Isaiah 64
1 “Oh, if you had split open the heavens and come down! The mountains would have shaken at your presence,
Would that thou hadst rent the heavens, hadst come down,
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!
At thy presence, had mountains, quaked: As fire kindleth brushwood, [As] fire causeth, water, to boil, So if thou wouldst make known thy Name to thine adversaries, At thy presence, nations, would tremble.
3 Previously, when you did marvelous things that we had not expected, you came down, and the mountains trembled at your presence.
When thou didst fearful things we could not expect, Thou camest down at thy presence, mountains, quaked.
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.
Although from age-past times It was never heard, It was not perceived by the ear, —Neither did, the eye, ever see—That, a god besides thee, could work for the man who waited 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.
Yet didst thou meet Him who was rejoicing and working righteousness, Even them who in thy ways, remembered thee, —Lo! thou, hast been vexed, And truly we had sinned, Among them, was the prospect of an age [to come], That we might 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.
But we have become as one unclean all of us, And, as a garment polluted, were all our righteous doings, —And so we faded like a leaf all of us, And, our iniquity, as a wind, carried 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 was none To call upon thy Name, To rouse himself to lay firm hold on thee, —For thou hadst hidden thy face from us, And hadst made us despond, by means of our iniquity.
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 Yahweh, our father, thou art, —We are the clay, and, thou, art our potter, Yea 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.
Do not be indignant, O Yahweh so very greatly, Neither perpetually, do thou recall iniquity, —Lo! look around, we pray 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, have become a wilderness, —Zion, a wilderness, hath become, Jerusalem, a desolation!
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 our beautiful house Where our fathers praised thee, Hath become a conflagration, —And, all our delightful places, are in ruins!
12 How can you still hold back, Yahweh? How can you remain silent and continue to humiliate us?”
In view of these things, wilt thou restrain thyself. O Yahweh? Wilt thou hold thy peace and humble us so very greatly?
