Isaiah 64

1 Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,

that the mountains would tremble before you!

2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze

and causes water to boil,

come down to make your name known to your enemies

and cause the nations to quake before you!

3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,

you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.

4 Since ancient times no one has heard,

no ear has perceived,

no eye has seen any God besides you,

who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right,

who remember your ways.

But when we continued to sin against them,

you were angry.

How then can we be saved?

6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,

and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;

we all shrivel up like a leaf,

and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

7 No one calls on your name

or strives to lay hold of you;

for you have hidden your face from us

and have given us over to our sins.

8 Yet you, Lord, are our Father.

We are the clay, you are the potter;

we are all the work of your hand.

9 Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord;

do not remember our sins forever.

Oh, look on us, we pray,

for we are all your people.

10 Your sacred cities have become a wasteland;

even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation.

11 Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors praised you,

has been burned with fire,

and all that we treasured lies in ruins.

12 After all this, Lord, will you hold yourself back?

Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?

1 Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,

that the mountains might quake at your presence—

2  as when fire kindles brushwood

and the fire causes water to boil—

to make your name known to your adversaries,

and that the nations might tremble at your presence!

3 When you did awesome things that we did not look for,

you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.

4 From of old no one has heard

or perceived by the ear,

no eye has seen a God besides you,

who acts for those who wait for him.

5 You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,

those who remember you in your ways.

Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;

in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?

6 We have all become like one who is unclean,

and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.

We all fade like a leaf,

and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

7 There is no one who calls upon your name,

who rouses himself to take hold of you;

for you have hidden your face from us,

and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.

8 But now, O Lord, you are our Father;

we are the clay, and you are our potter;

we are all the work of your hand.

9 Be not so terribly angry, O Lord,

and remember not iniquity forever.

Behold, please look, 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 beautiful house,

where our fathers praised you,

has been burned by fire,

and all our pleasant places have become ruins.

12 Will you restrain yourself at these things, O Lord?

Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?

1  Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down!

How the mountains would quake in your presence!

2  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 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?

1 Oh, that You would rend the heavens!

That You would come down!

That the mountains might shake at Your 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 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

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—

In these ways we continue;

And we need to be saved.

6 But we are all like an unclean thing,

And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;

We all 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 consumed us because of our iniquities.

8 But now, O Lord,

You are our Father;

We are the clay, and You our 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 temple,

Where our fathers praised You,

Is burned up with fire;

And all our pleasant things are laid waste.

12 Will You restrain Yourself because of these things, O Lord?

Will You hold Your peace, and afflict us very severely?

1 Tear open the skies and come down to earth

so that the mountains will tremble before you.

2 Like a fire that burns twigs,

like a fire that makes water boil,

let your enemies know who you are.

Then all nations will shake with fear when they see you.

3 You have done amazing things we did not expect.

You came down, and the mountains trembled before you.

4 From long ago no one has ever heard of a God like you.

No one has ever seen a God besides you,

who helps the people who trust you.

5 You help those who enjoy doing good,

who remember how you want them to live.

But 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.

All the right things we have done are like filthy pieces of cloth.

All of us are like dead leaves,

and our sins, like the wind, have carried us away.

7 No one worships you

or even asks you to help us.

That is because you have turned away from us

and have let our sins destroy us.

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.

Jerusalem is like a desert;

it is destroyed.

11 Our ancestors worshiped you

in our holy and wonderful Temple,

but now it has been burned with fire,

and all our precious things have been destroyed.

12 When you see these things, will you hold yourself back from helping us, Lord?

Will you be silent and punish us beyond what we can stand?

1 Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might quake at thy presence, 2 as when fire kindleth the brushwood, and the fire causeth the waters to boil; to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! 3 When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains quaked at thy presence. 4 For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen a God besides thee, who worketh for him that waiteth for him. 5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou wast wroth, and we sinned: in them have we been of long time; and shall we be saved? 6 For we are all become as one that is unclean, and all our righteousnesses are as a polluted garment: and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee; for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us by means of our iniquities.

8 But now, O Jehovah, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. 9 Be not wroth very sore, O Jehovah, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, look, we beseech thee, we are all thy people. 10 Thy holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. 11 Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned with fire; and all our pleasant places are laid waste. 12 Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O Jehovah? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?

1 Oh, that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, —that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, 2 —as fire kindleth brushwood, as the fire causeth water to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations might tremble at thy presence! 3 When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, and the mountains flowed down at thy presence. 4 Never have men heard, nor perceived by the ear, nor hath eye seen a God beside thee, who acteth for him that waiteth for him. 5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth to do righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: (behold, thou wast wroth, and we have sinned:) in those is perpetuity, and we shall be saved.

6 And we are all become as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have carried us away; 7 and there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee; for thou hast hidden thy face from us, and hast caused us to melt away through our iniquities. 8 And now, Jehovah, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. 9 Be not wroth very sore, O Jehovah, neither remember iniquity for ever. Behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people. 10 Thy holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. 11 Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burnt up with fire, and all our precious things are laid waste. 12 Wilt thou restrain thyself in presence of these things, Jehovah? Wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?

1 If only you would split open the heavens and come down! 

The mountains would quake at your presence. 

2 Be like the fire that kindles brushwood and makes water boil. 

Come down to make your name known to your enemies. 

The nations will tremble in your presence. 

3 When you did awe-inspiring things that we didn’t expect, 

you came down and the mountains quaked in your presence. 

4 No one has ever heard, 

no one has paid attention, 

and no one has seen any god except you. 

You help those who wait for you. 

5 You greeted the one who gladly does right and remembers your ways. 

You showed your anger, because we’ve sinned. 

We’ve continued to sin for a long time. 

Can we still be saved? 

6 We’ve all become unclean,

and all our righteous acts are like permanently stained rags. 

All of us shrivel like leaves, 

and our sins carry us away like the wind. 

7 No one calls on your name 

or tries to hold on to you. 

You have hidden your face from us. 

You have let us be ruined by our sins. 

8 But now, Lord, you are our Father. 

We are the clay, and you are our potter. 

We are the work of your hands. 

9 Don’t be too angry, Lord. 

Don’t remember our sin forever. 

Now look, we are all your people. 

10 Your holy cities have become a desert. 

Zion has become a desert. 

Jerusalem is a wasteland. 

11 Our holy and beautiful temple, where our ancestors praised you, 

has been burned to the ground. 

All that we valued has been ruined. 

12 Despite these things, Lord, will you hold back? 

Will you be silent and make us suffer more than we can bear? 

1 If only You would tear the heavens open

and come down,

so that mountains would quake at Your presence —

2 as fire kindles the brushwood,

and fire causes water to boil—

to make Your name known to Your enemies,

so that nations will tremble at Your presence!

3 When You did awesome works

that we did not expect,

You came down,

and the mountains quaked at Your presence.

4 From ancient times no one has heard,

no one has listened,

no eye has seen any God except You,

who acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him.

5 You welcome the one who joyfully does what is right;

they remember You in Your ways.

But we have sinned, and You were angry.

How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?

6 All of us have become like something unclean,

and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment;

all of us wither like a leaf,

and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

7 No one calls on Your name,

striving to take hold of You.

For You have hidden Your face from us

and made us melt because of our iniquity.

8 Yet Lord, You are our Father;

we are the clay, and You are our potter;

we all are the work of Your hands.

9 Lord, do not be terribly angry

or remember our iniquity forever.

Please look—all of us are Your people!

10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness;

Zion has become a wilderness,

Jerusalem a desolation.

11 Our holy and beautiful temple,

where our fathers praised You,

has been burned with fire,

and all that was dear to us lies in ruins.

12 Lord, after all this, will You restrain Yourself?

Will You keep silent and afflict severely?

1 O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,

so that the mountains would quake at your presence—

2 as when fire kindles brushwood

and the fire causes water to boil—

to make your name known to your adversaries,

so that the nations might tremble at your presence!

3 When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,

you came down; the mountains quaked at your presence.

4 From ages past no one has heard,

no ear has perceived,

no eye has seen any God besides you,

who works for those who wait for him.

5 You meet those who gladly do right,

those who remember you in your ways.

But you were angry, and we sinned;

because you hid yourself we transgressed.

6 We have all become like one who is unclean,

and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.

We all fade like a leaf,

and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

7 There is no one who calls on your name

or attempts to take hold of you,

for you have hidden your face from us

and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.

8 Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;

we are the clay, and you are our potter;

we are all the work of your hand.

9 Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord,

and do not remember iniquity forever.

Now consider, 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 beautiful house,

where our ancestors praised you,

has been burned by fire,

and all our pleasant places have become ruins.

12 After all this, will you restrain yourself, O Lord?

Will you keep silent and punish us so severely?

1  Would that you would tear the heavens and come down;

the mountains would quake before you,

2  as fire kindles brushwood,

the fire causes water to boil,

to make your name known to your adversaries,

that the nations might tremble from your presence.

3 When you did terrible deeds which we did not expect, you came down;

the mountains quaked because of your presence.

4 And since ancient times they have not heard,

have not listened,

no eye has seen a God except you;

he acts for the one who waits for him.

5 You meet with the one who rejoices,

one who does righteousness.

In your ways they remember you.

Look! You were angry and we sinned against them in ancient times and we were saved.

6 And we all have become like the unclean,

and all our deeds of justice like a menstrual cloth,

And we all wither like a leaf,

and our iniquities take us away like the wind.

7 And there is no one who calls on your name,

who pulls himself up to keep hold of you,

for you have hidden your face from us,

and melted us into the hand of our iniquity.

8 Yet now Yahweh, you are our father;

we are the clay and you are our potter,

and we all are the work of your hand.

9 You must not be exceedingly angry, Yahweh,

and you must not remember iniquity forever!

Look! Behold, now! We all are your people!

10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness;

Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.

11 Our holy and beautiful temple, where our ancestors praised you has been burned by fire,

and all our precious objects have become ruins.

12 Will you control yourself because of these, Yahweh?

Will you be silent?

And will you oppress us exceedingly?

1 I wish you would open up your heavens

and come down to us!

I wish the mountains would tremble

when you show your power!

2 Be like a fire that causes twigs to burn.

It also makes water boil.

So come down and make yourself known to your enemies.

Cause the nations to shake with fear

when they see your power!

3 Long ago you did some wonderful things we didn’t expect.

You came down, and the mountains trembled

when you showed your power.

4 No one’s ears have ever heard of a God like you.

No one’s eyes have ever seen a God who is greater than you.

No God but you acts for the good

of those who trust in him.

5 You come to help those who enjoy doing what is right.

You help those who thank you for teaching them how to live.

But when we continued to disobey you,

you became angry with us.

So how can we be saved?

6 All of us have become like someone who is “unclean.”

All of the good things we do are like polluted rags to you.

All of us are like leaves that have dried up.

Our sins sweep us away like the wind.

7 No one prays to you.

No one asks you for help.

You have turned your face away from us.

You have let us waste away

because we have sinned so much.

8 Lord, you are our Father.

We are the clay. You are the potter.

Your hands made all of us.

9 Don’t be so angry with us, Lord.

Don’t remember our sins anymore.

Please show us your favor.

All of us belong to you.

10 Your sacred cities have become a desert.

Even Zion is a desert.

Jerusalem is a dry and empty place.

11 Our people used to praise you in our holy and glorious temple.

But now it has been burned down.

Everything we treasured has been destroyed.

12 Lord, won’t you help us even after everything that’s happened?

Will you keep silent and punish us more than we can stand?

1 Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down,

That the mountains might quake at Your presence—

2 As fire kindles the 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 You did awesome things which we did not expect,

You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence.

4 For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear,

Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,

Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.

5 You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness,

Who remembers You in Your ways.

Behold, You were angry, for we sinned,

We continued in them a long time;

And shall we be saved?

6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean,

And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;

And all of us wither like a leaf,

And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

7 There is no one who calls on Your name,

Who arouses himself to take hold of You;

For You have hidden Your face from us

And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities.

8 But now, O Lord, You are our Father,

We are the clay, and You our potter;

And all of us are the work of Your hand.

9 Do not be angry beyond measure, O Lord,

Nor remember iniquity forever;

Behold, look now, all of us are Your people.

10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness,

Zion has become a wilderness,

Jerusalem a desolation.

11 Our holy and beautiful house,

Where our fathers praised You,

Has been burned by fire;

And all our precious things have become a ruin.

12 Will You restrain Yourself at these things, O Lord?

Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?