Isaiah Chapter 63
Showing all 19 verses for Isaiah Chapter 63.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. "
"Someone asks: who is this coming from Edom, from the city of Bozrah, dressed in blood-red clothes, walking with great power and dignity? The figure answers: it's me, the one who speaks truthfully and has the strength to save."
I take injustice seriously, even when it looks like nothing is happening. Trust that wrongs done to you or to others don't go unanswered forever.
"Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? "
"The question continues: why are your clothes red, like someone who has been treading grapes in a winepress?"
I don't shy away from naming what's wrong plainly. Facing hard truths honestly, however uncomfortable the image, is part of real healing.
"I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. "
"The figure answers: I trampled the winepress alone, with no one helping me; I trod down the nations in anger and fury, and their blood splattered and stained all my clothes."
I know what it is to stand alone when doing what's right. If you ever feel isolated for taking a stand, I understand that weight, and I don't leave you there forever.
"For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. "
"The reason: the day to settle accounts was in my heart, and the year to rescue my people had finally come."
Standing up against what's wrong and standing up for the hurting are the same act, not two different ones. Don't be afraid to want both justice and healing at once.
"And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. "
"I looked around and no one was there to help; I was amazed that no one supported me — so my own strength carried out the rescue, and my anger sustained me."
When no one else shows up, you are not as alone as you feel — and you may find a strength in yourself you didn't know was there. I am with you even in the moments that feel most solitary.
"And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth. "
"I trampled nations down in my anger, made them stagger like drunks in my fury, and brought their strength crashing to the ground."
I don't ask you to pretend injustice doesn't matter or to smile through real harm. Wanting real wrongs stopped is not the same as being unloving — it can be the most loving thing there is.
"I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. "
"I will recall God's loyal love and the things worth praising him for — everything good he has done for Israel, all the kindness he's shown out of pure mercy, again and again."
Before you tell me what's wrong, remember what's already been good — it steadies you for the harder conversation ahead. Gratitude isn't denial; it's the ground you stand on.
"For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour. "
"God said, 'Surely they are my people, children who won't betray me' — and so he became their saviour."
I choose to believe the best in you, even when it's a risk. Let that be permission to extend the same trust to people in your own life.
"In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. "
"In all their suffering, he suffered too; his own presence, sent to save them, carried them out of love and pity — he lifted them up and carried them through all their history."
I don't watch your pain from a safe distance — I feel it with you, and I carry you when you can't walk any further yourself. You are never suffering alone.
"But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them. "
"But they rebelled and grieved God's holy spirit, so he turned against them and fought them instead."
I won't pretend that choices don't have consequences — love doesn't mean ignoring harm. But even discipline comes from a relationship I refuse to fully walk away from.
"Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him? "
"Then the people remembered the old days — Moses, and their ancestors — asking: where is the God who brought them up out of the sea along with the shepherd of his flock? Where's the one who put his holy spirit within him?"
When things feel hopeless, remember a time you were carried through before — that memory isn't just nostalgia, it's evidence you can lean on now.
"That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name? "
"The God who led them by Moses' right hand with his own powerful arm, splitting the water in front of them, to make an everlasting name for himself."
A moment when I showed up for you becomes proof you can hold onto for every moment after. Don't let a hard present erase a real past.
"That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble? "
"The God who led them through the deep sea as easily as a horse crossing open desert, so they wouldn't stumble."
I don't just pull you out of trouble after you've fallen — I want to walk with you steadily through it, so you don't have to fall at all.
"As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name. "
"Like cattle going down into a valley to rest, God's spirit gave them rest — that's how God led his people, to make himself a name to be honoured."
True strength isn't just about dramatic rescue — it's also about giving people rest. I want to lead you somewhere you can finally exhale, not just somewhere safe.
"Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained? "
"Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and glorious dwelling place — where is your passionate care and strength? Where's the depth of your compassion for me now? Are you holding back?"
You're allowed to ask me hard questions when things feel silent or absent. Honest doubt spoken to me is not disrespect — it's still relationship, still trust enough to keep talking.
"Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting. "
"Yet you are our father — even if Abraham doesn't know us and Israel (Jacob) doesn't recognise us, you, God, are our father and our redeemer; that's who you've always been."
Even if your family history is complicated or you feel disconnected from where you came from, that doesn't cut you off from me. I claim you as mine regardless of your pedigree.
"O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. "
"Why, God, have you let us wander from your ways and made our hearts stop caring about you? Come back, for the sake of your servants, the tribes that belong to you."
You don't need a perfect theological answer before you can ask me to come close again. Bring me your confusion along with your need — I can hold both.
"The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary. "
"Your holy people only had it for a short while before our enemies trampled down your sanctuary."
Grief over what's been lost — a place, a home, a way of life — deserves to be spoken plainly. I don't ask you to minimise real loss to seem strong.
"We are thine: thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by thy name. "
"We have become like people you never ruled, like we were never called by your name."
Feeling forgotten or unclaimed is real and painful — I don't dismiss that feeling. But feeling disconnected isn't the same as actually being abandoned; keep speaking, even from that low place.