1 Who is this man coming from the city of Bozrah in Edom?
His clothes are stained bright red.
Who is he? He is dressed up in all his glory.
He is marching toward us with great strength.
The LORD answers, “It is I.
I have won the battle.
I am mighty.
I have saved my people.”
2 Why are your clothes red?
They look as if you have been stomping
on grapes in a winepress.
3 The LORD answers, “I have been stomping on the nations
as if they were grapes.
No one was there to help me.
I walked all over the nations because I was angry.
That is why I stomped on them.
Their blood splashed all over my clothes.
So my clothes were stained bright red.
4 I decided it was time to pay back Israel’s enemies.
The year for me to set my people free had come.
5 I looked around, but no one was there to help me.
I was shocked that no one gave me any help.
So I used my own power to save my people.
I had the strength to do it because I was angry.
6 I walked all over the nations because I was angry with them.
I made them drink from the cup of my great anger.
I poured out their blood on the ground.”
7 I will talk about the kind things the LORD has done.
I’ll praise him for everything he’s done for us.
He has done many good things
for the nation of Israel.
That’s because he loves us and is very kind to us.
8 In the past he said, “They are my people.
They are children who will be faithful to me.”
So he saved them.
9 When they suffered, he suffered with them.
He sent his angel to save them.
He set them free because he is loving and kind.
He lifted them up and carried them.
He did it again and again in days long ago.
10 But they refused to obey him.
They made his Holy Spirit sad.
So he turned against them and became their enemy.
He himself fought against them.
11 Then his people remembered what he did long ago.
They recalled the days of Moses and his people.
They asked, “Where is the God who brought
Israel through the Red Sea?
Moses led them as the shepherd of his flock.
Where is the God who put
his Holy Spirit among them?
12 He used his glorious and powerful arm
to help Moses.
He parted the waters of the sea in front of them.
That mighty act made him famous forever.
13 He led them through that deep sea.
Like a horse in open country,
they didn’t trip and fall.
14 They were like cattle that are taken down to the plains.
They were given rest by the Spirit of the LORD.”
That’s how he guided his people.
So he made a glorious name for himself.
15 LORD, look down from heaven.
Look down from your holy and glorious throne.
Where is your great love for us?
Where is your power?
Why don’t you show us
your tender love and concern?
16 You are our Father.
Abraham might not accept us as his children.
Jacob might not recognize us as his family.
But you are our Father, LORD.
Your name is One Who Always Sets Us Free.
17 LORD, why do you let us wander away from you?
Why do you let us become so stubborn
that we don’t respect you?
Come back and help us.
We are the tribes that belong to you.
18 For a little while your holy people possessed the land.
But now our enemies have torn your temple down.
19 We are like people you never ruled over.
We are like those who don’t belong to you.
(NIRV) Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV® Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Click here for more copyright information.