Isaiah 64:8-12

Context

64:8 Yet,¹ Lord, you are our father.

We are the clay, and you are our potter;

we are all the product of your labor.²

64:9 Lord, do not be too angry!

Do not hold our sins against us continually!³

Take a good look at your people, at all of us!⁴

64:10 Your chosen⁵ cities have become a desert;

Zion has become a desert,

Jerusalem⁶ is a desolate ruin.

64:11 Our holy temple, our pride and joy,⁷

the place where our ancestors praised you,

has been burned with fire;

all our prized possessions have been destroyed.⁸

64:12 In light of all this,⁹ how can you still hold back, Lord?

How can you be silent and continue to humiliate us?

[64:8] ¹tn On the force of וְעַתָּה (vÿ’attah) here, see HALOT 902 s.v. עַתָּה.

[64:8] ²tn Heb “the work of your hand.”

[64:9] ³tn Heb “do not remember sin continually.”

[64:9] ⁴tn Heb “Look, gaze at your people, all of us.” Another option is to translate, “Take a good look! We are all your people.”

[64:10] ⁵tn Heb “holy” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT); NIV “sacred.”

[64:11] ⁷tn Heb “our source of pride.”

[64:11] ⁸tn Or “all that we valued has become a ruin.”

[64:12] ⁹tn Heb “because of these”; KJV, ASV “for these things.”