Section 167 of 17463:15–64:4Isaiah

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King James VersionIsaiah 63:15–64:4

Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?

Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.

O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.

We are thine: thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by thy name.

Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,

As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!

When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.

For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Isaiah 63:15–64:4

The Community Pleads for the Hidden Father to Rend the Heavens

Look down from heaven; you, O Lord, are our father

The prayer turns from recital to plea. Where is your zeal and your might, your stirring of inner parts and compassion? They are withheld. You are our father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us. Why do you make us stray, Lord, and harden our heart? Return for the sake of your servants. Your holy people possessed the sanctuary a little while; our adversaries have trampled it. We have long been like those you do not rule. O that you would tear the heavens and come down, that mountains would quake—as fire kindles brushwood—to make your name known. From of old no one has heard of a God besides you, who works for those who wait.

Father-language outruns even the ancestors when the ancestors feel like strangers. Hardened hearts are confessed as a mystery that still needs God to undo it. The plea does not silence grief, blame the crushed as a class, demand composure, or let confession cancel what enemies have done to the sanctuary.

A little while is how brief the good years feel from inside ruin. A warranted life is to pray as children even when the family does not recognize us, to ask for a torn-open heaven without using that desire to skip the truth of trampling, and to wait as those who still believe God works.

How this should shape us

Pray as children even when the family does not recognize you, ask for a torn-open heaven, and wait without skipping the truth of trampling or silencing grief.

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King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.

Isaiah 63:15–64:4, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.

Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 63:15–64:4 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked

NET Bible Notes: Isaiah

Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, poetry, older KJV language, chronology, names, textual issues, and material translation alternatives.

Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 63:15–64:4 in the complete 205-page book PDF

Isaiah course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and reception

Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.

Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Outline Book 3C, themes, and reception of new creation; applied to Isaiah 63:15–64:4

Anti-Judaism in Christian Teaching and Preaching

Supports: Controls against caricaturing Judaism, Torah-as-legalism claims, blanket condemnation, Gentile boasting, and supersessionist misuse.

Skinner, 'Anti-Judaism in Christian Teaching and Preaching,' Working Preacher (2008), complete essay categories and guidance; applied to the reception risks in Isaiah 63:15–64:4

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King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

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Exact location: Isaiah 63:15–64:4, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

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Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

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Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 63:15–64:4 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked

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NET Bible Notes: Isaiah

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF

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Exact location: Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 63:15–64:4 in the complete 205-page book PDF

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modern scholarly book course

Isaiah course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and reception

Fred Gaiser; revised by Michael Chan

Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised August 2024

Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.

Exact location: Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Outline Book 3C, themes, and reception of new creation; applied to Isaiah 63:15–64:4

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scholarly ethical reception guidance

Anti-Judaism in Christian Teaching and Preaching

Matt Skinner

Working Preacher, Luther Seminary, 2008

Supports: Controls against caricaturing Judaism, Torah-as-legalism claims, blanket condemnation, Gentile boasting, and supersessionist misuse.

Exact location: Skinner, 'Anti-Judaism in Christian Teaching and Preaching,' Working Preacher (2008), complete essay categories and guidance; applied to the reception risks in Isaiah 63:15–64:4

Open Skinner's anti-Judaism guidance ↗