Revised Standard Version RSV
GOD'S WORD Translation GW
1 O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at thy presence--
1
If only you would split open the heavens and come down! The mountains would quake at your presence.
2 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!
2
Be like the fire that kindles brushwood and makes water boil. Come down to make your name known to your enemies. The nations will tremble in your presence.
3 When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains quaked at thy presence.
3
When you did awe-inspiring things that we didn't expect, you came down and the mountains quaked in your presence.
4 From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides thee, who works for those who wait for him.
4
No one has ever heard, no one has paid attention, and no one has seen any god except you. You help those who wait for you.
5 Thou meetest him that joyfully works righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways. Behold, thou wast angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?
5
You greeted the one who gladly does right and remembers your ways. You showed your anger, because we've sinned. We've continued to sin for a long time. Can we still be saved?
6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
6
We've all become unclean, and all our righteous acts are like permanently stained rags. All of us shrivel like leaves, and our sins carry us away like the wind.
7 There is no one that calls upon thy name, that bestirs himself to take hold of thee; for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast delivered us into the hand of our iniquities.
7
No one calls on your name or tries to hold on to you. You have hidden your face from us. You have let us be ruined by our sins.
8 Yet, O LORD, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou art our potter; we are all the work of thy hand.
8
But now, LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are our potter. We are the work of your hands.
9 Be not exceedingly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity for ever. Behold, consider, we are all thy people.
9
Don't be too angry, LORD. Don't remember our sin forever. Now look, we are all your people.
10 Thy holy cities have become a wilderness, Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
10
Your holy cities have become a desert. Zion has become a desert. Jerusalem is a wasteland.
11 Our holy and beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, has been burned by fire, and all our pleasant places have become ruins.
11
Our holy and beautiful temple, where our ancestors praised you, has been burned to the ground. All that we valued has been ruined.
12 Wilt thou restrain thyself at these things, O LORD? Wilt thou keep silent, and afflict us sorely?
12
Despite these things, LORD, will you hold back? Will you be silent and make us suffer more than we can bear?
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.