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Isaiah 64
The Voice
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?
Isaiah 64
Legacy Standard Bible
Isaiah 64
Legacy Standard Bible
64 [a]Oh, that You would rend the heavens and (A)come down,
That the mountains might (B)quake at Your presence—
2 [b]As fire kindles the 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 for which we did not hope,
You came down; the mountains quaked at Your presence.
4 For from ancient times (E)they have not heard or given ear,
Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,
Who acts in behalf of the one who (F)waits for Him.
5 You (G)meet him who rejoices and (H)does righteousness,
Who (I)remembers You in Your ways.
Behold, (J)You were angry; indeed we have sinned—
We continued in them a long time—
And 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)iniquities, like the wind, carry us away.
7 There is (O)no one who calls on Your name,
Who awakens himself to take hold of You,
For You have (P)hidden Your face from us
And have [c]melted us into the hand of our iniquities.
8 But now, O Yahweh, (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, O Yahweh,
(U)Nor remember iniquity forever;
Behold, look now, 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 glorious (Y)house,
Where our fathers praised You,
Has been burned by fire;
And (Z)all our precious things have become a waste place.
12 Will You (AA)restrain Yourself at these things, O Yahweh?
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 64:7 DSS and versions delivered
Isaiah 64
New International Version
Isaiah 64
New International Version
64 [a]Oh, that you would rend the heavens(A) and come down,(B)
that the mountains(C) would tremble before you!
2 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!
3 For when you did awesome(F) things that we did not expect,
you came down, and the mountains trembled(G) before you.
4 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)
5 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?
6 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)
7 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.
8 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)
9 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
- Isaiah 64:1 In Hebrew texts 64:1 is numbered 63:19b, and 64:2-12 is numbered 64:1-11.
- Isaiah 64:7 Septuagint, Syriac and Targum; Hebrew have made us melt because of
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