Isaiah 64
Young's Literal Translation
64 Didst Thou not rend the heavens? Thou didst come down, From thy presence did mountains flow,
2 (As fire kindleth stubble -- Fire causeth water to boil,) To make known Thy name to Thine adversaries, From Thy presence do nations tremble.
3 In Thy doing fearful things -- we expect not, Thou didst come down, From Thy presence did mountains flow.
4 Even from antiquity [men] have not heard, They have not given ear, Eye hath not seen a God save Thee, He doth work for those waiting for Him.
5 Thou hast met with the rejoicer And the doer of righteousness, In Thy ways they remember Thee, Lo, Thou hast been wroth when we sin, By them [is] continuance, and we are saved.
6 And we are as unclean -- all of us, And as a garment passing away, all our righteous acts; And we fade as a leaf -- all of us. And our iniquities as wind do take us away.
7 And there is none calling in Thy name, Stirring up himself to lay hold on Thee, For Thou hast hid Thy face from us, And thou meltest us away by our iniquities.
8 And now, O Jehovah, thou [art] our Father, We [are] the clay, and Thou our Framer, And the work of Thy hand -- all of us.
9 Be not wroth, O Jehovah, very sore, Nor for ever remember iniquity, Lo, look attentively, we beseech Thee, Thy people [are] we all.
10 Thy holy cities have been a wilderness, Zion a wilderness hath been, Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and our beautiful house, Where praise Thee did our fathers, Hath become burnt with fire, And all our desirable things have become a waste.
12 For these dost Thou refrain Thyself, Jehovah? Thou art silent, and dost afflict us very sore!'
Isaiah 64
Expanded Bible
64 If only you would tear open the ·skies [heavens] and come down to earth
so that the mountains would ·tremble [shake] before you.
2 Like a fire that ·burns [kindles; ignites] ·twigs [dry wood],
like a fire that makes water boil,
let your ·enemies [adversaries] know ·who you are [L your name].
Then all nations will shake with fear ·when they see you [before you].
3 You have done amazing things ·we did not expect [beyond our expectations].
You came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
4 From ·long ago [ancient times; of old] no ·one [L ear] has ever heard of a God like you.
No ·one [L eye] has ever seen a God besides you,
who ·helps [acts on behalf of] the people who ·trust [wait for] you.
5 You help those who ·enjoy doing good [joyfully act righteously],
who remember ·how you want them to live [L your ways/paths].
·But [L Look; T Behold] you were angry because we sinned.
For a long time we disobeyed,
so how can we be saved?
6 All of us ·are dirty with sin [became like an unclean/defiled thing].
All ·the right things we have done [our righteous deeds] are like ·filthy pieces of cloth [filthy garments/rags; or a menstrual cloth; 30:22].
All of us ·are [fade; shrivel] like dead leaves,
and our ·sins [iniquities], like the wind, have carried us away.
7 No one ·worships you [L calls on your name]
or ·even asks you to help us [L rouses himself to lay hold of you].
That is because you have ·turned away [hidden your face] from us
and have ·let our sins destroy us [given us over to our sins].[a]
8 But Lord, you are our father.
We are like clay, and you are the potter;
your hands made us all.
9 Lord, don’t continue to be angry with us;
don’t remember our sins forever.
Please, look at us,
because we are your people.
10 Your holy cities ·are empty like the desert [have become a wilderness/wasteland].
·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] is like a ·desert [wilderness; wasteland];
it is ·destroyed [a desolation].
11 Our ancestors worshiped you
in our holy and wonderful Temple,
but now it has been burned with fire,
and all our ·precious [treasured; pleasant] things have ·been destroyed [become ruins].
12 ·When you see these things [After this], will you hold yourself back from helping us, Lord?
Will you be silent and punish us beyond ·what we can stand [measure]?
Footnotes
- Isaiah 64:7 let our sins destroy us Greek, Syriac, and Aramaic copies read “given us over to our sins.” Hebrew copies read “caused us to melt in the hand of our sin.”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.