63:6 I trampled nations in my anger,
I made them drunk 1 in my rage,
I splashed their blood on the ground.” 2
63:7 I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord,
of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds.
I will tell about all 3 the Lord did for us,
the many good things he did for the family of Israel, 4
because of 5 his compassion and great faithfulness.
63:8 He said, “Certainly they will be my people,
children who are not disloyal.” 6
He became their deliverer.
63:16 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. 7
63:17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray 8 from your ways, 9
and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you? 10
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your inheritance!
63:18 For a short time your special 11 nation possessed a land, 12
but then our adversaries knocked down 13 your holy sanctuary.
1 sn See Isa 49:26 and 51:23 for similar imagery.
2 tn Heb “and I brought down to the ground their juice.” “Juice” refers to their blood (see v. 3).
3 tn Heb “according to all which.”
4 tn Heb “greatness of goodness to the house of Israel which he did for them.”
5 tn Heb “according to.”
6 tn Heb “children [who] do not act deceitfully.” Here the verb refers to covenantal loyalty.
7 tn Heb “our protector [or “redeemer”] from antiquity [is] your name.”
8 tn Some suggest a tolerative use of the Hiphil here, “[why do] you allow us to stray?” (cf. NLT). Though the Hiphil of תָעָה (ta’ah) appears to be tolerative in Jer 50:6, elsewhere it is preferable or necessary to take it as causative. See Isa 3:12; 9:15; and 30:28, as well as Gen 20:13; 2 Kgs 21:9; Job 12:24-25; Prov 12:26; Jer 23:13, 32; Hos 4:12; Amos 2:4; Mic 3:5.
9 tn This probably refers to God’s commands.
10 tn Heb “[Why do] you harden our heart[s] so as not to fear you.” The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
11 tn Or “holy” (ASV, NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT).
12 tn Heb “for a short time they had a possession, the people of your holiness.”
13 tn Heb “your adversaries trampled on.”