New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Isaiah 63
1
Who is this man coming from the city of Bozrah in Edom? His clothes are stained bright red. Who is he? He is dressed up in all of his glory. He is marching toward us with great strength. The Lord answers, "It is I. I have won the battle. I am mighty. I have saved my people."
Reference
2
Why are your clothes red? They look as if you have been stomping on grapes in a winepress.
Reference
Parallel theme
Revelation 19:13
3
The Lord answers, "I have been stomping on the nations as if they were grapes. No one was there to help me. I walked all over the nations because I was angry. That is why I stomped on them. Their blood splashed all over my clothes. So my clothes were stained bright red.
Reference
4
I decided it was time to pay Israel's enemies back. The year for me to set my people free had come.
Reference
5
I looked around, but no one was there to help me. I was shocked that no one gave me any help. So I used my own powerful arm to save my people. I had the strength to do it because I was angry.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 40:10
Isaiah 41:28
Isaiah 50:2
Psalm 98:1
John 16:32
Isaiah 63:3
1 Corinthians 1:24
Salvation
Psalm 44:3
Isaiah 52:10
Hosea 1:7
6
I walked all over the nations because I was angry with them. I made them drink from the cup of my burning anger. I poured their blood out on the ground."
Reference
7
I will talk about the kind things the Lord has done. I'll praise him for everything he's done for us. He has done many good things for the nation of Israel. That's because he loves us and is very kind to us.
Reference
Good
Psalm 86:5
Romans 2:4
1 Kings 8:66
Parallel theme
Ephesians 2:4
Psalm 51:1
References Lord
Psalm 86:15
8
In the past he said, "They are my people. They will not turn against me." So he saved them.
Reference
9
When they suffered, he suffered with them. He sent his angel to save them. He set them free because he is loving and kind. He lifted them up and carried them. He did it again and again in days long ago.
Reference
10
But they refused to obey him. They made his Holy Spirit sad. So he turned against them and became their enemy. He himself fought against them.
Reference
Holy
Acts 7:51
Ephesians 4:30
Psalm 51:11
Parallel theme
Psalm 78:40
Psalm 78:56
Jeremiah 21:5
Ezekiel 20:8
Exodus 15:24
Exodus 23:21
Spirit
Psalm 78:8
11
Then his people remembered what he did long ago. They recalled the days of Moses and his people. They asked, "Where is the One who brought Israel through the Red Sea? Moses led them as the shepherd of his flock. Where is the One who put his Holy Spirit among them?
Reference
Parallel theme
Exodus 14:22
References Moses
Psalm 77:20
Spirit
Numbers 11:17
Numbers 11:25
Numbers 11:29
Haggai 2:5
12
He used his glorious and powerful arm to help Moses. He parted the waters of the sea in front of them. That mighty act made him famous forever.
Reference
Eternal Life
Isaiah 55:13
Parallel theme
Exodus 15:16
Psalm 78:13
Joshua 3:16
Psalm 80:1
Nehemiah 9:11
13
He led them through that deep sea. Like a horse in open country, they didn't trip and fall.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 31:9
14
Like cattle that are taken down to the flatlands, they were given rest by the Spirit of the Lord." That's how he guided his people. So he made a glorious name for himself.
Reference
15
Lord, look down from heaven. Look down from your holy and glorious throne. Where is your great love for us? Where is your power? Why don't you show us your tender love and concern?
Reference
Holy
Deuteronomy 26:15
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 31:20
Psalm 80:14
Psalm 123:1
Hosea 11:8
Psalm 33:14
1 John 3:17
Philippians 2:1
16
You are our Father. Abraham might not accept us as his children. Jacob might not recognize us as his family. But you are our Father, Lord. Your name is The One Who Always Sets Us Free.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 3:19
Malachi 2:10
Job 14:21
Redemption
Isaiah 44:6
Isaiah 41:14
Isaiah 43:14
References Israel
Jeremiah 31:9
References Lord
Isaiah 64:8
Deuteronomy 32:6
Malachi 1:6
17
Lord, why do you let us wander away from you? Why do you let us become so stubborn that we don't respect you? Come back and help us. We are the tribes that belong to you.
Reference
Creation
Deuteronomy 2:30
Parallel theme
Isaiah 6:10
John 12:40
References Lord
Joshua 11:20
Isaiah 29:13
Psalm 90:13
Numbers 10:36
18
For a little while your holy people possessed the land. But now our enemies have torn your temple down.
19
We are like people you never ruled over. We are like those who don't belong to you.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 65:1
Acts 15:17
Acts 14:16
Psalm 79:6
Psalm 135:4
Ephesians 2:12
Romans 9:4
Amos 9:12
Summary of Isaiah 63
Isaiah 63 begins with a dramatic vision of a powerful divine warrior coming from Edom.
Isaiah asks who this glorious figure is and why his clothing is stained red.
The answer uses the imagery of a winepress.
The figure has crushed the nations like grapes, and the red stains on His clothing represent the judgment He has carried out.
The image is deliberately intense.
The chapter presents God as the righteous Judge who confronts evil when human beings cannot or will not do so.
The figure declares that the day of vengeance and the year of redemption have arrived.
These two ideas stand together throughout the passage: God judges what is evil while simultaneously acting to redeem His people.
The striking point is that the divine warrior finds no human helper.
The victory comes entirely through His own power and righteousness.
Isaiah then shifts from judgment to remembrance.
He begins recalling God's kindness, mercy, and faithfulness toward Israel.
God had called Israel His people and had repeatedly acted as their Savior.
The chapter particularly remembers the Exodus, when God rescued Israel from Egypt, led them through the sea, guided them through the wilderness, and gave them rest.
The imagery emphasizes that God's relationship with Israel was not merely theoretical.
He personally carried, protected, guided, and delivered His people.
Yet Israel eventually rebelled.
They grieved God's Holy Spirit and turned away from Him, so they experienced the consequences of their rebellion.
This creates the emotional center of the chapter.
Isaiah remembers what God did in the past and then asks why that same visible intervention seems absent in the present.
He cries out for God to look down from heaven, see His people, and remember His covenant.
Even Abraham and Israel's ancestors cannot ultimately rescue the people.
God alone remains their Father and Redeemer.
The final verses become a heartfelt prayer of lament.
Isaiah asks why God has allowed His people to wander from His ways and why their hearts have become hardened.
He remembers that God's holy place was once possessed by His people but was later taken by enemies.
This most naturally recalls the devastation of Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BC, when Babylon conquered Judah.
The chapter therefore moves through three major themes: divine judgment, remembered mercy, and desperate longing for restoration.
The powerful warrior who judges the nations is also the compassionate God who carries His people.
The God who once divided the sea and led Israel through the wilderness is being asked to intervene again.
The central message is that God is both the righteous Judge who confronts evil and the compassionate Redeemer who has repeatedly rescued His people; Isaiah remembers God's mighty acts in the past, especially the Exodus, while honestly grieving over Israel's rebellion, suffering, and loss, ultimately pleading for God to return to His people, remember His covenant, and once again demonstrate the mercy and power that have defined His relationship with them.
Isaiah asks who this glorious figure is and why his clothing is stained red.
The answer uses the imagery of a winepress.
The figure has crushed the nations like grapes, and the red stains on His clothing represent the judgment He has carried out.
The image is deliberately intense.
The chapter presents God as the righteous Judge who confronts evil when human beings cannot or will not do so.
The figure declares that the day of vengeance and the year of redemption have arrived.
These two ideas stand together throughout the passage: God judges what is evil while simultaneously acting to redeem His people.
The striking point is that the divine warrior finds no human helper.
The victory comes entirely through His own power and righteousness.
Isaiah then shifts from judgment to remembrance.
He begins recalling God's kindness, mercy, and faithfulness toward Israel.
God had called Israel His people and had repeatedly acted as their Savior.
The chapter particularly remembers the Exodus, when God rescued Israel from Egypt, led them through the sea, guided them through the wilderness, and gave them rest.
The imagery emphasizes that God's relationship with Israel was not merely theoretical.
He personally carried, protected, guided, and delivered His people.
Yet Israel eventually rebelled.
They grieved God's Holy Spirit and turned away from Him, so they experienced the consequences of their rebellion.
This creates the emotional center of the chapter.
Isaiah remembers what God did in the past and then asks why that same visible intervention seems absent in the present.
He cries out for God to look down from heaven, see His people, and remember His covenant.
Even Abraham and Israel's ancestors cannot ultimately rescue the people.
God alone remains their Father and Redeemer.
The final verses become a heartfelt prayer of lament.
Isaiah asks why God has allowed His people to wander from His ways and why their hearts have become hardened.
He remembers that God's holy place was once possessed by His people but was later taken by enemies.
This most naturally recalls the devastation of Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BC, when Babylon conquered Judah.
The chapter therefore moves through three major themes: divine judgment, remembered mercy, and desperate longing for restoration.
The powerful warrior who judges the nations is also the compassionate God who carries His people.
The God who once divided the sea and led Israel through the wilderness is being asked to intervene again.
The central message is that God is both the righteous Judge who confronts evil and the compassionate Redeemer who has repeatedly rescued His people; Isaiah remembers God's mighty acts in the past, especially the Exodus, while honestly grieving over Israel's rebellion, suffering, and loss, ultimately pleading for God to return to His people, remember His covenant, and once again demonstrate the mercy and power that have defined His relationship with them.