Isaiah 64
1 “Oh, if you had split open the heavens and come down! The mountains would have shaken at your presence,
Oh that thou mightest rend the heavens, come down: at thy presence would mountains [then] melt away.
2 as when fire kindles the brushwood, or the fire makes water boil. Oh, that your name would be known by your adversaries, that the nations would tremble at your presence!
As fire is kindled on brushwood, as water is made to bubble up by fire—to make thy name known to thy adversaries, that at thy presence nations might tremble!
3 Previously, when you did marvelous things that we had not expected, you came down, and the mountains trembled at your presence.
[As] when thou didst fearful deeds which we had not looked for, thou camest down, [while] at thy presence mountains melted away;
4 Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived, nor eye seen any God besides you, who does things for him who waits for him.
Yea! what from the beginning of the world men had not heard, not perceived by their hearing; no eye [also] had seen a god beside thee, who could do [the like] for the one that waiteth for him.
5 You come to help those who rejoice in doing what is right, those who call to mind your ways and obey them. You were angry when we sinned. In your ways we will always be rescued.
Thou acceptest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou wast wroth, for we had sinned on them continually; and can we thus be saved?
6 For we have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a menstrual rag. We have all withered like leaves; our iniquities, like the wind, carry us away.
And we are become like an unclean man all of us, and like a soiled garment, all our righteousness; and we wither like a leaf all of us; and our iniquities, like the wind, will bear us away.
7 There are none who calls on your name, who makes an effort to take hold of you. For you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away in the hand of our iniquities.
And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth himself up to lay hold of thee; for thou hast hidden thy face from us, and hast let us melt away, through the force of our iniquities.
8 Yet, Yahweh, you are our father; we are the clay. You are our potter; and we all are the work of your hand.
But now, O Lord, our father art thou; we are the clay, and thou our fashioner; and the work of thy hand are we all.
9 Be not too angry, Yahweh, nor always call to mind against us our sins. Please look at us all, your people.
Be not wroth, O Lord, so very greatly, and do not for ever remember [our] iniquity: behold, look, we beseech thee, thy people are we all.
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
Thy holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem, a desolate place.
11 Our holy and beautiful temple, where our fathers praised you, has been destroyed by fire, and all that was so dear is in ruins.
Our holy and beautiful house where our fathers praised thee, is burnt up with fire; and all our costly things are become ruins.
12 How can you still hold back, Yahweh? How can you remain silent and continue to humiliate us?”
Wilt thou for these things refrain thyself, O Lord? wilt thou be silent, and afflict us so very greatly?
