Isaiah 64

1 “[Yahweh], I wish that you would tear open the sky and come down, and cause the mountains to shake in your presence.

2 [Be] like a fire that burns twigs and causes water to boil! [Come down] in order that your enemies will know who you are, and the [people of other] nations will tremble in your presence.

3 You have done awesome things which we were not expecting you to do; the mountains shook when you came down [at Horeb Mountain].

4 Since (long ago/the world began), no one [SYN] has [ever] seen or heard about a God like you; you help those who (depend on/trust in) you.

5 You help those who joyfully do what is right, those who conduct their lives as you want them to. But [we did not do that]; we continued to sin, and so you became angry with us. We have been sinning for a long time, so only if we continually do what you want us to do will we be saved.

6 We have all become people who are not fit to worship you; all of the good things that we have done are only like [SIM] filthy/blood-stained rags. Because of our sins, we are like [SIM] leaves that dry up and are blown away by the wind.

7 None [of our people] worships you, and no one is completely dedicated to [IDM] you. You have turned away from us. [It is as though] you have caused us to be forced to continue our sinful behavior.

8 Yahweh, you are our father. We are [like] [MET] clay, and you created us, [like] [MET] a potter [creates pottery].

9 Yahweh, do not continue to be angry [with us]; do not keep thinking about [our] sins forever. Do not forget that we are all your people.

10 [All of] your towns [in Judah] have become like [MET] deserts; [even] Jerusalem has been destroyed.

11 Your glorious temple on Zion Hill, where our ancestors worshiped you, has been destroyed by fire. And all our [other] beautiful things have been ruined.

12 Yahweh, you see all those things, so we worry that you will refrain [from helping us], and that you will cause us to suffer much more.