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As Unclean Rags

64 As fire kindles brushwood,
as fire causes water to boil,
make Your Name known to Your foes,
so the nations may tremble before You!
When You did awesome things that we were not expecting,
You came down—the mountains shook at Your presence!
For from days of old no one has heard,
no ear perceived,
no eye has seen God, except You,
    who acts on behalf of the one waiting for Him.
You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness,
    who remembers You in Your ways.
Behold, You were angry.
When we keep sinning all the time,
    would we be saved?
For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteousness is like a filthy garment,
and all of us wither like a leaf,
and our iniquities carry us away, like the wind.
No one calls on Your Name,
or stirs himself up to take hold of You.
For You have hidden Your face from us,
    and have consumed us, because of our iniquities.
But now, Adonai, You are our Father.
We are the clay and You are our potter,
We are all the work of Your hand.
Do not be angry much more, Adonai,
or remember iniquity forever.
Oh, please see,
we are all Your people!
Your holy cities became a wilderness,
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
10 Our holy and beautiful House, where our fathers praised You,
Has been burned with fire—
all our pleasant things are laid waste.
11 Will You restrain Yourself at these things?
Adonai, will You stay silent,
    and afflict us very severely?

64 [a]Oh, that you would rend the heavens(A) and come down,(B)
    that the mountains(C) would tremble before you!
As when fire sets twigs ablaze
    and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name(D) known to your enemies
    and cause the nations to quake(E) before you!
For when you did awesome(F) things that we did not expect,
    you came down, and the mountains trembled(G) before you.
Since ancient times no one has heard,
    no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,(H)
    who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.(I)
You come to the help of those who gladly do right,(J)
    who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
    you were angry.(K)
    How then can we be saved?
All of us have become like one who is unclean,(L)
    and all our righteous(M) acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,(N)
    and like the wind our sins sweep us away.(O)
No one(P) calls on your name(Q)
    or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden(R) your face from us
    and have given us over(S) to[b] our sins.

Yet you, Lord, are our Father.(T)
    We are the clay, you are the potter;(U)
    we are all the work of your hand.(V)
Do not be angry(W) beyond measure, Lord;
    do not remember our sins(X) forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
    for we are all your people.(Y)
10 Your sacred cities(Z) have become a wasteland;
    even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation.(AA)
11 Our holy and glorious temple,(AB) where our ancestors praised you,
    has been burned with fire,
    and all that we treasured(AC) lies in ruins.
12 After all this, Lord, will you hold yourself back?(AD)
    Will you keep silent(AE) and punish us beyond measure?

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 64:1 In Hebrew texts 64:1 is numbered 63:19b, and 64:2-12 is numbered 64:1-11.
  2. Isaiah 64:7 Septuagint, Syriac and Targum; Hebrew have made us melt because of