Isaiah 64

1 O let the heavens be broken open and come down, so that the mountains may be shaking before you,

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

2 As when fire puts the brushwood in flames, or as when water is boiling from the heat of the fire: to make your name feared by your haters, so that the nations may be shaking before you;

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!

3 While you do acts of power for which we are not looking, and which have not come to the ears of men in the past.

In the past you did things we weren't anticipating. You came down and the mountains trembled in your presence!

4 The ear has not had news of, or the eye seen, ... any God but you, working for the man who is waiting for him.

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.

5 Will you not have mercy on him who takes pleasure in doing righteousness, even on those who keep in mind your ways? Truly you were angry, and we went on doing evil, and sinning against you in the past.

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?

6 For we have all become like an unclean person, and all our good acts are like a dirty robe: and we have all become old like a dead leaf, and our sins, like the wind, take us away.

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.

7 And there is no one who makes prayer to your name, or who is moved to keep true to you: for your face is veiled from us, and you have given us into the power of our sins.

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.

8 But now, O Lord, you are our father; we are the earth, and you are our maker; and we are all the work of your hand.

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

9 Be not very angry, O Lord, and do not keep our sins in mind for ever: give ear to our prayer, for we are all your people.

Please limit your anger, Lord, and don't remember our sins forever. Look at us, and see that we are all your people.

10 Your holy towns have become a waste, Zion has become a waste, Jerusalem is a mass of broken walls.

Your holy cities have been turned into a wilderness; Zion has become a desert; yes, even Jerusalem is an abandoned ruin.

11 Our holy and beautiful house, where our fathers gave praise to you, is burned with fire; and all the things of our desire have come to destruction.

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

12 In view of all this, will you still do nothing, O Lord? will you keep quiet, and go on increasing our punishment?

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?