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64 I wish you would open up your heavens
    and come down to us!
I wish the mountains would tremble
    when you show your power!
Be like a fire that causes twigs to burn.
    It also makes water boil.
So come down and make yourself known to your enemies.
    Cause the nations to shake with fear
    when they see your power!
Long ago you did some wonderful things we didn’t expect.
    You came down, and the mountains trembled
    when you showed your power.
No one’s ears have ever heard of a God like you.
    No one’s eyes have ever seen a God who is greater than you.
No God but you acts for the good
    of those who trust in him.
You come to help those who enjoy doing what is right.
    You help those who thank you for teaching them how to live.
But when we continued to disobey you,
    you became angry with us.
    So how can we be saved?
All of us have become like someone who is “unclean.”
    All the good things we do are like dirty rags to you.
All of us are like leaves that have dried up.
    Our sins sweep us away like the wind.
No one prays to you.
    No one asks you for help.
You have turned your face away from us.
    You have let us feel the effects of our sins.

Lord, you are our Father.
    We are the clay. You are the potter.
    Your hands made all of us.
Don’t be so angry with us, Lord.
    Don’t remember our sins anymore.
Please have mercy on us.
    All of us belong to you.
10 Your sacred cities have become a desert.
    Even Zion is a desert.
    Jerusalem is a dry and empty place.
11 Our people of long ago used to praise you in our holy and glorious temple.
    But now it has been burned down.
    Everything we treasured has been destroyed.
12 Lord, won’t you help us even after everything that’s happened?
    Will you keep silent and punish us more than we can stand?

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