Isaiah 64

1 I wish that you would rend the heavens, and then descend! The mountains would flow away before your face.

O that thou wouldst rend the heavens, and come down; That the mountains might tremble at thy presence,

2 They would melt, as if thoroughly burned by fire. The waters would burn with fire, so that your name might be made known to your enemies, so that the nations would be stirred up before your face.

As fire kindleth the dry stubble, As fire causeth water to boil, To make known thy name to thine adversaries, That the nations might tremble at thy presence;

3 When you will perform miracles, we will not be able to withstand them. You descended, and the mountains flowed away before your presence.

As thou once didst wonderful things, which we looked not for, And camest down, so that the mountains trembled at thy presence.

4 From ages past, they have not heard it, and they have not perceived it with the ears. Apart from you, O God, the eye has not seen what you have prepared for those who await you.

For never have men heard, nor perceived by the ear, Nor hath eye seen, a God beside thee. Who doeth such things for those that trust in him.

5 You have met with those who rejoice in doing justice. By your ways, they will remember you. Behold, you have been angry, for we have sinned. In this, we have continued, but we will be saved.

Thou art the friend of those who joyfully do righteousness, Those who remember thee in thy ways. Behold, thou art angry, and we are punished; Long doth the punishment endure, before we are delivered.

6 And we have all become like the unclean. And all our justices are like a rag of menstruation. And we have all fallen away, like a leaf. And our iniquities have carried us away, like the wind.

We are all of us an unclean thing; Like a filthy garment is all our righteousness; We are all withered like a leaf, And our sins, like a storm, have blown us away.

7 There is no one who calls upon your name, who rises up and holds fast to you. You have concealed your face from us, and you have crushed us with the hand of our own iniquity.

There is none that calleth upon thy name, That stirreth himself up to cleave to thee; For thou hidest thy face from us, And lettest us perish by our iniquities.

8 And now, O Lord, you are our Father, yet truly, we are clay. And you are our Maker, and we are all the works of your hands.

But now, O Jehovah, thou art our father; We are the clay, and thou hast formed us; We are all of us the work of thy hands.

9 Do not be so angry, O Lord, and no longer call to mind our iniquity. Behold, consider that we are all your people.

Be not wroth, O Jehovah, to the uttermost, Nor remember our iniquity forever! Behold, look upon us, we beseech thee, we are all thy people!

10 The city of your sanctuary has become a desert. Zion has become a desert. Jerusalem is desolate.

Thy holy cities have become a wilderness; Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.

11 The house of our sanctification and of our glory, where our fathers praised you, has been completely consumed by fire, and all our admirable things have been turned into ruins.

Our holy and glorious house, Where our fathers praised thee, Is burned with fire, And all our precious things are laid waste.

12 Should you restrain yourself, O Lord, concerning these things? Should you remain silent, and afflict us vehemently?

Wilt thou contain thyself at these things, O Jehovah, Wilt thou keep silence, and still grievously afflict us?