| King James Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, | 1If only you would tear apart the sky and come down! The mountains would tremble before you! |
| 2As 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! | 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 thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence. | 3When you performed awesome deeds that took us by surprise, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. |
| 4For 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. | 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. |
| 5Thou 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. | 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? |
| 6But 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. | 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. |
| 7And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because 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, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy 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 wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy 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! |
| 10Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is 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 our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste. | 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. |
| 12Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O LORD? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore? | 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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