| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, | 1Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that 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 sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! |
| 3When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence. | 3For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, 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, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of 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 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? |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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 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. |
| 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 you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. |
| 9Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people. | 9Do not be angry beyond measure, LORD; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look on us, we pray, for we are all your people. |
| 10Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. | 10Your sacred cities have become a wasteland; even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation. |
| 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 and glorious temple, where our ancestors praised you, has been burned with fire, and all that we treasured lies in ruins. |
| 12Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O LORD? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore? | 12After all this, LORD, will you hold yourself back? Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure? |
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