Isaiah 64 - Amplified Bible (AMP)

Prayer for Mercy and Help

64 Oh, that You would tear open the heavens and come down,
That the mountains might quake at Your presence—
2
As [sure as] fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Your presence!
3
When You did awesome and amazing things which we did not expect,
You came down [at Sinai]; the mountains quaked at Your presence.
4
For from days of old no one has heard, nor has ear perceived,
Nor has the eye [a]seen a God besides You,
Who works and acts in behalf of the one who [gladly] waits for Him.
5
You meet him who rejoices in doing that which is morally right,
Who remembers You in Your ways.
Indeed, You were angry, for we sinned;
We have long continued in our sins [prolonging Your anger].
And shall we be saved [under such circumstances]?
6
For we all have become like one who is [ceremonially] unclean [like a leper],
And all our deeds of righteousness are like filthy rags;
We all wither and decay like a leaf,
And our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing], like the wind, takes us away [carrying us far from God’s favor, toward destruction].(A)
7
There is no one who calls on Your name,
Who awakens and causes himself to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us
And have handed us over to the [consuming and destructive] power of our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing].(B)

8
Yet, O Lord, You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our Potter,
And we all are the work of Your hand.
9
Do not be angry beyond measure, O Lord,
Do not remember our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing] forever.
Now look, consider, for we are all Your people.
10
[b]Your holy cities have become a wilderness,
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11
Our holy and beautiful house [the temple built by Solomon],
Where our fathers praised You,
Has been burned by fire;
And all our precious objects are in ruins.
12
Considering these [tragedies], will You restrain Yourself, O Lord [and not help us]?
Will You keep silent and humiliate and oppress us beyond measure?

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 64:4 Or seen, O God, besides You, what He will do.... The ancient rabbis favored this translation or a variation of it, and some suggested that the unexpressed object (what) is wine preserved since the creation, or Eden. They all applied this verse to the future that follows the millennial kingdom, and was mostly a mystery to them. Heaven, or specifically the New Jerusalem, that follows the kingdom was partially revealed to John in Revelation. There is a story in the Talmud that when King Ahasuerus held a great banquet in Susa for seven days (Esth 1:5), he arrogantly asked the Jews if God could do better for them than that. They quoted this line to him in reply, and said that in the time to come if God provided nothing better for them than this feast, they could tell Him that they had already enjoyed such a feast at the table of Ahasuerus.
  2. Isaiah 64:10 After the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in a.d. 70 it became a religious tradition among the rabbis to recite vv 10 and 11 and to rip a tear in their robes whenever they saw the ruins.

Cross references

  1. Isaiah 64:6 : Lev 13:45, 46
  2. Isaiah 64:7 : Rom 1:21-24

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64 Didst Thou not rend the heavens? Thou didst come down, From thy presence did mountains flow, 2 (As fire kindleth stubble -- Fire causeth water to boil,) To make known Thy name to Thine adversaries, From Thy presence do nations tremble. 3 In Thy doing fearful things -- we expect not, Thou didst co...
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Isaiah 64 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

64 I would that thou brakest heavens, and camest down, that hills floated away from thy face, (O that thou wouldest break open the heavens, and come down, and that the hills would flow down before thee,) 2 and failed, [(or) vanish(ed) away,] as the burning of fire, and (as) [waters] burnt in (the) f...
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Isaiah 64 - World English Bible (WEB)

64 Oh that you would tear the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence.2 As when fire kindles the brushwood, and the fire causes the water to boil;Make your name known to your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at your presence!3 When you did awesome ...
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Isaiah 64 - The Voice (VOICE)

64 If only You would rip open the heavens and come down to earth—Its heights and depths would quake the moment You appear,2 Like kindling when it just begins to catch fire, or like water that’s about to boil. If only You would come like that so that all who deny or hate YouWould know who You are and...
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Isaiah 64 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

As Unclean Rags64 As fire kindles brushwood,as fire causes water to boil,make Your Name known to Your foes,so the nations may tremble before You!2 When You did awesome things that we were not expecting,You came down—the mountains shook at Your presence!3 For from days of old no one has heard,no ear ...
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Isaiah 64 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

64 O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at thy presence—2 [a]as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil—to make thy name known to thy adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at thy presence!3 When thou didst terrible things ...
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Isaiah 64 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

64 O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at thy presence—2 [a]as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil—to make thy name known to thy adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at thy presence!3 When thou didst terrible things ...
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Isaiah 64 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

64 O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence—2 [a] as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil—to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence!3 When you did awesome de...
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Isaiah 64 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

64 O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence—2 [a] as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil—to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence!3 When you did awesome de...
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Isaiah 64 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

64 O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence—(A)2 [a]as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil—to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence!(B)3 When you did aweso...
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Isaiah 64 - New Living Translation (NLT)

64 [a]Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down! How the mountains would quake in your presence!2 [b]As fire causes wood to burn and water to boil,your coming would make the nations tremble. Then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame!3 When you came down long ago, you did a...
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Isaiah 64 - New Life Version (NLV)

64 If only You would tear open the heavens and come down! The mountains would shake before You, 2 as when fire burns the wood and causes the water to boil. Come and make Your name known to those who are against you, that the nations may shake in fear before You! 3 When You did powerful things whic...
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Isaiah 64 - New King James Version (NKJV)

A Prayer for Help64 Oh, that You would [a]rend the heavens!That You would come down!That the mountains might shake at Your (A)presence—2 As fire burns brushwood,As fire causes water to boil—To make Your name known to Your adversaries,That the nations may tremble at Your presence!3 When (B)You did aw...
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Isaiah 64 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

64 [a]Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil,come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you!3 For when you did awesome things that we did not...
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Isaiah 64 - New International Version (NIV)

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Isaiah 64 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

64 I wish you would open up your heavens and come down to us!I wish the mountains would tremble when you show your power!2 Be like a fire that causes twigs to burn. It also makes water boil.So come down and make yourself known to your enemies. Cause the nations to shake with fear when they see your ...
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Isaiah 64 - New English Translation (NET)

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