New International Version
Isaiah 64:5
5You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved?
Isaiah 64:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)You 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?
- New King James Version (NKJV)You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned— In these ways we continue; And we need to be saved.
- New Living Translation (NLT)You welcome those who gladly do good, who follow godly ways. But you have been very angry with us, for we are not godly. We are constant sinners; how can people like us be saved?
Context of Isaiah 64:5
3For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. 4Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved? 6All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. 7No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and have given us over to our sins.
Read all of Isaiah 64Isaiah 64:5 word by word
פָּגַ֤עְתָּ אֶת־שָׂשׂ֙ וְעֹ֣שֵׂה צֶ֔דֶק בִּדְרָכֶ֖יךָ יִזְכְּר֑וּךָ הֵן־אַתָּ֤ה קָצַ֙פְתָּ֙ וַֽנֶּחֱטָ֔א בָּהֶ֥ם עוֹלָ֖ם וְנִוָּשֵֽׁעַ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thou meetestפָּגַעpâga‛ · to fall onH6293
- him that rejoicethשׂוּשׂώûώ ώîyώ · to rejoiceH7797
- and workethעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- righteousnessצֶ֫דֶקtsedeq · righteousnessH6664
- rememberזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
- thee in thy waysדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
- behold, thou art wrothקָצַףqâtsaph · be angryH7107
- for we have sinnedחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
- in those is continuanceעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: antiquityH5769
- and we shall be savedיָשַׁעyâsha‛ · to saveH3467
Cross-references for Isaiah 64:5
- Exodus 20:24“ ‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.
- Exodus 25:22There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.
- Exodus 29:42“For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the tent of meeting, before the Lord. There I will meet you and speak to you;
- Exodus 30:6Put the altar in front of the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law—before the atonement cover that is over the tablets of the covenant law—where I will meet with you.
- Hebrews 4:16Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
- Psalms 25:10All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
- Psalms 37:4Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
- Psalms 112:1Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands.
- Acts 10:2He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.
- Philippians 3:13Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
- Isaiah 26:8Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.
- Isaiah 56:1This is what the Lord says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.
- Isaiah 63:10Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them.
- Psalms 90:7We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation.
- Psalms 103:17But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—
- Jeremiah 31:18“I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me like an unruly calf, and I have been disciplined. Restore me, and I will return, because you are the Lord my God.
Commentaries on Isaiah 64:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness "Thou meetest with joy those who work righteousness" - The Syriac reads בעשי שש אתה פוגע poga attah shesh baashi, as above. In those is continuance, and we shall be saved "Because of our deeds, for we have been rebellious" - ונושע עולם בהם bahem olam venivvashea . I am fully persuaded that these words as they stand in the present Hebrew text are utterly unintelligible; there is no doubt of the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Thou meetest him - Perhaps there are few verses in the Bible that have given more perplexity to interpreters than this; and after all that has been done, the general impression seems to be, that it is wholly inexplicable, or without meaning - as it certainly is in our translation. Noyes says of his own translation of the last member of the verse, I am not satisfied with this or any other translation of the line which I have seen.‘ Lowth says, I am fully…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6we remain in our sins … like something unclean: See also Isaiah 59:1–15. The only hope for salvation and transformation is through Jesus Christ (see Romans 7:25–8:11).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. meetest--that is, Thou makest peace, or enterest into covenant with him (see on Is 47:3). rejoiceth and worketh--that is, who with joyful willingness worketh [Gesenius] (Ac 10:35; Joh 7:17). those--Thou meetest "those," in apposition to "him" who represents a class whose characteristics "those that," &c., more fully describes. remember thee in thy ways--(Is 26:8). sinned--literally, "tripped," carrying on the figure in "ways." in those is…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 64:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 64
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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