Isaiah 64
New American Standard Bible
Prayer for Mercy and Help
64 [a]Oh, that You would tear open the heavens and (A)come down,
That the mountains would (B)quake at Your presence—
2 [b]As fire kindles brushwood, as fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the (C)nations may tremble at Your presence!
3 When You did (D)awesome things which we did not expect,
You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence.
4 For from days of old (E)they have not heard or perceived by ear,
Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,
Who acts in behalf of one who (F)waits for Him.
5 You (G)meet him who rejoices in (H)doing righteousness,
Who (I)remembers You in Your ways.
Behold, (J)You were angry, for we sinned,
We continued in [c]our sins for a long time;
Yet shall we be saved?
6 For all of us have become like one who is (K)unclean,
And all our (L)righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us (M)wither like a leaf,
And our (N)wrongdoings, like the wind, take us away.
7 There is (O)no one who calls on Your name,
Who stirs himself to take hold of You;
For You have (P)hidden Your face from us
And have [d]surrendered us to the power of our wrongdoings.
8 But now, Lord, (Q)You are our Father;
We are the (R)clay, and You our potter,
And all of us are the (S)work of Your hand.
9 Do not be (T)angry beyond measure, Lord,
(U)Nor remember wrongdoing forever.
Behold, please look, all of us are (V)Your people.
10 Your (W)holy cities have become a (X)wilderness,
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and beautiful (Y)house,
Where our fathers praised You,
Has been burned by fire;
And (Z)all our precious things have become a ruin.
12 Will You (AA)restrain Yourself at these things, Lord?
Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?
Footnotes
- Isaiah 64:1 Ch 63:19b in Heb
- Isaiah 64:2 Ch 64:1 in Heb
- Isaiah 64:5 Lit them
- Isaiah 64:7 As in DSS and ancient versions; MT melted
Isaiah 64
The Voice
64 If only You would rip open the heavens
and come down to earth—
Its heights and depths would quake the moment You appear,
2 Like kindling when it just begins to catch fire, or like water that’s about to boil.
If only You would come like that so that all who deny or hate You
Would know who You are and be terrified of Your grandeur.
The prophet is convinced that there is no hope apart from God’s decisive action. It is not enough to address God’s people and the nations and urge them to do better next time. The world cannot be repaired this way; in fact, it can’t be repaired from below at all. It must be made new from above. So the prophet turns to God and utters a prayer, “Rip open the heavens. Come down. Strike your enemies with terror. Do for us what You did for Your people in times past.” This is what it will take to restore God’s people, illumine the nations, and repair a world desperately broken by sin.
3 We remember that long ago You did amazing things for us
that we had never dreamed You’d do.
You came down, and the mountains shook at Your presence.
4 Nothing like that had ever happened before—no eye had ever seen,
and no ear had ever heard such wonders,
But You did them then for the sake of Your people, for those who trusted in You.
5 You meet whoever tries with sincerity of purpose to do what You want—
to do justice and follow in Your ways.
But You became so angry when we rebelled and committed all sorts of wrongs;
we have continued in our sins for a long time. So how can we be saved?
6 We are all messed up like a person compromised with impurity;
even all our right efforts are like soiled rags.
We’re drying up like a leaf in autumn and are blown away by wrongdoing.
7 And it’s so sad because no one calls out to You
or even bothers to approach You anymore.
You’ve been absent from us too long;
You left us to dissolve away in the acrid power of our sins.
8 Still, Eternal One, You are our Father.
We are just clay, and You are the potter.
We are the product of Your creative action, shaped and formed into something of worth.
9 Don’t be so angry anymore, O Eternal;
don’t always remember our wrongs.
Please, look around and see that we are all Your people.
10 The places that You sanctified are reduced to nothing.
Zion is a wasteland; Jerusalem sits in eerie desolation.
11 Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors worshiped You,
has been burned to the ground;
Everything we loved is ruined by our enemies,
a smoking pile of ash and debris.
12 Now with all this, Eternal, will You just stand by and watch?
will You keep silent and let us continue to suffer?
Isaías 64
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
64 [a]¡Oh, si rasgaras los cielos y descendieras(A)!
Si los montes se estremecieran ante Tu presencia(B)
2 [b](Como el fuego enciende el matorral, como el fuego hace hervir el agua),
Para dar a conocer Tu nombre a Tus adversarios,
Para que ante Tu presencia tiemblen las naciones(C)!
3 Cuando hiciste cosas terribles que no esperábamos(D),
Y descendiste, los montes se estremecieron ante Tu presencia.
4 Desde la antigüedad no habían escuchado ni puesto atención(E),
Ni el ojo había visto a un Dios fuera de Ti
Que obrara a favor del que esperaba en Él(F).
5 Sales al encuentro del que se regocija(G) en practicar la justicia(H),
De los que se acuerdan de Ti en Tus caminos(I).
Pero te enojaste porque pecamos(J);
Continuamos en los pecados[c] por mucho tiempo,
¿Y seremos salvos?
6 Todos nosotros somos como el inmundo(K),
Y como trapo de inmundicia todas nuestras obras justas(L).
Todos nos marchitamos como una hoja(M),
Y nuestras iniquidades(N), como el viento, nos arrastran.
7 Y no hay quien invoque Tu nombre(O),
Quien se despierte para agarrarse de Ti.
Porque has escondido Tu rostro de nosotros(P)
Y nos has entregado al[d] poder de nuestras iniquidades.
8 Pero ahora, oh Señor, Tú eres nuestro Padre(Q),
Nosotros el barro, y Tú nuestro alfarero(R);
Obra de Tus manos(S) somos todos nosotros.
9 No te enojes en exceso(T), oh Señor,
Ni para siempre te acuerdes de la iniquidad(U).
Mira, te rogamos, todos nosotros somos Tu pueblo(V).
10 Tus ciudades santas(W) se han vuelto un desierto;
Sión se ha convertido en un desierto,
Jerusalén en una desolación(X).
11 Nuestra casa santa y hermosa(Y)
Donde te alababan nuestros padres,
Ha sido quemada por el fuego
Y todas nuestras cosas preciosas se han convertido en ruinas(Z).
12 ¿Te detendrás ante estas cosas, oh Señor?
¿Guardarás silencio y nos afligirás sin medida(AA)?
Footnotes
- Isaías 64:1 En el texto heb. cap. 63:19.
- Isaías 64:2 En el texto heb. cap. 64:1.
- Isaías 64:5 Lit. en ellos.
- Isaías 64:7 Así en la versión gr. (sept.); en el T.M., derretido en el.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
Nueva Biblia de las Américas™ NBLA™ Copyright © 2005 por The Lockman Foundation