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But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
Isaiah 63:10 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB But they rebelled, and grieved his holy Spirit. Therefore he turned and became their enemy, and he himself fought against them.
  • BSB But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.
  • NKJV But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, And He fought against them.
  • NASB But they rebelled And grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them.
  • NLT But they rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he became their enemy and fought against them.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The people rebelled and grieved God's Holy Spirit, so He turned against them. It matters because persistent sin grieves God and brings His discipline.

Overview

Despite God's love, Israel rebelled, and their sin is described as grieving 'his holy Spirit,' one of the Old Testament's clearest references to the Spirit's personal presence. Paul echoes this language in warning believers not to 'grieve the Holy Spirit of God' (Ephesians 4:30). The verse soberly shows that the God who carried His people also opposes their rebellion.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 36

  • Acts 7:51Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
  • Eph 4:30And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
  • Ps 78:56Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies:
  • Ps 78:40How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
  • Jer 21:5And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.
  • Neh 9:16–17But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,
  • Ezek 20:8But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
  • Ps 51:11Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
  • Deut 9:7Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.
  • Neh 9:29And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.
  • Exod 15:24And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
  • Ps 78:8And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.
  • Ezek 2:7And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.
  • Ps 95:9–11When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
  • Deut 32:19–25And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.
  • Ezek 20:21Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.
  • Exod 16:8And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.
  • Ezek 6:9And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
  • Exod 23:21Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
  • Ps 78:49He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.
  • Ezek 20:13But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.
  • Lam 1:18The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity.
  • Num 16:1–35Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
  • Matt 22:7But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
  • Neh 9:26Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.
  • Isa 65:2I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;
  • Lev 26:17–46And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
  • Lam 2:4–5He hath bent his bow like an enemy: he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his fury like fire.
  • Exod 32:8They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
  • Num 14:9–11Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.
  • Isa 1:2Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
  • Deut 28:15–68But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
  • Ezek 2:3And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.
  • Lam 1:20Behold, O LORD; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death.
  • Jer 30:14All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased.
  • Deut 9:22–24And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 63:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).

How Isaiah 63:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.