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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?

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