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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 63:15 and Job 28:24

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Job 28 describes God’s looking over the entire world, using divine sight to describe his knowledge and authority. This same language is found in Isaiah, which acknowledges divine sight and appeals for God to notice and respond to human need.

Passages

Isaiah 63:15

Hebrew Bible
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!
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Job 28:24

Hebrew Bible
22 Abaddon and Death say, ‘With our ears we have heard a rumor about where it can be found.’ 23 God understands the way to it, and he alone knows its place. 24 For he looks to the ends of the earth and observes everything under the heavens. 25 When he made the force of the wind and measured the waters with a gauge, 26 when he imposed a limit for the rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Job

References

"... all of the roots may be found in various contexts with the most common of the 'see' words. Both words are found in an imperative form in Habakkuk 1:5: 'See the nations and look!' (Compare Numbers 23:21; 1 Samuel 16:7; 2 Kings 3:14; Isaiah 5:12; 38:11; 42:18; 63:15; Job 28:24; Lamentations 1:11 ...) Here there is no reason to suspect that the two words have any substantial difference in meaning, but rather they are simply two roughly synonymous words used in parallel for emphasis. [What is] usually translated 'reveal, uncover, open,' is found in parallel with Isaiah 47:3: 'Your nakedness will be revealed, moreover your shame will be seen' (compare Isaiah 3:1). In 2 Samuel 22:16 (compare Psalm 18:16) the results of Yahweh's theophany include: 'the channels of water were seen, and the foundations of the world were revealed.' In both contexts both verbs take the Niphal form and seem to be synonymous, and are used together in a number of texts. In Psalm 14:2 and 53:3 God is said to look down from heaven upon the sons of men 'to see if there are any who seek after God.' Here the purpose of looking out or down is to see. As before it seems to emphasize 'looking down' whereas the second verb points to the object ..."
Cecil P. Staton Jr., “‘And Yahweh Appeared …’: A Study of the Motifs of ‘Seeing God’ and of ‘God’s Appearing’ in Old Testament Narratives” (DPhil diss., University of Oxford, 1988), 10.

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 63:15 and Job 28:24

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