Isa 64 | EE | STEP | Oh, I wanted you to break open the skies and I wanted you to come down! Then the mountains would have moved in front of you.

Isaiah 64

1 Oh, I wanted you to break open the skies and I wanted you to come down! Then the mountains would have moved in front of you.

2 It would have been like a fire that burns up bits of wood. And it would have been like a fire that boils water. Those things would have happened when you came down. And you would have caused your enemies to know your name. The countries would have shaken in front of you.

3 We know that you did things like that in the past. You did wonderful things then that surprised everybody. And yes, very big mountains did shake when you came.

4 And, for a long time, nobody has heard of a God like you. And nobody has thought about a God like you. And nobody has seen a God like you. You do things on behalf of those people who wait for you.

5 Some people remember what you want them to do. It makes those people happy when they can do right and good things. You help those people. But you are angry because, for a long time, we have sinned against your rules. So, we do not know whether you will save us.

6 We have all become like someone who is not clean. And all the good things that we do are like very dirty bits of cloth. We all become dry, like a leaf. And, like a wind, our sins sweep us away.

7 And nobody shouts your name or tries to pray to you. That is because you have hidden your face from us. And you have caused us slowly to become weak. That is because our sins are very bad.

8 But LORD, you are still our father. We are like the clay. And you are like the person who makes the pots. Your hand made all of us.

9 Do not be too angry with us, LORD. And do not always remember our sins. But help us again, because we are your people.

10 Your holy cities will become empty, sandy places. Zion will be an empty, sandy place and Jerusalem will be full of dirt.

11 Our ancestors praised you in our holy and beautiful temple. But soon, fire will burn it. An enemy will destroy everything that is valuable to us.

12 After all that, LORD, we hope that you will not still do nothing. We hope that you will not continue to be quiet. We hope that you will not continue to punish us so much.