Isaiah 63:9-11
New English Translation
9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too.[a]
The messenger sent from his very presence[b] delivered them.
In his love and mercy he protected[c] them;
he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times.[d]
10 But they rebelled and offended[e] his holy Spirit,[f]
so he turned into an enemy
and fought against them.
11 His people remembered the ancient times.[g]
Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea,
along with the shepherd of[h] his flock?
Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them,[i]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 63:9 tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).
- Isaiah 63:9 tn Heb “the messenger [or “angel”] of his face”; NIV “the angel of his presence.”sn This may refer to the “angel of God” mentioned in Exod 14:19, who in turn may be identical to the divine “presence” (literally, “face”) referred to in Exod 33:14-15 and Deut 4:37. Here in Isa 63 this messenger may be equated with God’s “holy Spirit” (see vv. 10-11) and “the Spirit of the Lord” (v. 14). See also Ps 139:7, where God’s “Spirit” seems to be equated with his “presence” (literally, “face”) in the synonymous parallelistic structure.
- Isaiah 63:9 tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”
- Isaiah 63:9 tn Heb “all the days of antiquity”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “days of old.”
- Isaiah 63:10 tn Or “grieved, hurt the feelings of.”
- Isaiah 63:10 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.
- Isaiah 63:11 tn Heb “and he remembered the days of antiquity, Moses, his people.” The syntax of the statement is unclear. The translation assumes that “his people” is the subject of the verb “remembered.” If original, “Moses” is in apposition to “the days of antiquity,” more precisely identifying the time period referred to. However, the syntactical awkwardness suggests that “Moses” may have been an early marginal note (perhaps identifying “the shepherd of his flock” two lines later) that has worked its way into the text.
- Isaiah 63:11 tn The Hebrew text has a plural form, which if retained and taken as a numerical plural, would probably refer to Moses, Aaron, and the Israelite tribal leaders at the time of the Exodus. Most prefer to emend the form to the singular (רָעָה, raʿah) and understand this as a reference just to Moses.
- Isaiah 63:11 sn See the note at v. 10.
Isaiah 63:9-11
New International Version
9 In all their distress he too was distressed,
and the angel(A) of his presence(B) saved them.[a]
In his love and mercy he redeemed(C) them;
he lifted them up and carried(D) them
all the days of old.(E)
10 Yet they rebelled(F)
and grieved his Holy Spirit.(G)
So he turned and became their enemy(H)
and he himself fought(I) against them.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 63:9 Or Savior 9 in their distress. / It was no envoy or angel / but his own presence that saved them
- Isaiah 63:11 Or But may he recall
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