Isaiah 64

Isaiah 64 chapter overview

Trouble at home 1-33
Redemption of Zion 37-39
Good news to Jerusalem 40-52
Jehovah's atonement 53
Gathering of Israel 55-66

Isaiah's seven-part or Bifid Structure

Ruin & Rebirth (Isaiah 1–5; 34–35)
Rebellion & Compliance (Isaiah 6–8; 36–40)
Punishment & Deliverance (Isaiah 9–12; 41–46)
Humiliation & Exaltation (Isaiah 13–23; 47)
Suffering & Salvation (Isaiah 24–27; 48–54)
Disloyalty & Loyalty (Isaiah 28–31; 55–59) <You are here
Disinheritance & Inheritance (Isaiah 32–33; 60–66)

Isaiah 64 verse by verse

Tabs: Isaiah Verse= Isaiah Institute Translation Hebrew= Hebrew & Strong's concordance from BibleHub Translations=Preferred Translations Exegesis=Personal Analysis Commentaries=Preferred comentaries Video=Video Analysis
Translations: KJV= King James Version NIV=New International Version BSB=Berean Standart Bible NASB=New American Standart Bible BST=Brenton Septuagint Translation Alter=Ater's Translation

1 O that you would rend the heavens and descend,
the mountains melting at your presence—

If only
לוּא־ (lū-)
Preposition
Strong's Hebrew

You would rend
קָרַ֤עְתָּ (qā·ra‘·tā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 7167: To rend

the heavens
שָׁמַ֙יִם֙ (šā·ma·yim)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 8064: Heaven, sky

and come down,
יָרַ֔דְתָּ (yā·raḏ·tā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 3381: To come or go down, descend

so that mountains
הָרִ֥ים (hā·rîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2022: Mountain, hill, hill country

would quake
נָזֹֽלּוּ׃ (nā·zōl·lū)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 2151: To shake, to quake, to be loose morally, worthless, prodigal

at Your presence,
מִפָּנֶ֖יךָ (mip·pā·ne·ḵā)
Preposition-m | Noun - common plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 6440: The face

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Hebrew Transliteration Isaiah 64:1

If only you would rend the heavens
and come down,
so the mountains would quake at Your presence

Parallel
A. Rend the heavens - mountains quake
B. Come down - Your presence

The parallel rending of the heavens and mountain quakes is a plea for Jehovah to come down, his presence is represented power to shake the earth.

Personification
Mountains quake: mountains are given human-like qualities by being described as "quaking" in the presence of a higher power.

Apostrophe:
"If only you would rend the heavens and come down". The speaker is addressing a higher power, asking or wishing them to take an action. The speaker is expressing his strong desire to see this higher power "rend the heavens" and come down to the earth, which creates a sense of urgency and intensity in the verse.

Heavens #8064 שָׁמַיִם

Isaiah 55-66 (current unit)
Look down from heaven and see, from Your holy and glorious habitation. Where are Your zeal and might? Your yearning and compassion for me are restrained. (Isaiah 63:15)

This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where [will be] My place of repose? (Isaiah 66:1)

Isaiah 40-54
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. (Isaiah 40:22)

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like [gnats]. But My salvation will last forever, and My righteousness will never fail. (Isaiah 51:6)

Isaiah 1-39
They are coming from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens— the LORD and the weapons of His wrath— to destroy the whole country. (Isaiah 13:5)

Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the wrath of the LORD of Hosts on the day of His burning anger. (Isaiah 13:14)

When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, then it will come down upon Edom, on the people I have set apart for destruction. (Isaiah 34:5)

Come down - 3381. יָרַד (yarad)

For this is what the LORD has said to me: “Like a lion roaring or a young lion over its prey— and though a band of shepherds is called out against it, it is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their clamor— so the LORD of Hosts will come down to do battle on Mount Zion [and] its heights. (Isaiah 31:4)

When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, then it will come down upon Edom, on the people I have set apart for destruction.
(Isaiah 34:5-6)

Mountains

Isaiah 55-66 (current unit)
You will indeed go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12)

When You did awesome works that we did not expect, You came down, and the mountains trembled at Your presence. (Isaiah 64:3)

Isaiah 40-54
“I will go before you and level the mountains; I will break down the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron. (Isaiah 45:2)

Though the mountains may be removed and the hills may be shaken, My loving devotion will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be broken,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54, Pos. 10)

Isaiah 1-39
Therefore the LORD’s anger burns against His people; He has raised His hand against them and struck them; the mountains quaked, and their corpses lay like refuse in the streets. Yet through all this, His anger is not spent, and His hand is still upraised. (Isaiah 5:25)

2 as when fire is lit for boiling water,
which bubbles over from the heat—
to make yourself known to your adversaries,
the nations trembling at your presence—

as fire
אֵ֣שׁ (’êš)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 784: A fire

kindles
כִּקְדֹ֧חַ (kiq·ḏō·aḥ)
Preposition-k | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 6919: To be kindled, kindle

the brushwood
הֲמָסִ֗ים (hă·mā·sîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2003: A dry twig, brushwood

[and]
אֵ֔שׁ (’êš)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 784: A fire

causes the water
מַ֚יִם (ma·yim)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

to boil,
תִּבְעֶה־ (tiḇ·‘eh-)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1158: To gush over, to swell, to desire earnestly, to ask

to make Your name
שִׁמְךָ֖ (šim·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 8034: A name

known
לְהוֹדִ֥יעַ (lə·hō·w·ḏî·a‘)
Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 3045: To know

to Your enemies,
לְצָרֶ֑יךָ (lə·ṣā·re·ḵā)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 6862: Narrow, a tight place, a pebble, an opponent

so that nations
גּוֹיִ֥ם (gō·w·yim)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1471: A foreign nation, a Gentile, a troop of animals, a flight of locusts

will tremble
יִרְגָּֽזוּ׃ (yir·gā·zū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 7264: To be agitated, quiver, quake, be excited, perturbed

at Your presence!
מִפָּנֶ֖יךָ (mip·pā·ne·ḵā)
Preposition-m | Noun - common plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 6440: The face

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NIV --

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BSB --

NASB --

BST --

Alter --

Chabad --

Hebrew Transliteration Isaiah 64:2

As fire kindles the brushwood
and causes the water to boil
To make your name known to your enemies,
so that nations will tremble at your presence!

Parallel
A. Kindles the brushwood - Water to boil

The parallel implies Jehovah coming as a "burning fire," which represents power, a higher power than the nations, as the way for the nations to recognize his name. In other words, the nations have to tremble to acknowledge the name of Jehovah.

Personification
Nations tremble. the verse describes the nations trembling as if they were alive and had the ability to feel emotions. In this case, they will fear Jehovah.

Simile
As fire kindles the brushwood and causes the water to boil. The simile makes the idea of making Jehovah's name known to the enemies more powerful and transformative by using the metaphor of fire, which is a powerful and intense force that can cause a change in the things around it, in this case, the brushwood and the water.
It also creates an image in the reader's mind of the power and transformative action that God can take and how it can impact the enemies and the nations.
In summary, the simile in this verse is a powerful tool to convey the idea of Isaiah's desire for Jehovah to come down and make its name known to its enemies and the reaction of the nations to that action in a powerful and transformative way.

Apostrophe
The verse also contains an apostrophe, where Isaiah addresses the higher power, asking or wishing them to take an action, and make their name known to the enemies and nations tremble at its presence.

3 as when you performed awesome things
unexpected by us: your descent of old,
when the mountains quaked before you!

When You did
בַּעֲשׂוֹתְךָ֥ (ba·‘ă·śō·wṯ·ḵā)
Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

awesome works
נוֹרָא֖וֹת (nō·w·rā·’ō·wṯ)
Verb - Nifal - Participle - feminine plural
Strong's 3372: To fear, to revere, caus, to frighten

that we did not
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

expect,
נְקַוֶּ֑ה (nə·qaw·weh)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - first person common plural
Strong's 6960: To bind together, collect, to expect

You came down,
יָרַ֕דְתָּ (yā·raḏ·tā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 3381: To come or go down, descend

and the mountains
הָרִ֥ים (hā·rîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2022: Mountain, hill, hill country

trembled
נָזֹֽלּוּ׃ (nā·zōl·lū)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 2151: To shake, to quake, to be loose morally, worthless, prodigal

at Your presence.
מִפָּנֶ֖יךָ (mip·pā·ne·ḵā)
Preposition-m | Noun - common plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 6440: The face

KJV --

NIV --

ESV --

BSB --

NASB --

BST --

Alter --

Chabad --

Hebrew Transliteration Isaiah 64:5

When You did awesome works that we did not expect
You came down, and the mountains tremble at Your presence.

Parallel
A. Awesome works - mountains tremble
B. We did not expect - you came down

Awesome works parallel the mountain trembling at Jehovah's presence, representing the hope the people have for Him to come down and knowing he is a God of miracles and power, knowing if he does, the mountains will tremble. We did not expect/you to come down, which shows that these people in this verse didn't know what to expect, but now they understood that Jehovah is the LORD of host, that he is able to come down and fight for his people.

From Isaiah 64:1-3

A. If only you would rend the heavens
B.and come down,
C. so the mountains would quake at Your presence
A. As fire kindles the brushwood and causes the water to boil
B. To make your name known to your enemies,
C. so that nations will tremble at your presence!
A. When You did awesome works that we did not expect
B. You came down,
C. and the mountains tremble at Your presence.

Chiasmus ABABAB

A. Render the heavens - kindle the brushwood/water boil - awesome works
B. Come down - make your name know
C. Mountains tremble at your presence

A. Implies the power of Jehovah to do works that altered the earth's conditions, as "fire" does, and he can do in such an "awesome" way, such as rendering the heavens.
B. "He comes down" in such a fashion way to make his name known among his enemies.
C. The "mountains tremble," using "personification" to highlight the authority Jehovah has that is above the nations of the earth.

4 Never has it been heard or perceived by the ear,
nor has any eye seen a God besides you,
who acts thus on behalf of those who wait for him.