64 [a]If only You would tear the heavens open
and come down,(A)
so that mountains would quake at Your presence(B)
[b]as fire kindles the brushwood,
and fire causes water to boil—
to make Your name known to Your enemies,
so that nations will tremble at Your presence!
When You did awesome works(C)
that we did not expect,
You came down,(D)
and the mountains quaked at Your presence.
From ancient times no one has heard,
no one has listened,
no eye has seen any God except You,
who acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him.(E)
You welcome the one who joyfully does what is right;
they remember You in Your ways.
But we have sinned, and You were angry.
How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?[c]
All of us have become like something unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like a polluted[d] garment;(F)
all of us wither like a leaf,(G)
and our iniquities(H) carry us away like the wind.
No one calls on Your name,
striving to take hold of You.
For You have hidden Your face from us(I)
and made us melt because of[e][f] our iniquity.

Yet Lord, You are our Father;(J)
we are the clay, and You are our potter;
we all are the work of Your hands.(K)
Lord, do not be terribly angry
or remember our iniquity forever.(L)
Please look—all of us are Your people!
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.(M)
11 Our holy and beautiful[g] temple,
where our fathers praised You,
has been burned with fire,
and all that was dear to us lies in ruins.(N)
12 Lord, after all this, will You restrain Yourself?
Will You keep silent and afflict severely?(O)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 64:1 Is 63:19b in Hb
  2. Isaiah 64:2 Is 64:1 in Hb
  3. Isaiah 64:5 Lit angry; in them continually and we will be saved; Hb obscure
  4. Isaiah 64:6 Lit menstrual
  5. Isaiah 64:7 LXX, Syr, Vg, Tg read and delivered us into the hand of
  6. Isaiah 64:7 Lit melt by the hand
  7. Isaiah 64:11 Or glorious; Is 60:7

64 [a]Oh, that you would rend the heavens(A) and come down,(B)
    that the mountains(C) would tremble before you!
As when fire sets twigs ablaze
    and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name(D) known to your enemies
    and cause the nations to quake(E) before you!
For when you did awesome(F) things that we did not expect,
    you came down, and the mountains trembled(G) before you.
Since ancient times no one has heard,
    no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,(H)
    who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.(I)
You come to the help of those who gladly do right,(J)
    who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
    you were angry.(K)
    How then can we be saved?
All of us have become like one who is unclean,(L)
    and all our righteous(M) acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,(N)
    and like the wind our sins sweep us away.(O)
No one(P) calls on your name(Q)
    or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden(R) your face from us
    and have given us over(S) to[b] our sins.

Yet you, Lord, are our Father.(T)
    We are the clay, you are the potter;(U)
    we are all the work of your hand.(V)
Do not be angry(W) beyond measure, Lord;
    do not remember our sins(X) forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
    for we are all your people.(Y)
10 Your sacred cities(Z) have become a wasteland;
    even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation.(AA)
11 Our holy and glorious temple,(AB) where our ancestors praised you,
    has been burned with fire,
    and all that we treasured(AC) lies in ruins.
12 After all this, Lord, will you hold yourself back?(AD)
    Will you keep silent(AE) and punish us beyond measure?

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 64:1 In Hebrew texts 64:1 is numbered 63:19b, and 64:2-12 is numbered 64:1-11.
  2. Isaiah 64:7 Septuagint, Syriac and Targum; Hebrew have made us melt because of