1Wer ist dieser, der von Edom kommt, von Bozra in hochroten Kleidern, dieser, prächtig in seinem Gewande, der einherzieht in der Größe seiner Kraft? Ich bin's, der in Gerechtigkeit redet, der mächtig ist zu retten. - 2Warum ist Rot an deinem Gewande, und sind deine Kleider wie die eines Keltertreters? - 3Ich habe die Kelter allein getreten, und von den Völkern war niemand bei mir; und ich zertrat sie in meinem Zorn und zerstampfte sie in meinem Grimm; und ihr Saft spritzte auf meine Kleider, und ich besudelte mein ganzes Gewand. 4Denn der Tag der Rache war in meinem Herzen, und das Jahr meiner Erlösung war gekommen. 5Und ich blickte umher, und da war kein Helfer; und ich staunte, und da war kein Unterstützer. Da hat mein Arm mir geholfen, und mein Grimm, er hat mich unterstützt. 6Und ich trat die Völker nieder in meinem Zorn und machte sie trunken in meinem Grimm, und ich ließ ihren Saft zur Erde rinnen. 7Ich will der Gütigkeiten Jehovas gedenken, der Ruhmestaten Jehovas, nach allem, was Jehova uns erwiesen hat, und der großen Güte gegen das Haus Israel, welche er ihnen erwiesen nach seinen Erbarmungen und nach der Menge seiner Gütigkeiten. 8Und er sprach: Sie sind ja mein Volk, Kinder, die nicht trügen werden; und er ward ihnen zum Heiland. 9In all ihrer Bedrängnis war er bedrängt, und der Engel seines Angesichts hat sie gerettet. In seiner Liebe und in seiner Erbarmung hat er sie erlöst; und er hob sie empor und trug sie alle Tage vor alters. 10Sie aber sind widerspenstig gewesen und haben seinen heiligen Geist betrübt; da wandelte er sich ihnen in einen Feind: Er selbst stritt wider sie. 11Da gedachte sein Volk der Tage vor alters, der Tage Moses: "Wo ist der, welcher sie aus dem Meere heraufführte samt den Hirten seiner Herde? Wo ist der, welcher seinen heiligen Geist in ihre Mitte gab; 12der seinen herrlichen Arm zur Rechten Moses einherziehen ließ; der die Wasser vor ihnen her spaltete, um sich einen ewigen Namen zu machen; 13der sie durch die Tiefen ziehen ließ, gleich dem Rosse in der Steppe, ohne daß sie strauchelten? 14Gleich dem Vieh, welches in das Tal hinabsteigt, brachte der Geist Jehovas sie zur Ruhe. Also hast du dein Volk geleitet, um dir einen herrlichen Namen zu machen." - 15"Blicke vom Himmel herab und sieh, von der Wohnstätte deiner Heiligkeit und deiner Majestät! wo sind dein Eifer und deine Machttaten? Die Regung deines Innern und deine Erbarmungen halten sich gegen mich zurück. 16Denn du bist unser Vater; denn Abraham weiß nicht von uns, und Israel kennt uns nicht; du, Jehova, bist unser Vater; unser Erlöser von alters her ist dein Name. 17Warum, Jehova, läßt du uns von deinen Wegen abirren, verhärtest unser Herz, daß wir dich nicht fürchten? Kehre zurück um deiner Knechte willen, der Stämme deines Erbteils! 18Auf eine kleine Zeit hat dein heiliges Volk es besessen: Unsere Widersacher haben dein Heiligtum zertreten. 19Wir sind zu solchen geworden, über die du von alters her nicht geherrscht hast, die nicht genannt gewesen sind nach deinem Namen." -
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 MESSIAH COMING AS THE AVENGER, IN ANSWER TO HIS PEOPLE'S PRAYERS. (Isa. 63:1-19)
Who--the question of the prophet in prophetic vision.
dyed--scarlet with blood (
Ησ. 63:2-
Ησ. 63:3;
Αποκ. 19:13).
Bozrah--(See on
Ησ. 34:6).
travelling--rather, stately; literally, "throwing back the head" [GESENIUS].
speak in righteousness--answer of Messiah. I, who have in faithfulness given a promise of deliverance, am now about to fulfil it. Rather, speak of righteousness (
Ησ. 45:19;
Ησ. 46:13); salvation being meant as the result of His "righteousness" [MAURER].
save--The same Messiah that destroys the unbeliever saves the believer.
2 The prophet asks why His garments are "dyed" and "red."
winefat--rather, the "wine-press," wherein the grapes were trodden with the feet; the juice would stain the garment of him who trod them (
Αποκ. 14:19-
Αποκ. 14:20;
Αποκ. 19:15). The image was appropriate, as the country round Bozrah abounded in grapes. This final blow inflicted by Messiah and His armies (
Αποκ. 19:13-
Αποκ. 19:15) shall decide His claim to the kingdoms u surped by Satan, and by the "beast," to whom Satan delegates his power. It will be a day of judgment to the hostile Gentiles, as His first coming was a day of judgment to the unbelieving Jews.
3 Reply of Messiah. For the image, see
Θρ. 1:15. He "treads the wine-press" here not as a sufferer, but as an inflicter of vengeance.
will tread . . . shall be . . . will stain--rather preterites, "I trod . . . trampled . . . was sprinkled . . . I stained."
blood--literally, "spirited juice" of the grape, pressed out by treading [GESENIUS].
4 is--rather, "was." This assigns the reason why He has thus destroyed the foe (
Σοφ. 3:8).
my redeemed--My people to be redeemed.
day . . . year--here, as in
Ησ. 34:8;
Ησ. 61:2, the time of "vengeance" is described as a "day"; that of grace and of "recompense" to the "redeemed," as a "year."
5 The same words as in
Ησ. 59:16, except that there it is His "righteousness," here it is His "fury," which is said to have upheld Him.
6 Rather, preterites, "I trod down . . . made them drunk." The same image occurs
Ησ. 51:17,
Ησ. 51:21-
Ησ. 51:23;
Ψαλ. 75:8;
Ιερ. 25:26-
Ιερ. 25:27.
will bring down . . . strength to . . . earth--rather, "I spilled their life-blood (the same Hebrew words as in
Ησ. 63:3) on the earth" [LOWTH and Septuagint].
7 Israel's penitential confession and prayer for restoration (
Ψαλ. 102:17,
Ψαλ. 102:20), extending from Isa. 63:7-64:12.
loving-kindnesses . . . praises . . . mercies . . . loving-kindnesses--The plurals and the repetitions imply that language is inadequate to express the full extent of God's goodness.
us--the dispersed Jews at the time just preceding their final restoration.
house of Israel--of all ages; God was good not merely to the Jews now dispersed, but to Israel in every age of its history.
8 he--Jehovah "said," that is, thought, in choosing them as His covenant-people; so "said" (
Ψαλ. 95:10). Not that God was ignorant that the Jews would not keep faith with Him; but God is here said, according to human modes of thought to say within Himself what He might naturally have expected, as the result of His goodness to the Jews; thus the enormity of their unnatural perversity is the more vividly set forth.
lie--prove false to Me (compare
Ψαλ. 44:17).
so--in virtue of His having chosen them, He became their Saviour. So the "therefore" (
Ιερ. 31:33). His eternal choice is the ground of His actually saving men (
Εφεσ. 1:3-
Εφεσ. 1:4).
9 he was afflicted--English Version reads the Hebrew as the Keri (Margin), does, "There was affliction to Him." But the Chetib (text) reads, "There was no affliction" (the change in Hebrew being only of one letter); that is, "In all their affliction there was no (utterly overwhelming) affliction" [GESENIUS]; or, for "Hardly had an affliction befallen them, when the angel of His presence saved them" [MAURER]; or, as best suits the parallelism, "In all their straits there was no straitness in His goodness to them" [HOUBIGANT], (
Κρ. 10:16;
Μιχ. 2:7;
2Κορ. 6:12).
angel of his presence--literally, "of His face," that is, who stands before Him continually; Messiah (
Έξ. 14:19;
Έξ. 23:20-
Έξ. 23:21;
Παρ. 8:30), language applicable to no creature (
Έξ. 32:34;
Έξ. 33:2,
Έξ. 33:14;
Αρ. 20:16;
Μαλ. 3:1).
bare them-- (
Ησ. 46:3-
Ησ. 46:4;
Ησ. 40:11;
Έξ. 19:4;
Δευτ. 32:11-
Δευτ. 32:12).
10 vexed--grieved (
Ψαλ. 78:40;
Ψαλ. 95:10;
Πράξ. 7:51;
Εφεσ. 4:30;
Εβρ. 3:10,
Εβρ. 3:17).
he fought--rather, "He it was that fought," namely, the angel of His presence [HORSLEY], (
Θρ. 2:5).
11 remembered--Notwithstanding their perversity, He forgot not His covenant of old; therefore He did not wholly forsake them (
Λευ. 26:40-
Λευ. 26:42,
Λευ. 26:44-
Λευ. 26:45;
Ψαλ. 106:45-
Ψαλ. 106:46); the Jews make this their plea with God, that He should not now forsake them.
saying--God is represented, in human language, mentally speaking of Himself and His former acts of love to Israel, as His ground for pitying them notwithstanding their rebellion.
sea--Red Sea.
shepherd--Moses; or if the Hebrew be read plural, "shepherds," Moses, Aaron, and the other leaders (so
Ψαλ. 77:20).
put . . . Spirit . . . within him--Hebrew, "in the inward parts of him," that is, Moses; or it refers to the flock, "in the midst of his people" (
Αρ. 11:17,
Αρ. 11:25;
Νεεμ. 9:20;
Αγγ. 2:5).
12 The right hand of Moses was but the instrument; the arm of God was the real mover (
Έξ. 15:6;
Έξ. 14:21).
dividing the water-- (
Νεεμ. 9:11;
Ψαλ. 78:13).
13 deep--literally, "the tossing and roaring sea."
wilderness--rather, the "open plain" [HORSLEY], wherein there is no obstacle to cause a horse in its course the danger of stumbling.
14 As a beast . . . rest--image from a herd led "down" from the hills to a fertile and well-watered "valley" (
Ψαλ. 23:2); so God's Spirit "caused Israel to rest" in the promised land after their weary wanderings.
to make . . . name--(So
Ησ. 63:12;
2Σαμ. 7:23).
15 Here begins a fervent appeal to God to pity Israel now on the ground of His former benefits.
habitation of . . . holiness-- (
Ησ. 57:15;
Δευτ. 26:15;
2Χρ. 30:27;
Ψαλ. 33:14;
Ψαλ. 80:14).
zeal . . . strength--evinced formerly for Thy people.
sounding of . . . bowels--Thine emotions of compassion (
Ησ. 16:11;
Ιερ. 31:20;
Ιερ. 48:36;
Ωσ. 11:8).
16 thou . . . father--of Israel, by right not merely of creation, but also of electing adoption (
Ησ. 64:8;
Δευτ. 32:6;
1Χρ. 29:10).
though Abraham . . . Israel--It had been the besetting temptation of the Jews to rest on the mere privilege of their descent from faithful Abraham and Jacob (
Ματθ. 3:9;
Ιωάν. 8:39;
Ιωάν. 4:12); now at last they renounce this, to trust in God alone as their Father, notwithstanding all appearances to the contrary. Even though Abraham, our earthly father, on whom we have prided ourselves, disown us, Thou wilt not (
Ησ. 49:15;
Ψαλ. 27:10). Isaac is not mentioned, because not all his posterity was admitted to the covenant, whereas all Jacob's was; Abraham is specified because he was the first father of the Jewish race.
everlasting--an argument why He should help them, namely, because of His everlasting immutability.
17 made us to err--that is, "suffer" us to err and to be hardened in our heart. They do not mean to deny their own blameworthiness, but confess that through their own fault God gave them over to a reprobate mind (
Ησ. 6:9-
Ησ. 6:10;
Ψαλ. 119:10;
Ρωμ. 1:28).
Return-- (
Αρ. 10:36;
Ψαλ. 90:13).
18 people of . . . holiness--Israel dedicated as holy unto God (
Ησ. 62:12;
Δευτ. 7:6).
possessed--namely, the Holy Land, or Thy "sanctuary," taken from the following clause, which is parallel to this (compare
Ησ. 64:10-
Ησ. 64:11;
Ψαλ. 74:6-
Ψαλ. 74:8).
thy--an argument why God should help them; their cause is His cause.
19 thine . . . never--rather, "We are Thine from of old; Thou barest not rule over them" [BARNES]. LOWTH translates, "We for long have been as those over whom Thou hast not ruled, who are not called by Thy name"; "for long" thus stands in contrast to "but a little while" (
Ησ. 63:18). But the analogy of
Ησ. 63:18 makes it likely that the first clause in this verse refers to the Jews, and the second to their foes, as English Version and BARNES translate it. The Jews' foes are aliens who have unjustly intruded into the Lord's heritage.