| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence— | 1If only You would tear the heavens open and come down, so that mountains would quake at Your presence-- |
| 2As fire burns brushwood, As fire causes water to boil— To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Your presence! | 2as fire kindles the brushwood, and fire causes water to boil-- to make Your name known to Your enemies, so that nations will tremble at Your presence! |
| 3When You did awesome things for which we did not look, You came down, The mountains shook at Your presence. | 3When You did awesome works that we did not expect, You came down, and the mountains quaked at Your presence. |
| 4For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him. | 4From ancient times no one has heard, no one has listened, no eye has seen any God except You, who acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him. |
| 5You 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. | 5You welcome the one who joyfully does what is right; they remember You in Your ways. But we have sinned, and You were angry. How can we be saved if we remain in our sins? |
| 6But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. | 6All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. |
| 7And there is no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself up to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us, And have consumed us because of our iniquities. | 7No one calls on Your name, striving to take hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us and made us melt because of our iniquity. |
| 8But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand. | 8Yet LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we all are the work of Your hands. |
| 9Do not be furious, O LORD, Nor remember iniquity forever; Indeed, please look—we all are Your people! | 9 LORD, do not be terribly angry or remember our iniquity forever. Please look--all of us are Your people! |
| 10Your holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. | 10Your holy cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. |
| 11Our holy and beautiful temple, Where our fathers praised You, Is burned up with fire; And all our pleasant things are laid waste. | 11Our holy and beautiful temple, where our fathers praised You, has been burned with fire, and all that was dear to us lies in ruins. |
| 12Will You restrain Yourself because of these things, O LORD? Will You hold Your peace, and afflict us very severely? | 12 LORD, after all this, will You restrain Yourself? Will You keep silent and afflict severely?" |
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