63:8 He said, “Certainly they will be my people,
children who are not disloyal.” 1
He became their deliverer.
63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. 2
The messenger sent from his very presence 3 delivered them.
In his love and mercy he protected 4 them;
he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. 5
63:10 But they rebelled and offended 6 his holy Spirit, 7
so he turned into an enemy
and fought against them.
1 tn Heb “children [who] do not act deceitfully.” Here the verb refers to covenantal loyalty.
2 tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).
3 tn Heb “the messenger [or “angel”] of his face”; NIV “the angel of his presence.”
4 tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”
5 tn Heb “all the days of antiquity”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “days of old.”
3 tn Or “grieved, hurt the feelings of.”
4 sn The phrase “holy Spirit” occurs in the OT only here (in v. 11 as well) and in Ps 51:11 (51:13 HT), where it is associated with the divine presence.