Go to Related Reading
About this book

Isaiah

About this book
Chapter 63

1 Who is this who comes from Edom, dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? Who is this one wearing royal attire, who marches confidently because of his great strength? “It is I, the one who announces vindication, and who is able to deliver!” 2 Why are your clothes red? Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat?⁠ 3 “I have stomped grapes in the wine press all by myself; no one from the nations joined me. I stomped on them in my anger; I trampled them down in my rage.⁠ Their juice splashed on my garments and stained all my clothes.⁠ 4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance, and then payback time arrived. 5 I looked, but there was no one to help;⁠ I was shocked because there was no one offering support. So my right arm accomplished deliverance; my raging anger drove me on. 6 I trampled nations in my anger; I made them drunk in my rage; I splashed their blood on the ground.”⁠ 7 I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord, of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds. I will tell about all the Lord did for us, the many good things he did for the family of Israel, because of his compassion and great faithfulness. 8 He said, “Certainly they will be my people, children who are not disloyal.” He became their deliverer. 9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. The messenger sent from his very presence delivered them.⁠ In his love and mercy he protected them; he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times.⁠ 10 But they rebelled and offended his Holy Spirit, so he turned into an enemy and fought against them.⁠ 11 His people remembered the ancient times. Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea, along with the shepherd of his flock? Where is the one who placed his Holy Spirit among them,⁠ 12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, who divided the water before them, gaining for himself a lasting reputation,⁠ 13 who led them through the deep water? Like a horse running through the wilderness they did not stumble.⁠ 14 As an animal that goes down into a valley to graze, so the Spirit of the Lord granted them rest.⁠ In this way you guided your people, gaining for yourself an honored reputation.⁠ 15 Look down from heaven and take notice, from your holy, majestic palace!⁠ Where are your zeal and power? Do not hold back your tender compassion! 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.⁠ 17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray from your ways and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your inheritance! 18 For a short time your special nation possessed a land, but then our adversaries knocked down your holy sanctuary. 19 We existed from ancient times, but you did not rule over them; they were not your subjects.

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 63:10 and Psalm 51:11

Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

Psalm 51 and Isaiah 63 share a rare use of God’s “holy spirit” in the Hebrew Bible, connecting the psalm’s personal confession and Isaiah’s reflection on national rebellion. Both emerge from later writings when repentance and restoration became central.

Passages

Isaiah 63:10

Hebrew Bible
8 He said, “Certainly they will be my people, children who are not disloyal.” He became their deliverer. 9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. The messenger sent from his very presence delivered them. In his love and mercy he protected them; he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. 10 But they rebelled and offended his Holy Spirit, so he turned into an enemy and fought against them. 11 His people remembered the ancient times. Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea, along with the shepherd of his flock? Where is the one who placed his Holy Spirit among them, 12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, who divided the water before them, gaining for himself a lasting reputation,
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Psalm 51:11

Hebrew Bible
9 Hide your face from my sins. Wipe away all my guilt. 10 Create for me a pure heart, O God. Renew a resolute spirit within me. 11 Do not reject me. Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me. 12 Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance. Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey. 13 Then I will teach rebels your merciful ways, and sinners will turn to you.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... It has been widely assumed that the psalm belongs to the period after the fall of Jerusalem in 597 B.C.E. based on verses 20–21, which (as noted above) may be a later addition and no reliable evidence of the date for the primary psalm. Stronger evidence is supplied by the fact that individual prayers of confession are more common in the later literature of Israel’s history, though not absent in earlier accounts (note Achan in Joshua 8:20–21; David in 2 Samuel 12:13). For references, see above, and note the powerful Prayer of Manasseh in the Apocrypha. Verbal and conceptual parallels between Psalm 51 and Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah 40-66 have been used to argue for a general context of later Israel ... Note also the similarity of attitude toward sacrifice (verses 16–19) with Amos 5:21, 22; Hosea 6:6; Isaiah 1:11–13, 16; Jeremiah 6:20; 7:22; 14:22, as well as the “clean heart” and “steadfast spirit” (verse 12) with Jeremiah 24:7; 31:33, 32:39; 36:26. The “holy spirit” appears elsewhere in the Old Testament only in Isaiah 63:10, 11 (compare Isaiah 63:14) ..."
Marvin E. Tate, Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 51-100 (Dallas: Word, 2000), 35.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Your feedback

Isaiah 63:10 and Psalm 51:11

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library