The Lord pictures himself as a blood avenger who waits for the day of vengeance to arrive and then springs into action.
  29. Isaiah 63:5 sn See Isa 59:16 for similar language.
  30. Isaiah 63:5 tn Heb “and my anger, it supported me”; NIV “my own wrath sustained me.”
  31. Isaiah 63:6 sn See Isa 49:26 and 51:23 for similar imagery.
  32. Isaiah 63:6 tn Heb “and I brought down to the ground their juice.” “Juice” refers to their blood (see v. 3).
  33. Isaiah 63:7 tn Heb “according to all which.”
  34. Isaiah 63:7 tn Heb “greatness of goodness to the house of Israel which he did for them.”
  35. Isaiah 63:7 tn Heb “according to.”
  36. Isaiah 63:8 tn Heb “children [who] do not act deceitfully.” Here the verb refers to covenantal loyalty.
  37. Isaiah 63:9 tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).
  38. Isaiah 63:9 tn Heb “the messenger [or “angel”] of his face”; NIV “the angel of his presence.”sn This may refer to the “angel of God” mentioned in Exod 14:19, who in turn may be identical to the divine “presence” (literally, “face”) referred to in Exod 33:14-15 and Deut 4:37. Here in Isa 63 this messenger may be equated with God’s “holy Spirit” (see vv. 10-11) and “the Spirit of the Lord” (v. 14). See also Ps 139:7, where God’s “Spirit” seems to be equated with his “presence” (literally, “face”) in the synonymous parallelistic structure.
  39. Isaiah 63:9 tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”
  40. Isaiah 63:9 tn Heb “all the days of antiquity”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “days of old.”
  41. Isaiah 63:10 tn Or “grieved, hurt the feelings of.”
  42. Isaiah 63:10 sn The phrase “holy Spirit” occurs in the OT only here (in v. 11 as well) and in Ps 51:11 (51:13 HT), where it is associated with the divine presence.
  43. Isaiah 63:11 tn Heb “and he remembered the days of antiquity, Moses, his people.” The syntax of the statement is unclear. The translation assumes that “his people” is the subject of the verb “remembered.” If original, “Moses” is in apposition to “the days of antiquity,” more precisely identifying the time period referred to. However, the syntactical awkwardness suggests that “Moses” may have been an early marginal note (perhaps identifying “the shepherd of his flock” two lines later) that has worked its way into the text.
  44. Isaiah 63:11 tn The Hebrew text has a plural form, which if retained and taken as a numerical plural, would probably refer to Moses, Aaron, and the Israelite tribal leaders at the time of the Exodus. Most prefer to emend the form to the singular (רָעָה, raʿah) and understand this as a reference just to Moses.
  45. Isaiah 63:11 sn See the note at v. 10.
  46. Isaiah 63:12 tn Heb “who caused to go at the right hand of Moses the arm of his splendor.”
  47. Isaiah 63:12 tn Heb “making for himself a lasting name.”
  48. Isaiah 63:13 tn Heb “in the desert [or “steppe”].”
  49. Isaiah 63:14 tn The words “to graze” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  50. Isaiah 63:14 tn Or “so” (KJV, ASV), or “thus” (NAB, NRSV).
  51. Isaiah 63:14 tn Heb “making for yourself a majestic name.”
  52. Isaiah 63:15 tn This probably refers to his zeal for his people, which motivates him to angrily strike out against their enemies.
  53. Isaiah 63:15 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “the agitation of your intestines and your compassion to me they are held back.” The phrase “agitation of your intestines” is metonymic, referring to the way in which one’s nervous system reacts when one feels pity and compassion toward another. אֵלַי (ʾelay, “to me”) is awkward in this context, where the speaker represents the nation and, following the introduction (see v. 7), utilizes first person plural forms. The translation assumes an emendation to the negative particle אַל (ʾal). This also necessitates emending the following verb form (which is a plural perfect) to a singular jussive (תִתְאַפָּק, titʾappaq). The Hitpael of אָפַק (ʾafaq) also occurs in 42:14.
  54. Isaiah 63:16 tn Heb “our protector [or “redeemer”] from antiquity [is] your name.”
  55. Isaiah 63:17 tn Some suggest a tolerative use of the Hiphil here, “[why do] you allow us to stray?” (cf. NLT). Though the Hiphil of תָעָה (taʿah) appears to be tolerative in Jer 50:6, elsewhere it is preferable or necessary to take it as causative. See Isa 3:12; 9:15; and 30:28, as well as Gen 20:13; 2 Kgs 21:9; Job 12:24-25; Prov 12:26; Jer 23:13, 32; Hos 4:12; Amos 2:4; Mic 3:5.
  56. Isaiah 63:17 tn This probably refers to God’s commands.
  57. Isaiah 63:17 tn Heb “[Why do] you harden our heart[s] so as not to fear you.” The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).sn How direct this hardening is, one cannot be sure. The speaker may envision direct involvement on the Lord’s part. The Lord has brought the exile as judgment for the nation’s sin and now he continues to keep them at arm’s length by blinding them spiritually. The second half of 64:7 might support this, though the precise reading of the final verb is uncertain. On the other hand, the idiom of lament is sometimes ironic and hyperbolically deterministic. For example, Naomi lamented that Shaddai was directly opposing her and bringing her calamity (Ruth 1:20-21), while the author of Ps 88 directly attributes his horrible suffering and loneliness to God (see especially vv. 6-8, 16-18). Both individuals make little, if any, room for intermediate causes or the principle of sin and death which ravages the human race. In the same way, the speaker in Isa 63:17 (who evidences great spiritual sensitivity and is anything but “hardened”) may be referring to the hardships of exile, which discouraged and even embittered the people, causing many of them to retreat from their Yahwistic faith. In this case, the “hardening” in view is more indirect and can be lifted by the Lord’s intervention. Whether the hardening here is indirect or direct, it is important to recognize that the speaker sees it as one of the effects of rebellion against the Lord (note especially 64:5-6).
  58. Isaiah 63:18 tn Or “holy” (ASV, NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT).
  59. Isaiah 63:18 tn Heb “for a short time they had a possession, the people of your holiness.”
  60. Isaiah 63:18 tn Heb “your adversaries trampled on.”
  61. Isaiah 63:19 tn Heb “we were from antiquity” (see v. 16). The collocation of הָיָה, מִן, and עוֹלָם (hayah, min, and ʿolam) occurs only here.
  62. Isaiah 63:19 tn Heb “you did not rule them; your name was not called over them.” The expression “the name is called over” indicates ownership; see the note at 4:1. As these two lines stand, they are very difficult to interpret. They appear to be stating that the adversaries just mentioned in v. 18 have not been subject to the Lord’s rule in the past, perhaps explaining why they could commit the atrocity described in v. 18b.
  63. Isaiah 64:1 sn In BHS the chapter division occurs in a different place from the English Bible: 64:1 ET (63:19b HT) and 64:2-12 (64:1-11 HT). Beginning with 65:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
  64. Isaiah 64:1 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
  65. Isaiah 64:1 tn Or “quake.” נָזֹלּוּ (nazollu) is from the verbal root זָלַל (zalal, “quake”; see HALOT 272 s.v. II זלל). Perhaps there is a verbal allusion to Judg 5:5, the only other passage where this verb occurs. In that passage the poet tells how the Lord’s appearance to do battle caused the mountains to shake.
  66. Isaiah 64:2 tn Heb “to make known your name to your adversaries.” Perhaps the infinitive construct with preposition לְ (lamed) should be construed with “come down” in v. 1a, or subordinated to the following line: “To make known your name to your adversaries, let the nations shake from before you.”
  67. Isaiah 64:3 tn Heb “[for which] we were not waiting.”
  68. Isaiah 64:3 tn See the note at v. 1.
  69. Isaiah 64:4 tn Heb “from ancient times they have not heard, they have not listened.”
  70. Isaiah 64:5 tn Heb “meet [with kindness].”
  71. Isaiah 64:5 tn Heb “the one who rejoices and does righteousness.”
  72. Isaiah 64:5 tn Heb “in your ways they remember you.”
  73. Isaiah 64:5 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “look, you were angry, and we sinned against them continually [or perhaps, “in ancient times”] and we were delivered.” The statement makes little sense as it stands. The first vav [ו] consecutive (“and we sinned”) must introduce an explanatory clause here (see Num 1:48 and Isa 39:1 for other examples of this relatively rare use of the vav [ו] consecutive). The final verb (if rendered positively) makes no sense in this context—God’s anger at their sin resulted in judgment, not deliverance. One of the alternatives involves an emendation to וַנִּרְשָׁע (vannirshaʿ, “and we were evil”; LXX, NRSV, TEV). The Vulgate and the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa support the MT reading. One can either accept an emendation or cast the statement as a question (as above).
  74. Isaiah 64:6 tn Heb “and like a garment of menstruation [are] all our righteous acts”; KJV, NIV “filthy rags”; ASV “a polluted garment.”
  75. Isaiah 64:7 tn Or “calls out in”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “calls on.”
  76. Isaiah 64:7 tn Or “rouses himself”; NASB “arouses himself.”
  77. Isaiah 64:7 tn Heb “for you have hidden your face from us.”
  78. Isaiah 64:7 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and you caused us to melt in the hand of our sin.” The verb וַתְּמוּגֵנוּ (vattemugenu) is a Qal preterite second person masculine singular with a first person common plural suffix from the root מוּג (mug, “melt”). However, elsewhere the Qal of this verb is intransitive. If the verbal root מוּג (mug) is retained here, the form should be emended to a Polel pattern (וַתְּמֹגְגֵנוּ, vattemogegenu). The translation assumes an emendation to וַתְּמַגְּנֵנוּ (vattemaggenenu, “and you handed us over”). This form is a Piel preterite second person masculine singular with a first person common plural suffix from the verb מָגָן (magan, “hand over, surrender”; see HALOT 545 s.v. מגן and BDB 171 s.v. מָגָן). The point is that God has abandoned them to their sinful ways and no longer seeks reconciliation.
  79. Isaiah 64:8 tn On the force of וְעַתָּה (veʿattah) here, see HALOT 902 s.v. עַתָּה.
  80. Isaiah 64:8 tn Heb “the work of your hand.”
  81. Isaiah 64:9 tn Heb “do not remember sin continually.”
  82. Isaiah 64:9 tn Heb “Look, gaze at your people, all of us.” Another option is to translate, “Take a good look! We are all your people.”
  83. Isaiah 64:10 tn Heb “holy” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT); NIV “sacred.”
  84. Isaiah 64:11 tn Heb “our source of pride.”
  85. Isaiah 64:11 tn Or “all that we valued has become a ruin.”
  86. Isaiah 64:12 tn Heb “because of these”; KJV, ASV “for these things.”