Isaiah 64:3-12

3 When You did ¹awesome things which we did not expect, You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence.

4 For from days of old ²they have not heard or perceived by ear, Nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who acts in behalf of the one who ³waits for Him.

5 You ⁴meet him who rejoices in ⁵doing righteousness, Who ⁶remembers You in Your ways. Behold, ⁷You were angry, for we sinned, We continued in them a long time; And shall we be saved?

6 For all of us have become like one who is ⁸unclean, And all our ⁹righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us ¹⁰wither like a leaf, And our ¹¹iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

7 There is ¹²no one who calls on Your name, Who arouses himself to take hold of You; For You have ¹³hidden Your face from us And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities.

8 But now, O LORD, ¹⁴You are our Father, We are the ¹⁵clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the ¹⁶work of Your hand.

9 Do not be ¹⁷angry beyond measure, O LORD, ¹⁸Nor remember iniquity forever; Behold, look now, all of us are ¹⁹Your people.

10 Your ²⁰holy cities have become a ²¹wilderness, Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.

11 Our holy and beautiful ²²house, Where our fathers praised You, Has been burned by fire; And ²³all our precious things have become a ruin.

12 Will You ²⁴restrain Yourself at these things, O LORD? Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?

Isaiah 64:3-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 64

The prayer of the church is continued in this chapter; in which she prays for some visible display of the power and presence of God, as in times past, Isa 64:1-3, and the rather, since unheard of and unseen things were prepared by the Lord for his people; and it was his usual way to meet those that were truly religious, Isa 64:4,5, and she acknowledges her sins and transgressions; the imperfections of her own righteousness, and remissness in duty, Isa 64:5-7, pleads relation to God, and implores his mercy, Isa 64:8,9, represents the desolate condition of Judea, Zion, Jerusalem, and the temple, and entreats divine commiseration, Isa 64:10-12.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 65:5; Psalms 66:3, 5; Psalms 106:22
• 2. 1 Corinthians 2:9
• 3. Isaiah 25:9; Isaiah 30:18; Isaiah 40:31
• 4. Exodus 20:24
• 5. Isaiah 56:1
• 6. Isaiah 26:13; Isaiah 63:7
• 7. Isaiah 12:1
• 8. Isaiah 6:5
• 9. Isaiah 46:12; Isaiah 48:1
• 10. Psalms 90:5, 6; Isaiah 1:30
• 11. Isaiah 50:1
• 12. Isaiah 59:4; Ezekiel 22:30
• 13. Deuteronomy 31:18; Isaiah 1:15; Isaiah 54:8
• 14. Isaiah 63:16
• 15. Isaiah 29:16; Isaiah 45:9
• 16. Psalms 100:3; Isaiah 60:21
• 17. Isaiah 57:17; Isaiah 60:10
• 18. Isaiah 43:25; Micah 7:18
• 19. Psalms 79:13; Isaiah 63:8
• 20. Isaiah 48:2; Isaiah 52:1
• 21. Isaiah 1:7; Isaiah 6:11
• 22. 2 Kings 25:9; Psalms 74:5-7; Isaiah 63:18
• 23. Lam 1:7, 10, 11
• 24. Ps 74:10, 11, 18, 19; Isaiah 42:14; Isaiah 63:15

Footnotes

• [a] Reading with the DSS and versions; M.T. "melted"