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64 Oh that you would tear the heavens,
    that you would come down,
    that the mountains might quake at your presence.
As when fire kindles the brushwood,
    and the fire causes the water to boil;
Make your name known to your adversaries,
    that the nations may tremble at your presence!
When you did awesome things which we didn’t look for,
    you came down, and the mountains quaked at your presence.
For from of old men have not heard,
    nor perceived by the ear,
    nor has the eye seen a God besides you,
    who works for him who waits for him.
You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,
    those who remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned.
    We have been in sin for a long time.
    Shall we be saved?
For we have all become like one who is unclean,
    and all our righteousness is like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf;
    and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
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 consumed us by means of our iniquities.

But now, Yahweh, you are our Father.
    We are the clay and you our potter.
    We all are the work of your hand.
Don’t be furious, Yahweh.
    Don’t remember iniquity forever.
Look and see, we beg you,
    we are all your people.
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness.
    Zion has become a wilderness,
    Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and our beautiful house where our fathers praised you
    is burned with fire.
    All our pleasant places are laid waste.
12 Will you hold yourself back for these things, Yahweh?
    Will you keep silent and punish us very severely?

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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?

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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.