Isaiah 64
New Living Translation
64 [a]Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down!
How the mountains would quake in your presence!
2 [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!
3 When you came down long ago,
you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations.
And oh, how the mountains quaked!
4 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!
5 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?
6 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.
7 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.
8 And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.
We are the clay, and you are the potter.
We all are formed by your hand.
9 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?
Isaiah 64
EasyEnglish Bible
Isaiah's prayer continues
64 Please Lord, break open the skies
and come down to help us!
That would make the mountains shake!
2 You would come like a fire that burns up wood,
and it causes water to boil.
The nations would shake with fear.
Your enemies would know why your name is so great.
3 In the past, you did great things,
and they surprised us.
You came down and the mountains shook with fear.
4 From the beginning, nobody has heard of any God like you.
You come to help those people who trust in you.
Nobody has ever seen or heard of a God like you!
5 You help people who are happy when they do what is right.
People like that obey your commands.
But we continued to do wrong things,
even when you were angry with us.
We have done bad things for a long time,
so will you ever come to save us?
6 Our sins have made us all like unclean people,
who cannot worship you.
Even the good things that we try to do
are like dirty bits of cloth.
Our sins will blow us all away,
as the wind blows away dead leaves.
7 Nobody prays in your name,
or calls out to you to help them.
It seems that you have turned away from us.
You have left us for our sins to rule us.
8 But Lord, you are still our Father.
We are like clay that you have used.
You are like the potter who has made us into pots.
You made us all with your own hands.
9 Lord, please do not be too angry with us.
Do not hold our sins in your mind for ever.
Do not forget us!
We are your people, all of us!
10 Your holy cities are as empty as a desert.
Yes, Zion has become a desert.
Jerusalem is just a heap of stones.
11 Our ancestors praised you
here in your temple.
It was a beautiful place that we were proud of.
But now fire has destroyed it.
All our beautiful things are completely spoiled.
12 Lord, see what is happening and do something!
Will you continue to keep quiet?
Will you continue to give us so much trouble?
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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