Read Isaiah chapter 64 (Amplified Bible) on maBible, the Bible online. In this chapter: Prayer for Mercy and Help.
Prayer for Mercy and Help
1 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 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]. [Lev 13:45, 46]
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]. [Rom 1:21-24]
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 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?
Chapter themes
Ah, si tu intervenais — Tu serais pareil au feu qui allume des brindilles
Que Dieu descende — ou fait bouillir l'eau
La terre tremble — les nations trembleraient devant toi
Tes actes redoutables — tes adversaires connaîtraient ton nom
Les montagnes éternelles — les nations trembleraient
Des prodiges inattendus — tu as fait des prodiges que nous n'attendions pas
Tout tremble devant lui — tu es descendu et les montagnes se sont effondrées devant toi
Un Dieu incomparable — jamais aucun œil n'a vu un autre dieu que toi agir de cette manière
Les montagnes s'ébranlent — pareille chose… agir de cette manière
Ce que nul n'a vu — Tu vas à la rencontre de celui qui pratique avec joie la justice
Ce que Dieu prépare — de ceux qui se souviennent de toi en marchant dans tes voies
Ceux qui l'attendent — c'est en les suivant toujours que nous pouvons être sauvés
Dieu vient à la rencontre
La joie de la justice
Marcher dans tes voies
La colère de Dieu
Nous serons sauvés
Tous impurs — Il n'y a personne qui fasse appel à ton nom
Nos justices souillées — qui se réveille pour s'attacher à toi
Nous nous flétrissons — tu nous laisses nous liquéfier
Emportés par nos fautes — par l'intermédiaire de nos propres fautes
Personne n'invoque Dieu — personne ne fait appel à ton nom
S'attacher à Dieu — pour s'attacher à toi
Dieu cache sa face — tu nous as caché ton visage
Consumés par la faute — tu nous as fait fondre
À cause de nos péchés — à cause de nos fautes
Tu es notre Père — Ne t'irrite pas à l'excès, Eternel
L'argile et le potier — nous sommes tous ton peuple
L'œuvre de tes mains — Regarde donc: nous sommes tous ton peuple
Ne t'irrite pas trop — Ne t'irrite pas à l'excès, Éternel
Notes and references
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 wa…
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.