Isa 64:5 | NETfull | STEP | You assist those who delight in doing what is right, who observe your commandments. Look, you were angry because we violated them continually. How then can we be saved?

Isaiah 64:5

5 You assist ^{▼▼ Heb “meet [with kindness].”} those who delight in doing what is right, ^{▼▼ Heb “the one who rejoices and does righteousness.”}
who observe your commandments. ^{▼▼ Heb “in your ways they remember you.”}
Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.
How then can we be saved? ^{▼▼ The Hebrew text reads literally, “look, you were angry and we sinned against them continually [or perhaps, “in ancient times”] and we were delivered.” The statement makes little sense as it stands. The first vav [ו] consecutive (“and we sinned”) must introduce an explanatory clause here (see Num 1:48 and Isa 39:1 for other examples of this relatively rare use of the vav [ו] consecutive). The final verb (if rendered positively) makes no sense in this context – God’s anger at their sin resulted in judgment, not deliverance. One of the alternatives involves an emendation to וַנִּרְשָׁע (vannirsha’, “and we were evil”; LXX, NRSV, TEV). The Vulgate and the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a support the MT reading. One can either accept an emendation or cast the statement as a question (as above).}