Isaiah 64
1 Didst Thou not rend the heavens? Thou didst come down, From thy presence did mountains flow,
If only You would rend the heavens and come down, so that mountains would quake at Your presence,
2 (As fire kindleth stubble — Fire causeth water to boil, ) To make known Thy name to Thine adversaries, From Thy presence do nations tremble.
as fire kindles the brushwood and causes the water to boil, to make Your name known to Your enemies, so that the nations will tremble at Your presence!
3 In Thy doing fearful things — we expect not, Thou didst come down, From Thy presence did mountains flow.
When You did awesome works that we did not expect, You came down, and the mountains trembled at Your presence.
4 Even from antiquity [men] have not heard, They have not given ear, Eye hath not seen a God save Thee, He doth work for those waiting for Him.
From ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.
5 Thou hast met with the rejoicer And the doer of righteousness, In Thy ways they remember Thee, Lo, Thou hast been wroth when we sin, By them [is] continuance, and we are saved.
You welcome those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. Surely You were angry, for we sinned. How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?
6 And we are as unclean — all of us, And as a garment passing away, all our righteous acts; And we fade as a leaf — all of us. And our iniquities as wind do take us away.
Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.
7 And there is none calling in Thy name, Stirring up himself to lay hold on Thee, For Thou hast hid Thy face from us, And thou meltest us away by our iniquities.
No one calls on Your name or strives to take hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us and delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.
8 And now, O Jehovah, thou [art] our Father, We [are] the clay, and Thou our Framer, And the work of Thy hand — all of us.
But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
9 Be not wroth, O Jehovah, very sore, Nor for ever remember iniquity, Lo, look attentively, we beseech Thee, Thy people [are] we all.
Do not be angry, O LORD, beyond measure; do not remember our iniquity forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray; we are all Your people!
10 Thy holy cities have been a wilderness, Zion a wilderness hath been, Jerusalem a desolation.
Your holy cities have become a wilderness. Zion has become a wasteland and Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and our beautiful house, Where praise Thee did our fathers, Hath become burnt with fire, And all our desirable things have become a waste.
Our holy and beautiful temple, where our fathers praised You, has been burned with fire, and all that was dear to us lies in ruins.
12 For these dost Thou refrain Thyself, Jehovah? Thou art silent, and dost afflict us very sore!'
After all this, O LORD, will You restrain Yourself? Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?
