63:7 I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord,
of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds.
I will tell about all 1 the Lord did for us,
the many good things he did for the family of Israel, 2
because of 3 his compassion and great faithfulness.
63:8 He said, “Certainly they will be my people,
children who are not disloyal.” 4
He became their deliverer.
63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. 5
The messenger sent from his very presence 6 delivered them.
In his love and mercy he protected 7 them;
he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. 8
63:10 But they rebelled and offended 9 his holy Spirit, 10
so he turned into an enemy
and fought against them.
1 tn Heb “according to all which.”
2 tn Heb “greatness of goodness to the house of Israel which he did for them.”
3 tn Heb “according to.”
4 tn Heb “children [who] do not act deceitfully.” Here the verb refers to covenantal loyalty.
5 tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).
6 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.
7 tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”
8 tn Heb “all the days of antiquity”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “days of old.”
9 tn Or “grieved, hurt the feelings of.”
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.