Isaiah 63:2 — Word Study
WLCמַדּ֥וּעַ אָדֹ֖ם לִלְבוּשֶׁ֑ךָ וּבְגָדֶ֖יךָ כְּדֹרֵ֥ךְ בְּגַֽת׃
BSAWhymaddûwaʻ [for what reason] are Your clotheslᵉbûwsh [garments, apparel] redʼâdôm [ruddy] and Your garmentsbeged [robe, clothing] like one who treadsdârak [walks on] the winepressgath [wine vat, press, a container for squeezing grapes]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| מַדּ֥וּעַ | why? | Particle |
| אָדֹ֖ם | [does] redness | Adj |
| לִלְבוּשֶׁ֑ךָ | [belong] to clothing your | Preposition, noun common masculine singular construct, suffix |
| וּבְגָדֶ֖יךָ | and [are] garments? your | Conjunction, noun common masculine plural construct, suffix |
| כְּדֹרֵ֥ךְ | like [one who] treads | Preposition, verb qal participle (active) masculine singular |
| בְּגַֽת׃ | in a winepress | Preposition, noun common feminine singular absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Why are Your clothes red, and Your garments like one who treads the winepress? |
| KJV | Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? |
| ASV | Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat? |
| YLT | 'Wherefore [is] thy clothing red? And thy garments as treading in a wine fat?' |
| WEB | Why is your clothing red, and your garments like him who treads in the wine vat? |
| BBE | Why is your clothing red, and why are your robes like those of one who is crushing the grapes? |
The translations agree on the essential meaning of the inquiry regarding the red garments.
The verse consists of a main clause followed by a predicate that elaborates on the inquiry, creating a cohesive question.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Isaiah 63:2
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Coming Judgmentgenerated
Isaiah 63:2 presents a dramatic scene where a figure, possibly divine, approaches from Edom, adorned in crimson garments. This passage reflects themes of vengeance and redemption, as the figure is portrayed as mighty to save yet also capable of executing judgment. The inquiry about the red garments introduces a profound exploration of the reasons behind divine actions, setting the stage for the subsequent verses that reveal the nature of the figure's mission.
Cross References
The Key Word — מַדּוּעַ, ma.Du.a'generated
The word מַדּוּעַ (maddua) means 'why?' and is used to inquire about reasons or causes. It is derived from a root associated with knowledge, emphasizing a quest for understanding. In this verse, it serves as a direct question, seeking to uncover the rationale behind the striking image of red garments.
This particle appears frequently in the Hebrew Bible, often in contexts that express curiosity or a desire for clarification. Its use here highlights the tension between the figure's appearance and the expected norms of judgment, prompting deeper reflection on the implications of such imagery.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
The verse is rendered in the Berean Standard Bible as well as the KJV and ASV, all of which maintain the inquiry about the red garments.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of the verse is governed by two main clauses: the first poses a question about the red garments, and the second compares them to the actions of one who treads the winepress. This arrangement emphasizes the inquiry and the metaphorical comparison, creating a vivid image of the figure's actions.
The syntax highlights the contrast between the figure's appearance and the expected outcome of their actions, drawing attention to the significance of the red garments as a symbol of judgment.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates מַדּוּעַ as τί, which also means 'why?' This choice aligns with the inquiry nature of the original Hebrew, maintaining the question's essence.
The Greek word ἐρυθρὰ for 'red' reflects a direct correspondence to the Hebrew אָדֹם, preserving the imagery of the garments while also potentially expanding the connotation of the color.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Isaiah 63:2 asks why the figure's clothes are red, comparing them to someone who treads a winepress. This imagery suggests themes of judgment and victory, inviting readers to reflect on the reasons behind such a striking appearance.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
The red clothing symbolizes judgment and the consequences of divine actions, as the figure is depicted as one who has trampled the nations.
The question highlights the contrast between the figure's appearance and the expected norms of judgment, prompting deeper reflection on the nature of divine intervention.
The inquiry about the red garments sets the stage for the revelation of the figure's mission, which encompasses both judgment and the promise of redemption.
Imagery and metaphor are prominent, particularly in the comparison of the garments to those who tread the winepress, enhancing the vividness of the scene.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What does the imagery of red garments evoke for you in terms of divine judgment?
- How can understanding the context of this verse deepen your insight into the character of God?
- In what ways do you see themes of judgment and redemption intersecting in your own life?
- How does this verse challenge your perceptions of divine actions and their implications?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Jerome comments on this verse, questioning the significance of the red garments in the context of divine judgment.
Why then is your garment red, and your clothing like one who treads in the winepress? LXX: Why are your garments red, and your clothes like those who tread the winepress, full of trampled grapes? Where it is now spoken of as red,Early Church Fathers on Isaiah 63 →
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Isaiah 63:2 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleWherefore art thou red in thy apparel,.... Christ having satisfied the church as to her first question, concerning his person, who he was; she puts a second to him, about the colour of his garments,
Read John Gill on Isaiah 63 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryWherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? Wherefore (art thou) red in thine apparel?
Read Robert Jamieson on Isaiah 63 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleHaving inquired of the person, now he inquires the reason of his habit being thus sprinkled.
Read Matthew Poole on Isaiah 63 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsIsaiah 63:2 Wherefore [art thou] red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?Ver. 2. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel?] The wondering Church had proposed two questions in Isaiah 63:1 - viz., Who that was? and why so bloodied? To the first she bad an answer in few, but very full in Isaiah 63:1. To the second, she here again presseth for an answer; and the rather because, candor magis quam cruor, clemency would better beseem a Saviour than cruelty. Augustine.
Read John Trapp on Isaiah 63 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(2) Wherefore art thou red . . .?—The wondering question shows that the colour is not that of the warrior’s usual dress. The Hebrew word for “red” (âdom) connects itself with Edom (comp. Genesis 25:30), as batsir (“vintage”) probably with Bozrah.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Isaiah 63 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 2. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel] For ללבושך lilebushecha, twenty-nine MSS. (nine ancient) of Kennicott's, and thirty of De Rossi's, and one edition, have ללבושיך lilebusheycha in the plural; so the Septuagint and Syriac. And all the ancient Versions read it with מ mem, instead of the first ל lamed. But the true reading is probably מלבושך malbushecha in the singular, as in Isaiah 63:3. - L.
Read AdamClarke on Isaiah 63 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges2. The meaning of Jehovah’s appearing is not yet explained, and so the dialogue proceeds. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel] Better, Wherefore is there red on thine apparel; the form of the question indicating that the red colour is not that of the vesture itself but is something adventitious. “Red” (’βdτm) is suggested by Edom, just as the figure of the winepress may be suggested by the resemblance of Boηrβh (Isaiah 63:1) to bβηξr (vintage). The figure, however, is in itself an appropriate one; the winepress appearing “as an emblem on the coins of Bostra during the Roman rule” (Cheyne, Comm.). 3 ff. Jehovah’s answer, disclosing the reason of His appearing. I have trodden the…
Read Cambridge on Isaiah 63 →Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleWherefore art thou red? - The inquiry of the people. Whence is it that that gorgeous apparel is stained with blood? And thy garment like him that treadeth in the wine-fat?
Read Albert Barnes on Isaiah 63 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
Why are Your clothes red, and Your garments like one who treads the winepress?
Why is your clothing red, and your garments like him who treads in the wine vat?
Why are Your clothes red, and Your garments like one who treads the winepress?
Why are your clothes red? Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat?
Tyndale line
Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?
Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat?
Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?
Why art thou red in thy apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-vat.
Wherefore is thine apparel red, and thy garments like him that treadeth in ye wine presse?
Strictly literal
— Wherefore is redness in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat?
'Wherefore [is] thy clothing red? And thy garments as treading in a wine fat?'
Why [is] Your clothing red? And Your garments as treading in a winepress?
Why is redness on thy apparel, and [why are] thy garments as of one that treadeth the wine-press?
Why are your clothes red, and why do they look like you have been treading grapes in a winepress?
From the Latin
Why then is thy apparel red, and thy garments like theirs that tread in the winepress?
Simplified
Why are your clothes red, like you've been treading grapes in a winepress?
Why is your clothing red, and why are your robes like those of one who is crushing the grapes?
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint agree closely in their wording, with the Septuagint providing a direct translation of the Hebrew. The Dead Sea Scrolls also align with the Masoretic Text, confirming the integrity of the verse's wording across these ancient witnesses.
מַדּ֥וּעַ אָדֹ֖ם לִלְבוּשֶׁ֑ךָ וּבְגָדֶ֖יךָ כְּדֹרֵ֥ךְ בְּגַֽת׃
6 of the 6 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
מדוע אדום ללבוש׳כה ובגדי׳ך כדורך בגד
6 words on the leather.
מדוע אדם ללבוש׳ך [ובגדי׳ך] כדורך בגת
5 words on the leather — 1 supplied entire by an editor.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Isaiah 63:2
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
מַדּוּעַ (maddua) means 'why?' or 'wherefore?'. It is derived from the root meaning 'to know' and is used to inquire about reasons or causes. The entries consistently define it as an adverbial term questioning the basis for something.
מַדּוּעַ 61 and מַדֻּעַ adv. wherefore?
base
H4069 מַדּוּעַ, מַדֻּעַ wherefore?
4069 madduwa` mad-doo'-ah
or madduaa {mad-doo'-ah}; from 4100 and the passive
participle of 3045; what (is) known?; i.e. (by implication)
(adverbially) why?:--how, wherefore, why.
see HEBREW for 04100
see HEBREW for 03045
מַדּוּעַ (mad.du.a) — why?.
why?, on what account?, wherefore?
Part — ParticleHTi
אָדֹם (adom) is an adjective meaning 'red' or 'ruddy,' used to describe various things like people, animals, and objects. The noun form אֱדֹם (edom) refers to a type of condiment. The word is built from the root associated with the color red, as indicated in the entries.
אָדֹם adj. red.
base
אֱדֹם n.[m.] name of a condiment.
base
H122a אָדֹם red.H122b אֱדֹם name of a condiment.
122 'adom aw-dome'
from 119; rosy:--red, ruddy.
see HEBREW for 0119
אָדֹם (a.dom) — red.
red, ruddy (of man, horse, heifer, garment, water, lentils)
אֱדֹם (e.dom) — red stuff.
name of a condiment
Adj — AdjHAamsa
לְבוּשׁ (lebush) refers to clothing or garments in a literal or figurative sense, and can also imply a euphemism for a wife. It encompasses terms like apparel and raiment. The word is derived from a root meaning related to clothing, and its Aramaic equivalent is noted as well.
לְבוּשׁ, לְבֻשׁ n.m. garment, clothing, raiment
base
H3830 לְבוּשׁ, לְבֻשׁ garment, clothing, raiment
3830 lbuwsh leb-oosh'
or lbush {leb-oosh'}; from 3847; a garment (literally or
figuratively); by implication (euphem.) a wife:--apparel,
clothed with, clothing, garment, raiment, vestment, vesture.
see HEBREW for 03847
לְבוּשׁ (le.vush) — clothing.
clothing, garment, apparel, raiment
Aramaic equivalent: le.vush (לְבוּשׁ "garment" H3831)
Prep | N-ms | Suff — Preposition · noun common masculine singular construct · suffixHR/Ncmsc/Sp2ms
בֶּ֫גֶד (beged) has meanings related to both clothing and treachery. It can refer to a garment or covering, as well as deceit or betrayal. The word is built from a root that suggests a duality in its usage, appearing in contexts that range from apparel to treacherous actions, notably in Isaiah 24:16 and Jeremiah 12:1.
H899a בֶּ֫גֶד treachery H899b בֶּ֫גֶד garment, covering
899 beged behg'-ed
from 898; a covering, i.e. clothing; also treachery or
pillage:--apparel, cloth(-es, ing), garment, lap, rag,
raiment, robe, X very (treacherously), vesture, wardrobe.
see HEBREW for 0898
בֶּ֫גֶד (be.ged) — treachery.
treachery, deceit
בֶּ֫גֶד (be.ged) — garment.
(CLBL) garment, clothing (used indiscriminately)
Conj | N-mp | Suff — Conjunction · noun common masculine plural construct · suffixHC/Ncmpc/Sp2ms
דָּרַךְ (darakh) is a Hebrew verb meaning to tread or march. It encompasses a range of actions including walking, leading, and bending a bow. The word appears in various forms, such as Qal and Hiphil, indicating both simple and causative actions. Notably, it can refer to treading down or guiding others.
דָּרַךְ vb. tread, march
Qal
tread, march, march forth
tread upon
tread wine- (or oil-) press
tread (i.e. bend) the bow
Hiph.
tread, tread down
tread (bend) the bow
causat. cause to tread or march, lead
base
H1869 דָּרַךְ tread, march
1869 darak daw-rak'
a primitive root; to tread; by implication, to walk; also to
string a bow (by treading on it in bending):--archer, bend,
come, draw, go (over), guide, lead (forth), thresh, tread
(down), walk.
דָּרַךְ (da.rakh) — to tread.
1) to tread, bend, lead, march
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to tread, march, march forth
1a2) to tread on, tread upon
1a3) to tread (a press)
1a4) to tread (bend) a bow
1a5) archer, bow-benders (participle)
1b) (Hiphil)
1b1) to tread, tread down
1b2) to tread (bend with the foot) a bow
1b3) to cause to go, lead, march, tread
Prep | V-Qal — Preposition · verb qal participle (active) masculine singularHR/Vqrmsa
גַּת (gat) refers to a wine-press or vat used for treading out grapes. The term likely derives from a root meaning to tread, indicating its function in winemaking. All entries consistently define it as a wine-press, with no significant disagreement noted among the lexicons.
גַּת n.f. wine-press
base
H1660 גַּת wine-press
1660 gath gath
probably from 5059 (in the sense of treading out grapes); a
wine-press (or vat for holding the grapes in pressing them):--
(wine-)press (fat).
see HEBREW for 05059
גַּת (gat) — wine press.
winepress, wine vat
Prep | N-fs — Preposition · noun common feminine singular absoluteHR/Ncfsa
From the scanty notices contained in the Bible we gather that, the wine-presses of the Jews consisted of two receptacles of vats placed at different elevations, in the upper one of which the grapes were trodden, while the lower one received the expressed juice. The two vats are mentioned together only in (Joel 3:13) "The press is full: the fats overflow" --the upper vat being full of fruit, the lower one overflowing with the must. [WINE] The two vats were usually hewn out of the solid rock. (Isaiah 5:2) margin; (Matthew 21:33) Ancient winepresses, so constructed, are still to he seen in Palestine.