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64 O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
    so that the mountains would quake at your presence—
[a] as when fire kindles brushwood
    and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
    so that the nations might tremble at your presence!
When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,
    you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
From ages past no one has heard,
    no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
    who works for those who wait for him.
You meet those who gladly do right,
    those who remember you in your ways.
But you were angry, and we sinned;
    because you hid yourself we transgressed.[b]
We have all become like one who is unclean,
    and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.
We all fade like a leaf,
    and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
There is no one who calls on your name,
    or attempts to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
    and have delivered[c] us into the hand of our iniquity.
Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;
    we are the clay, and you are our potter;
    we are all the work of your hand.
Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord,
    and do not remember iniquity forever.
    Now consider, we are all your people.
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness,
    Zion has become a wilderness,
    Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and beautiful house,
    where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned by fire,
    and all our pleasant places have become ruins.
12 After all this, will you restrain yourself, O Lord?
    Will you keep silent, and punish us so severely?

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 64:2 Ch 64.1 in Heb
  2. Isaiah 64:5 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  3. Isaiah 64:7 Gk Syr Old Latin Tg: Heb melted

64 [a] If only you would tear open the heavens and come down!
    Mountains would quake before you
    like fire igniting brushwood or making water boil.
[b] If you would make your name known to your enemies,
    the nations would tremble in your presence.

When you accomplished wonders beyond all our expectations;
    when you came down, mountains quaked before you.
From ancient times,
    no one has heard,
    no ear has perceived,
    no eye has seen any god but you
    who acts on behalf of those who wait for him![c]
You look after those who gladly do right;
    they will praise you for your ways.[d]
But you were angry when we sinned;
    you hid yourself when we did wrong.[e]
We have all become like the unclean;
    all our righteous deeds are like a menstrual rag.
All of us wither like a leaf;
    our sins, like the wind, carry us away.
No one calls on your name;
    no one bothers to hold on to you,
    for you have hidden yourself from us,
    and have handed us over[f] to our sin.

But now, Lord, you are our father.
    We are the clay, and you are our potter.
    All of us are the work of your hand.
Don’t rage so fiercely, Lord;
    don’t hold our sins against us forever,
    but gaze now on your people, all of us:
10     Your holy cities have become a wilderness;
    Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a wasteland.
11 Our holy, glorious house,
    where our ancestors praised you,
    has gone up in flames;
    all that we treasured has become a ruin.
12 After all this, will you hold back, Lord?
    Will you keep silent and torment us so terribly?

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 64:1 63:19b in Heb
  2. Isaiah 64:2 64:1 in Heb
  3. Isaiah 64:4 Heb uncertain
  4. Isaiah 64:5 Heb uncertain
  5. Isaiah 64:5 Heb uncertain
  6. Isaiah 64:7 LXX, cf Syr, Tg, Vulg; MT melted

64 (2) It would be like fire kindling the brush,
and the fire then makes the water boil.
Then your enemies would know your name,
the nations would tremble before you!
(3) When you did tremendous things
that we were not expecting,
we wished that you would come down,
so that the mountains would shake at your presence!
(4) No one has ever heard,
no ear perceived, no eye seen,
any God but you.
You work for him who waits for you.
(5) You favored those who were glad to do justice,
those who remembered you in your ways.
When you were angry, we kept sinning;
but if we keep your ancient ways, we will be saved.
(6) All of us are like someone unclean,
all our righteous deeds like menstrual rags;
we wither, all of us, like leaves;
and our misdeeds blow us away like the wind.
(7) No one calls on your name
or bestirs himself to take hold of you,
for you have hidden your face from us
and caused our misdeeds to destroy us.

(8) But now, Adonai, you are our father;
we are the clay, you are our potter;
and we are all the work of your hands.
(9) Do not be so very angry, Adonai!
Don’t remember crime forever.
Look, please, we are all your people.
(10) Your holy cities have become a desert,
Tziyon a desert, Yerushalayim a ruin.
10 (11) Our holy, beautiful house,
where our ancestors used to praise you,
has been burned to the ground;
all we cherished has been ruined.
11 (12) Adonai, after all this,
will you still hold back?
Will you still stay silent
and punish us past endurance?