Isaiah 64:6-12

6 We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.

7 Yet no one calls on your name or pleads with you for mercy. Therefore, you have turned away from us and turned us over to our sins.

8 And yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.

9 Don’t be so angry with us, LORD . Please don’t remember our sins forever. Look at us, we pray, and see that we are all your people.

10 Your holy cities are destroyed. Zion is a wilderness; yes, Jerusalem is a desolate ruin.

11 The holy and beautiful Temple where our ancestors praised you has been burned down, and all the things of beauty are destroyed.

12 After all this, LORD, must you still refuse to help us? Will you continue to be silent and punish us?

Isaiah 64:6-12 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. As in Greek, Syriac, and Aramaic versions; Hebrew reads melted us.