September 21 – Isaiah 62 and 63 from the Old Testament
Isaiah 62 thru 63 – The Lord Takes Delight in Zion
62:1 “For the sake of Zion I will not be silent;
for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet,
until her vindication shines brightly
and her deliverance burns like a torch.”
62:2 Nations will see your vindication,
and all kings your splendor.
You will be called by a new name
that the Lord himself will give you.
62:3 You will be a majestic crown in the hand of the Lord,
a royal turban in the hand of your God.
62:4 You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,”
and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.”
Indeed, you will be called “My Delight is in Her,”
and your land “Married.”
For the Lord will take delight in you,
and your land will be married to him.
62:5 As a young man marries a young woman,
so your sons will marry you.
As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,
so your God will rejoice over you.
62:6 I post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
they should keep praying all day and all night.
You who pray to the Lord, don’t be silent!
62:7 Don’t allow him to rest until he reestablishes Jerusalem,
until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth.
62:8 The Lord swears an oath by his right hand,
by his strong arm:
“I will never again give your grain
to your enemies as food,
and foreigners will not drink your wine,
which you worked hard to produce.
62:9 But those who harvest the grain will eat it,
and will praise the Lord.
Those who pick the grapes will drink the wine
in the courts of my holy sanctuary.”
62:10 Come through! Come through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people!
Build it! Build the roadway!
Remove the stones!
Lift a signal flag for the nations!
62:11 Look, the Lord announces to the entire earth:
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘Look, your deliverer comes!
Look, his reward is with him
and his reward goes before him!’”
62:12 They will be called, “The Holy People,
the Ones Protected by the Lord.”
You will be called, “Sought After,
City Not Abandoned.”
The Victorious Divine Warrior
63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom,
dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah?
Who is this one wearing royal attire,
who marches confidently because of his great strength?
“It is I, the one who announces vindication,
and who is able to deliver!”
63:2 Why are your clothes red?
Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat?
63:3 “I have stomped grapes in the winepress all by myself;
no one from the nations joined me.
I stomped on them in my anger;
I trampled them down in my rage.
Their juice splashed on my garments,
and stained all my clothes.
63:4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance,
and then payback time arrived.
63:5 I looked, but there was no one to help;
I was shocked because there was no one offering support.
So my right arm accomplished deliverance;
my raging anger drove me on.
63:6 I trampled nations in my anger,
I made them drunk in my rage,
I splashed their blood on the ground.”
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 the Lord did for us,
the many good things he did for the family of Israel,
because of his compassion and great faithfulness.
63:8 He said, “Certainly they will be my people,
children who are not disloyal.”
He became their deliverer.
63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too.
The messenger sent from his very presence delivered them.
In his love and mercy he protected them;
he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times.
63:10 But they rebelled and offended his holy Spirit,
so he turned into an enemy
and fought against them.
63:11 His people remembered the ancient times.
Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea,
along with the shepherd of his flock?
Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them,
63:12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses,
who divided the water before them,
gaining for himself a lasting reputation,
63:13 who led them through the deep water?
Like a horse running on flat land they did not stumble.
63:14 Like an animal that goes down into a valley to graze,
so the Spirit of the Lord granted them rest.
In this way you guided your people,
gaining for yourself an honored reputation.
63:15 Look down from heaven and take notice,
from your holy, majestic palace!
Where are your zeal and power?
Do not hold back your tender compassion!
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.
63:17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray from your ways,
and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your inheritance!
63:18 For a short time your special nation possessed a land,
but then our adversaries knocked down your holy sanctuary.
63:19 We existed from ancient times,
but you did not rule over them,
they were not your subjects.
