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
New King James Version
A Prayer for Help
64 Oh, that You would [a]rend the heavens!
That You would come down!
That the mountains might shake at Your (A)presence—
2 As fire burns brushwood,
As fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Your presence!
3 When (B)You did awesome things for which we did not look,
You came down,
The mountains shook at Your presence.
4 For since the beginning of the world
(C)Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear,
Nor has the eye seen any God besides You,
Who acts for the one who waits for Him.
5 You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,
Who remembers You in Your ways.
You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—
(D)In these ways we continue;
And we need to be saved.
6 But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all (E)our righteousnesses are like [b]filthy rags;
We all (F)fade as a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind,
Have taken us away.
7 And there is no one who calls on Your name,
Who stirs himself up to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us,
And have [c]consumed us because of our iniquities.
8 But now, O Lord,
You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our (G)potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand.
9 Do not be furious, O Lord,
Nor remember iniquity forever;
Indeed, please look—we all are Your people!
10 Your holy cities are a wilderness,
Zion is a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and beautiful [d]temple,
Where our fathers praised You,
Is burned up with fire;
And all (H)our pleasant things [e]are laid waste.
12 (I)Will You restrain Yourself because of these things, O Lord?
(J)Will You [f]hold Your peace, and afflict us very severely?
Footnotes
- Isaiah 64:1 tear open
- Isaiah 64:6 Lit. a filthy garment
- Isaiah 64:7 Lit. caused us to melt
- Isaiah 64:11 Lit. house
- Isaiah 64:11 have become a ruin
- Isaiah 64:12 keep silent
Isaiah 64
Complete Jewish Bible
64 (2) It would be like fire kindling the brush,
and the fire then makes the water boil.
Then your enemies would know your name,
the nations would tremble before you!
2 (3) When you did tremendous things
that we were not expecting,
we wished that you would come down,
so that the mountains would shake at your presence!
3 (4) No one has ever heard,
no ear perceived, no eye seen,
any God but you.
You work for him who waits for you.
4 (5) You favored those who were glad to do justice,
those who remembered you in your ways.
When you were angry, we kept sinning;
but if we keep your ancient ways, we will be saved.
5 (6) All of us are like someone unclean,
all our righteous deeds like menstrual rags;
we wither, all of us, like leaves;
and our misdeeds blow us away like the wind.
6 (7) No one calls on your name
or bestirs himself to take hold of you,
for you have hidden your face from us
and caused our misdeeds to destroy us.
7 (8) But now, Adonai, you are our father;
we are the clay, you are our potter;
and we are all the work of your hands.
8 (9) Do not be so very angry, Adonai!
Don’t remember crime forever.
Look, please, we are all your people.
9 (10) Your holy cities have become a desert,
Tziyon a desert, Yerushalayim a ruin.
10 (11) Our holy, beautiful house,
where our ancestors used to praise you,
has been burned to the ground;
all we cherished has been ruined.
11 (12) Adonai, after all this,
will you still hold back?
Will you still stay silent
and punish us past endurance?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.