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Isaiah 62-64
Easy-to-Read Version
Isaiah 62-64
Easy-to-Read Version
New Jerusalem: A City Full of Goodness
62 I love Zion,
so I will continue to speak for her.
I love Jerusalem,
so I will not stop speaking.
I will speak until goodness[a] shines like a bright light,
until salvation burns bright like a flame.
2 Then all nations will see your goodness.
All kings will see your honor.
Then you will have a new name
that the Lord himself will give you.
3 You will be like a beautiful crown that the Lord holds up,
like a king’s crown in the hand of your God.
4 You will never again be called ‘The People God Left.’
Your land will never again be called ‘The Land God Destroyed.’
You will be called ‘The People God Loves.’
Your land will be called ‘God’s Bride,’
because the Lord loves you,
and your land will be his.[b]
5 As a young man takes a bride and she belongs to him,
so your land will belong to your children.[c]
As a man is happy with his new wife,
so your God will be happy with you.
6 Jerusalem, I put guards on your walls.
They will not be silent.
They will keep praying day and night.
Guards, keep praying to the Lord.
Remind him of his promise.
Don’t ever stop praying.
7 Don’t give him any rest until he rebuilds Jerusalem
and makes it a place that everyone on earth will praise.
8 The Lord made a promise and guaranteed it by his own power.
And he will use that power to keep his promise.
The Lord said, “I promise that I will never again give your food to your enemies.
I promise that they will never again take the wine you make.
9 Whoever gathers the food will eat it and praise the Lord.
Whoever gathers the grape will drink the wine in the courtyards of my Temple.”
10 Come through the gates!
Clear the way for the people!
Prepare the road!
Move all the stones off the road!
Raise a flag as a sign for the nations!
11 Listen, the Lord is speaking
to all the faraway lands:
“Tell the people of Zion,
‘Look, your Savior is coming.
He is bringing your reward to you.
He is bringing it with him.’”
12 His people will be called “The Holy People,”
“The Saved People of the Lord.”
And you, Jerusalem, will be called “The City God Wants,”
“The City God Is With.”
The Lord Punishes the Nations
63 Who is this coming from Edom,
from the city of Bozrah?
His clothes are stained bright red.
He is glorious in his clothes.
He is walking tall with his great power.
He says, “I have the power to save you,
and I speak the truth.”
2 “Why are your clothes bright red?
They are like the clothes of someone who tramples grapes to make wine.”
3 He answers, “I walked in the winepress by myself.
No one helped me.
I was angry, and I trampled the grapes.
The juice[d] splashed on my clothes, so now they are stained.
4 I chose a time to punish people.
Now the time has come for me to save and protect my people.
5 I looked around, but I saw no one to help me.
I was surprised that no one supported me.
So I used my own power to save my people.
My own anger supported me.
6 In my anger I trampled down the nations.
I punished them in anger and spilled their blood[e] on the ground.”
The Lord Has Been Kind to His People
7 I will remember the kind things the Lord has done,
and I will remember to praise him.
The Lord has given many good things
to the family of Israel.
He has been very kind to us.
He has shown us mercy.
8 He said, “These are my people.
These are my real children.”
So he saved them.
9 The people had many troubles,
but he was not against them.
He loved them and felt sorry for them,
so he saved them.
He sent his special angel to save them.
He picked them up and carried them, just as he did long ago.
10 But they turned against him
and made his Holy Spirit very sad.
So the Lord became their enemy
and fought against them.
11 Then they remembered what happened long ago.
They remembered Moses and those with him.
So where is the one who brought them through the sea
along with the shepherds who led his flock?
Where is the one
who sent his Holy Spirit to live among them?
12 He was by Moses’ side and led him with his wonderful hand.
He divided the water,
so that the people could walk through the sea.
He made his name famous
by doing those great things.
13 He led the people through the deep sea.
Like a horse running through the desert,
they walked without falling.
14 Like cattle going down to the valley,
The Spirit of the Lord led them.
This is how you led your people
and made your name wonderful.
A Prayer for God to Help His People
15 Please, look down from the heavens.
See what is happening now.
Look down at us from your great and holy home in heaven.
Where is your strong love[f] for us?
Where is your compassion?
Why are you hiding your kind love from me?
16 Look, you are our father!
Abraham does not know us.
Israel does not recognize us.
Lord, you are our father!
You are the one who has always saved us!
17 Lord, why are you pushing us away from you?
Why are you making it hard for us to follow you?
Come back to us!
We are your servants.
Come to us and help us!
Our tribes belong to you.
18 Your holy people had their land only a short time.
Then our enemies trampled down your holy Temple.
19 Some people don’t follow you.
They don’t wear your name.
And we have been like them
for a very long time.
64 If you would tear open the skies
and come down to earth, then everything would change.
Mountains would melt before you.
2 The mountains would burst into flames like burning bushes.
The mountains would boil like water on the fire.
Then your enemies would learn about you.
And all nations would shake with fear when they see you.
3 But you have done awesome things that we did not expect.
You came down, and mountains shook in fear before you.
4 No one has ever heard of such a God.
No one has ever heard such a story.
No one has ever seen any God except you,
who does such great things for those who trust him.
5 You welcome people who enjoy doing good and who remember you
by living the way you want them to.
But we sinned against you,
and you became angry with us.[g]
But you always saved us!
6 We are all dirty with sin.
Even our good works are not pure.
They are like bloodstained rags.
We are all like dead leaves.
Our sins have carried us away like wind.
7 We don’t call to you for help.
We aren’t excited about following you,
so you have turned away from us.
We are helpless before you,
because we are full of sin.
8 But, Lord, you are our father.
We are like clay, and you are the potter.
Your hands made us all.
9 Lord, don’t continue to be angry with us!
Don’t remember our sins forever!
Please, look at us!
We are all your people.
10 Your holy cities are as empty as the desert.
Zion has become a desert.
Jerusalem is destroyed.
11 Our ancestors worshiped you in our holy Temple.
That wonderful Temple has now been burned.
All our precious possessions have been destroyed.
12 Lord, will these things always keep you from helping?
Will you continue to say nothing?
Will you punish us forever?
Footnotes
- Isaiah 62:1 goodness Or “victory.”
- Isaiah 62:4 your land … his Or “He will marry your land.” This is a wordplay. The Hebrew word also means “He will be the lord of the land.”
- Isaiah 62:5 your land … children Or “Your builders will marry you.”
- Isaiah 63:3 juice Or “strong drink” or “blood.”
- Isaiah 63:6 blood Or “strong drink” or “strength.”
- Isaiah 63:15 strong love The Hebrew word means strong feelings like love, hate, anger, zeal, or jealousy.
- Isaiah 64:5 we sinned … us Or “But you became angry with us and we sinned.”
Isaiah 62-64
New International Version
Isaiah 62-64
New International Version
Zion’s New Name
62 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,(A)
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,
till her vindication(B) shines out like the dawn,(C)
her salvation(D) like a blazing torch.
2 The nations(E) will see your vindication,
and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name(F)
that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.
3 You will be a crown(G) of splendor in the Lord’s hand,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4 No longer will they call you Deserted,(H)
or name your land Desolate.(I)
But you will be called Hephzibah,[a](J)
and your land Beulah[b];
for the Lord will take delight(K) in you,
and your land will be married.(L)
5 As a young man marries a young woman,
so will your Builder marry you;
as a bridegroom(M) rejoices over his bride,
so will your God rejoice(N) over you.
6 I have posted watchmen(O) on your walls, Jerusalem;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the Lord,
give yourselves no rest,(P)
7 and give him no rest(Q) till he establishes Jerusalem
and makes her the praise(R) of the earth.
8 The Lord has sworn(S) by his right hand
and by his mighty arm:
“Never again will I give your grain(T)
as food for your enemies,
and never again will foreigners drink the new wine
for which you have toiled;
9 but those who harvest it will eat(U) it
and praise the Lord,(V)
and those who gather the grapes will drink it
in the courts of my sanctuary.”(W)
10 Pass through, pass through the gates!(X)
Prepare the way for the people.
Build up, build up the highway!(Y)
Remove the stones.
Raise a banner(Z) for the nations.
11 The Lord has made proclamation
to the ends of the earth:(AA)
“Say to Daughter Zion,(AB)
‘See, your Savior comes!(AC)
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.’”(AD)
12 They will be called(AE) the Holy People,(AF)
the Redeemed(AG) of the Lord;
and you will be called Sought After,
the City No Longer Deserted.(AH)
God’s Day of Vengeance and Redemption
63 Who is this coming from Edom,(AI)
from Bozrah,(AJ) with his garments stained crimson?(AK)
Who is this, robed in splendor,
striding forward in the greatness of his strength?(AL)
“It is I, proclaiming victory,
mighty to save.”(AM)
2 Why are your garments red,
like those of one treading the winepress?(AN)
3 “I have trodden the winepress(AO) alone;
from the nations no one was with me.
I trampled(AP) them in my anger
and trod them down in my wrath;(AQ)
their blood spattered my garments,(AR)
and I stained all my clothing.
4 It was for me the day of vengeance;(AS)
the year for me to redeem had come.
5 I looked, but there was no one(AT) to help,
I was appalled that no one gave support;
so my own arm(AU) achieved salvation for me,
and my own wrath sustained me.(AV)
6 I trampled(AW) the nations in my anger;
in my wrath I made them drunk(AX)
and poured their blood(AY) on the ground.”
Praise and Prayer
7 I will tell of the kindnesses(AZ) of the Lord,
the deeds for which he is to be praised,
according to all the Lord has done for us—
yes, the many good things(BA)
he has done for Israel,
according to his compassion(BB) and many kindnesses.
8 He said, “Surely they are my people,(BC)
children who will be true to me”;
and so he became their Savior.(BD)
9 In all their distress he too was distressed,
and the angel(BE) of his presence(BF) saved them.[c]
In his love and mercy he redeemed(BG) them;
he lifted them up and carried(BH) them
all the days of old.(BI)
10 Yet they rebelled(BJ)
and grieved his Holy Spirit.(BK)
So he turned and became their enemy(BL)
and he himself fought(BM) against them.
11 Then his people recalled[d] the days of old,
the days of Moses and his people—
where is he who brought them through the sea,(BN)
with the shepherd of his flock?(BO)
Where is he who set
his Holy Spirit(BP) among them,
12 who sent his glorious arm(BQ) of power
to be at Moses’ right hand,
who divided the waters(BR) before them,
to gain for himself everlasting renown,(BS)
13 who led(BT) them through the depths?(BU)
Like a horse in open country,
they did not stumble;(BV)
14 like cattle that go down to the plain,
they were given rest(BW) by the Spirit of the Lord.
This is how you guided your people
to make for yourself a glorious name.
15 Look down from heaven(BX) and see,
from your lofty throne,(BY) holy and glorious.
Where are your zeal(BZ) and your might?
Your tenderness and compassion(CA) are withheld(CB) from us.
16 But you are our Father,(CC)
though Abraham does not know us
or Israel acknowledge(CD) us;
you, Lord, are our Father,
our Redeemer(CE) from of old is your name.
17 Why, Lord, do you make us wander(CF) from your ways
and harden our hearts(CG) so we do not revere(CH) you?
Return(CI) for the sake of your servants,
the tribes that are your inheritance.(CJ)
18 For a little while(CK) your people possessed your holy place,
but now our enemies have trampled(CL) down your sanctuary.(CM)
19 We are yours from of old;
but you have not ruled over them,
they have not been called[e] by your name.(CN)
64 [f]Oh, that you would rend the heavens(CO) and come down,(CP)
that the mountains(CQ) would tremble before you!
2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze
and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name(CR) known to your enemies
and cause the nations to quake(CS) before you!
3 For when you did awesome(CT) things that we did not expect,
you came down, and the mountains trembled(CU) before you.
4 Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,(CV)
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.(CW)
5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right,(CX)
who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
you were angry.(CY)
How then can we be saved?
6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,(CZ)
and all our righteous(DA) acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,(DB)
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.(DC)
7 No one(DD) calls on your name(DE)
or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden(DF) your face from us
and have given us over(DG) to[g] our sins.
8 Yet you, Lord, are our Father.(DH)
We are the clay, you are the potter;(DI)
we are all the work of your hand.(DJ)
9 Do not be angry(DK) beyond measure, Lord;
do not remember our sins(DL) forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
for we are all your people.(DM)
10 Your sacred cities(DN) have become a wasteland;
even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation.(DO)
11 Our holy and glorious temple,(DP) where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned with fire,
and all that we treasured(DQ) lies in ruins.
12 After all this, Lord, will you hold yourself back?(DR)
Will you keep silent(DS) and punish us beyond measure?
Footnotes
- Isaiah 62:4 Hephzibah means my delight is in her.
- Isaiah 62:4 Beulah means married.
- Isaiah 63:9 Or Savior 9 in their distress. / It was no envoy or angel / but his own presence that saved them
- Isaiah 63:11 Or But may he recall
- Isaiah 63:19 Or We are like those you have never ruled, / like those never called
- Isaiah 64:1 In Hebrew texts 64:1 is numbered 63:19b, and 64:2-12 is numbered 64:1-11.
- Isaiah 64:7 Septuagint, Syriac and Targum; Hebrew have made us melt because of
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.