| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence— | 1If only you would tear apart the sky and come down! The mountains would tremble before you! |
| 2as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence! | 2As when fire ignites dry wood, or fire makes water boil, let your adversaries know who you are, and may the nations shake at your presence! |
| 3When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. | 3When you performed awesome deeds that took us by surprise, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. |
| 4From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. | 4Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who intervenes for those who wait for him. |
| 5You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? | 5You 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? |
| 6We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. | 6We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind. |
| 7There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. | 7No one invokes your name, or makes an effort to take hold of you. For you have rejected us and handed us over to our own sins. |
| 8But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. | 8Yet, LORD, you are our father. We are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the product of your labor. |
| 9Be not so terribly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people. | 9LORD, do not be too angry! Do not hold our sins against us continually! Take a good look at your people, at all of us! |
| 10Your holy cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. | 10Your chosen cities have become a desert; Zion has become a desert, Jerusalem is a desolate ruin. |
| 11Our holy and beautiful house, where our fathers praised you, has been burned by fire, and all our pleasant places have become ruins. | 11Our holy temple, our pride and joy, the place where our ancestors praised you, has been burned with fire; all our prized possessions have been destroyed. |
| 12Will you restrain yourself at these things, O LORD? Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly? | 12In light of all this, how can you still hold back, LORD? How can you be silent and continue to humiliate us? |
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