Isaiah 63:6-8

63:6 I trampled nations in my anger,

I made them drunk ¹  in my rage,

I splashed their blood on the ground.” ² 

A Prayer for Divine Intervention

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.

Isaiah 63:16-18

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.

[63:6]  ¹ sn See Isa 49:26 and 51:23 for similar imagery.

[63:6]  ² tn Heb “and I brought down to the ground their juice.” “Juice” refers to their blood (see v. 3).

[63:7]  ³ tn Heb “according to all which.”

[63:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “greatness of goodness to the house of Israel which he did for them.”

[63:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “according to.”

[63:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “children [who] do not act deceitfully.” Here the verb refers to covenantal loyalty.

[63:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “our protector [or “redeemer”] from antiquity [is] your name.”

[63:17]  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.

[63:17]  ⁹ tn This probably refers to God’s commands.

[63:17]  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).

[63:18]  ¹¹ tn Or “holy” (ASV, NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT).

[63:18]  ¹² tn Heb “for a short time they had a possession, the people of your holiness.”

[63:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “your adversaries trampled on.”