Isaiah 64

1 If only you would rip the heavens apart and come down! The mountains would tremble in your presence!

Oh that thou mightest rend the heavens, come down: at thy presence would mountains [then] melt away.

2 In the same way that fire burns wood and makes the water boil, make your reputation known to your enemies, so that nations will tremble in 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 In the past you did things we weren't anticipating. You came down and the mountains trembled in 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 the beginning, no one has heard about, no one has paid attention to, and no one has seen any God except you, the one who helps those who place their confidence in you.

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 join with those who are glad, and with those who do what's right and remember to follow your ways. But when we went on sinning, you became angry. How can we be saved if we go on like this?

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 We've all become unclean, and all the good things we do are like dirty rags. We wither and die like autumn leaves, and our sins, like the wind, blow 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's no one who calls for you or really wants to hold onto you, because you have hidden your face from us and let us drown in our own sins.

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 But you, Lord, are our Father. We're the clay, you're the potter. You made us all with your own hands.

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 Please limit your anger, Lord, and don't remember our sins forever. Look at us, and see that we are 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 been turned into a wilderness; Zion has become a desert; yes, even Jerusalem is an abandoned ruin.

Thy holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem, a desolate place.

11 Our beautiful, holy Temple where our forefathers praised you has been burned down, and all that we treasured has been destroyed.

Our holy and beautiful house where our fathers praised thee, is burnt up with fire; and all our costly things are become ruins.

12 In view of all this, are you still going to refuse to help us? Are you going to stay quiet and punish us so severely?

Wilt thou for these things refrain thyself, O Lord? wilt thou be silent, and afflict us so very greatly?