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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)
[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!(B)
When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,
    you came down; the mountains quaked at your presence.(C)
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.(D)
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](E)
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.(F)
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.(G)
Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;
    we are the clay, and you are our potter;
    we are all the work of your hand.(H)
Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord,
    and do not remember iniquity forever.
    Now consider, we are all your people.(I)
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness;
    Zion has become a wilderness,
    Jerusalem a desolation.(J)
11 Our holy and beautiful house,
    where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned by fire,
    and all our pleasant places have become ruins.(K)
12 After all this, will you restrain yourself, O Lord?
    Will you keep silent and punish us so severely?(L)

Footnotes

  1. 64.2 64.1 in Heb
  2. 64.5 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  3. 64.7 Gk Syr OL Tg: Heb melted

64 [a]Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down!
    How the mountains would quake in your presence!
[b]As fire causes wood to burn
    and water to boil,
your coming would make the nations tremble.
    Then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame!
When you came down long ago,
    you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations.
    And oh, how the mountains quaked!
For since the world began,
    no ear has heard
and no eye has seen a God like you,
    who works for those who wait for him!
You welcome those who gladly do good,
    who follow godly ways.
But you have been very angry with us,
    for we are not godly.
We are constant sinners;
    how can people like us be saved?
We are all infected and impure with sin.
    When we display our righteous deeds,
    they are nothing but filthy rags.
Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall,
    and our sins sweep us away like the wind.
Yet no one calls on your name
    or pleads with you for mercy.
Therefore, you have turned away from us
    and turned us over[c] to our sins.

And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.
    We are the clay, and you are the potter.
    We all are formed by your hand.
Don’t be so angry with us, Lord.
    Please don’t remember our sins forever.
Look at us, we pray,
    and see that we are all your people.
10 Your holy cities are destroyed.
    Zion is a wilderness;
    yes, Jerusalem is a desolate ruin.
11 The holy and beautiful Temple
    where our ancestors praised you
has been burned down,
    and all the things of beauty are destroyed.
12 After all this, Lord, must you still refuse to help us?
    Will you continue to be silent and punish us?

Footnotes

  1. 64:1 In the Hebrew text this verse is included in 63:19.
  2. 64:2 Verses 64:2-12 are numbered 64:1-11 in Hebrew text.
  3. 64:7 As in Greek, Syriac, and Aramaic versions; Hebrew reads melted us.