In all their distress He was distressed, And the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old.
Parallel translations
- WEB In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in his pity he redeemed them. He bore them, and carried them all the days of old.
- KJV In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
- BSB In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
- NKJV In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the Angel of His Presence saved them; In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; And He bore them and carried them All the days of old.
- NLT In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.
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
In all Israel's affliction God was afflicted, and He saved, redeemed, and carried them in love. It matters because it reveals God's deep compassion and personal involvement with His people.
Overview
This tender verse portrays God as so identified with His people that their suffering was His own, and 'the angel of his presence' saved them, language some connect with God's special presence among Israel. He 'bore them, and carried them,' picturing patient, fatherly love through their history. This compassion finds its climax in Christ, Immanuel, who fully shared our afflictions to redeem us (Hebrews 4:15).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 33
- Exod 33:14He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
- Exod 23:20–21“Behold, I send an angel before you, to keep you by the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
- Mal 3:1“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes!” says Yahweh of Armies.
- Acts 12:11When Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I truly know that the Lord has sent out his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from everything the Jewish people were expecting.”
- Acts 7:34–35I have surely seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and have heard their groaning. I have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you into Egypt.’
- Exod 14:19The angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them, and stood behind them.
- Deut 1:31and in the wilderness, where you have seen how that Yahweh your God bore you, as a man does bear his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place.”
- Exod 19:4‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to myself.
- Deut 7:7–8Yahweh didn’t set his love on you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all peoples:
- Ps 106:7–10Our fathers didn’t understand your wonders in Egypt. They didn’t remember the multitude of your loving kindnesses, but were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea.
- Judg 10:16They put away the foreign gods from among them, and served Yahweh; and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
- Ps 78:38But he, being merciful, forgave iniquity, and didn’t destroy them. Yes, many times he turned his anger away, and didn’t stir up all his wrath.
- Gen 48:16the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac. Let them grow into a multitude upon the earth.”
- Deut 32:10–12He found him in a desert land, in the waste howling wilderness. He surrounded him. He cared for him. He kept him as the apple of his eye.
- Heb 4:15For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.
- 1 Jn 4:9–10By this God’s love was revealed in us, that God has sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
- Exod 3:7–9Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
- Rev 1:5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood;
- Rev 5:9They sang a new song, saying, “You are worthy to take the book, and to open its seals: for you were killed, and bought us for God with your blood, out of every tribe, language, people, and nation,
- Hos 12:3–5In the womb he took his brother by the heel; and in his manhood he contended with God.
- Zech 2:8For Yahweh of Armies says: ‘For honor he has sent me to the nations which plundered you; for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye.
- Titus 2:14who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works.
- Isa 46:3–4“Listen to me, house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, that have been carried from their birth, that have been carried from the womb.
- Gen 22:11–17Yahweh’s angel called to him out of the sky, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He said, “Here I am.”
- Heb 2:18For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
- Acts 7:38This is he who was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel that spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received living revelations to give to us,
- Acts 7:30–32“When forty years were fulfilled, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.
- Matt 25:40“The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
- Hos 1:7But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by Yahweh their God, and will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.”
- Matt 25:45“Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’
- Luke 15:5When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
- Acts 9:4He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
- 1 Cor 10:9Let us not test Christ, as some of them tested, and perished by the serpents.
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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 63:9 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
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