Isaiah 64
Christian Standard Bible
64 If only you would tear the heavens open
and come down,(A)
so that mountains would quake at your presence(B)—
2 just as fire kindles brushwood,
and fire boils water—
to make your name known to your enemies,
so that nations would tremble at your presence!
3 When you did awesome works(C)
that we did not expect,
you came down,(D)
and the mountains quaked at your presence.
4 From ancient times no one has heard,
no one has listened to,
no eye has seen any God except you
who acts on behalf of the one who waits for him.(E)
5 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?[a]
6 All of us have become like something unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like a polluted[b] garment;(F)
all of us wither like a leaf,(G)
and our iniquities(H) carry us away like the wind.
7 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[c][d] our iniquity.
8 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)
9 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[e] temple,
where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned down,
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 us severely?(O)
Isaiah 64
Common English Bible
64 [a] If only you would tear open the heavens and come down!
Mountains would quake before you
2 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.
3 When you accomplished wonders beyond all our expectations;
when you came down, mountains quaked before you.
4 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]
5 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]
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 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
- Isaiah 64:1 63:19b in Heb
- Isaiah 64:2 64:1 in Heb
- Isaiah 64:4 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 64:5 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 64:5 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 64:7 LXX, cf Syr, Tg, Vulg; MT melted
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible