Isaiah 64

64Tear open the skies and come down to earth

so that the mountains will tremble before you.

²Like 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.

³You have done amazing things we did not expect.

You came down, and the mountains trembled before you.

⁴From 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.

⁵You 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?

⁶All 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.

⁷No 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.

⁸But Lord, you are our father.

We are like clay, and you are the potter;

your hands made us all.

⁹Lord, don’t continue to be angry with us;

don’t remember our sins forever.

Please, look at us,

because we are your people.

¹⁰Your holy cities are empty like the desert.

Jerusalem is like a desert;

it is destroyed.

¹¹Our 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.

¹²When 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?