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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 78:40

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Isaiah 63 draws on Psalm 78 to retell the story of Israel’s rebellion in the wilderness, where mercy met stubbornness. Isaiah transforms a familiar tradition into a reflection on his own generation’s failure and a call for renewal.

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 78:40

Hebrew Bible
38 Yet he is compassionate. He forgives sin and does not destroy. He often holds back his anger and does not stir up his fury. 39 He remembered that they were made of flesh and were like a wind that blows past and does not return. 40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and insulted him in the wastelands. 41 They again challenged God and offended the Holy One of Israel. 42 They did not remember what he had done, how he delivered them from the enemy,
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... Confessional expression first occurs in Isaiah 63:7–14, a section about God’s saving deeds in the history of Israel. The first half of the unit (verses 7–10) considers the covenantal rapport that has existed between God and God’s people. While God is gracious, merciful, and eminently faithful to the covenant, the people are false to the covenant and rebellious to the point of grieving God and turning God against them ... in the postexilic period when the prayer of Trito-Isaiah assumed its final form, the term occurs regularly in texts that accuse Israel of rebellion in the face of god’s public, historical deeds, especially those in the wilderness. That is to say, the prayer reflects the meaning associated with the postexilic literature as well as Psalms 78 and 106 ... Like Psalm 78, Isaiah 63:10 employs a manner particular to those generations after the exile who shift their focus from law to historical conceits such as the wilderness. In fact, Isaiah’s terms of indictment correspond remarkably to those of Psalm 78:40 ..."
Richard J. Bautch, “Lament Regained in Trito-Isaiah's Penitential Prayer,” in Seeking the Favor of God: The Origins of Penitential Prayer in Second Temple Judaism, ed. Mark J. Boda, Daniel K. Falk, and Rodney A. Werline, EJL 21 (Atlanta: SBL, 2006), 1:83–99.

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

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Isaiah 63:10 and Psalm 78:40

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