37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies 1 will accomplish this.
59:16 He sees there is no advocate; 2
he is shocked 3 that no one intervenes.
So he takes matters into his own hands; 4
his desire for justice drives him on. 5
59:17 He wears his desire for justice 6 like body armor, 7
and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head. 8
He puts on the garments of vengeance 9
and wears zeal like a robe.
63:4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance,
and then payback time arrived. 10
63:5 I looked, but there was no one to help;
I was shocked because there was no one offering support. 11
So my right arm accomplished deliverance;
my raging anger drove me on. 12
63:6 I trampled nations in my anger,
I made them drunk 13 in my rage,
I splashed their blood on the ground.” 14
63:2 Why are your clothes red?
Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat? 15
19:1 Here is a message about Egypt:
Look, the Lord rides on a swift-moving cloud
and approaches Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him;
the Egyptians lose their courage. 16
36:22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake that I am about to act, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy reputation 18 which you profaned among the nations where you went. 36:23 I will magnify 19 my great name that has been profaned among the nations, that you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the sovereign Lord, when I magnify myself among you in their sight.
1 tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them.
2 tn Heb “man” (so KJV, ASV); TEV “no one to help.”
3 tn Or “appalled” (NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “disgusted.”
4 tn Heb “and his arm delivers for him.”
5 tn Heb “and his justice [or “righteousness”] supports him.”
6 tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “goodness.”
7 tn Or “a breastplate” (traditional; so many English versions); TEV “a coat of armour.”
8 tn Heb “and [as] a helmet deliverance on his head.”
9 tn Heb “and he puts on the clothes of vengeance [as] a garment.”
10 tn Heb “for the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my revenge came.” The term גְּאוּלַי (gÿ’ulai) is sometimes translated here “my redemption,” for the verbal root גאל often means “deliver, buy back.” A גֹּאֵל (go’el, “kinsman-redeemer”) was responsible for protecting the extended family’s interests, often by redeeming property that had been sold outside the family. However, the responsibilities of a גֹּאֵל extended beyond financial concerns. He was also responsible for avenging the shed blood of a family member (see Num 35:19-27; Deut 19:6-12). In Isa 63:4, where vengeance is a prominent theme (note the previous line), it is probably this function of the family protector that is in view. The Lord pictures himself as a blood avenger who waits for the day of vengeance to arrive and then springs into action.
11 sn See Isa 59:16 for similar language.
12 tn Heb “and my anger, it supported me”; NIV “my own wrath sustained me.”
13 sn See Isa 49:26 and 51:23 for similar imagery.
14 tn Heb “and I brought down to the ground their juice.” “Juice” refers to their blood (see v. 3).
15 tn Heb “and your garments like one who treads in a vat?”
16 tn Heb “and the heart of Egypt melts within it.”
17 tn Heb “name.”
18 sn In Ezek 20:22 God refrained from punishment for the sake of his holy name. Here God’s reputation is the basis for Israel’s restoration.
19 tn Or “sanctify,” Heb “make holy.”