Passage
Isaiah 64.4
Book: Isaiah · NASB95
Immediate context (±2 verses)
ASV
2. as when fire kindleth the brushwood, and the fire causeth the waters to boil; to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! 3. When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains quaked at thy presence.
4. For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen a God besides thee, who worketh for him that waiteth for him.
- Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou wast wroth, and we sinned: in them have we been of long time; and shall we be saved? 6. For we are all become as one that is unclean, and all our righteousnesses are as a polluted garment: and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (Isaiah 64:2-6, ASV)
WEB
2. As when fire kindles the brushwood, and the fire causes the water to boil; Make your name known to your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at your presence! 3. When you did awesome things which we didn’t look for, you came down, and the mountains quaked at your presence.
4. For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides you, who works for him who waits for him.
- You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned. We have been in sin for a long time. Shall we be saved? 6. For we have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteousness is like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (Isaiah 64:2-6, WEB)
KJV
2. 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! the melting: Heb. the fire of meltings 3. When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.
4. 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. seen: or, seen a God beside thee, which doeth so for him, etc
- Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved. 6. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. (Isaiah 64:2-6, KJV)
YLT
2. (As fire kindleth stubble, Fire causeth water to boil,) To make known Thy name to Thine adversaries, From Thy presence do nations tremble. 3. In Thy doing fearful things, we expect not, Thou didst come down, From Thy presence did mountains flow.
4. Even from antiquity [men] have not heard, They have not given ear, Eye hath not seen a God save Thee, He doth work for those waiting for Him.
- Thou hast met with the rejoicer And the doer of righteousness, In Thy ways they remember Thee, Lo, Thou hast been wroth when we sin, By them [is] continuance, and we are saved. 6. And we are as unclean, all of us, And as a garment passing away, all our righteous acts; And we fade as a leaf, all of us. And our iniquities as wind do take us away. (Isaiah 64:2-6, YLT)
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Setting
- Speaker: TBD
- Audience: TBD
- Location: TBD
- Time period: TBD
Theological reading
Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.
Key words
Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.
- H5769 - olam, olam, Strong's H5769
- H8085 - shama, shama, Strong's H8085
- H0430 - elohim, elohim, Strong's H0430
- H6213 - asah, asah, Strong's H6213
Notes
Your annotations.
Why these four translations
ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.
The four:
- ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.
See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.