After all this, Lord, must you still refuse to help us? Will you continue to be silent and punish us?
Parallel translations
- WEB Will you hold yourself back for these things, Yahweh? Will you keep silent, and punish us very severely?
- KJV Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O LORD? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?
- BSB After all this, O LORD, will You restrain Yourself? Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?
- NKJV Will You restrain Yourself because of these things, O Lord? Will You hold Your peace, and afflict us very severely?
- NASB Will You restrain Yourself at these things, Lord? Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The chapter ends by asking whether God will restrain Himself, keep silent, and punish severely. It matters because it leaves the people waiting in dependence on God's mercy.
Overview
The prayer closes with anguished questions, casting the people entirely on God's response. They cannot save themselves and can only appeal to His compassion. This posture of waiting in faith sets the stage for God's answer in chapter 65, and it reflects the believer's stance of trusting God's mercy in Christ even amid silence and judgment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Isa 42:14“I have been silent a long time. I have been quiet and restrained myself. Now I will cry out like a travailing woman. I will both gasp and pant.
- Ps 74:10–11How long, God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever?
- Ps 83:1A song. A Psalm by Asaph. God, don’t keep silent. Don’t keep silent, and don’t be still, God.
- Zech 1:12Then Yahweh’s angel replied, “O Yahweh of Armies, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which you have had indignation these seventy years?”
- Ps 74:18–19Remember this, that the enemy has mocked you, Yahweh. Foolish people have blasphemed your name.
- Ps 10:1Why do you stand far off, Yahweh? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
- Rev 6:10They cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
- Ps 80:3–4Turn us again, God. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
- Ps 79:5How long, Yahweh? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire?
- Ps 89:46–51How long, Yahweh? Will you hide yourself forever? Will your wrath burn like fire?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 64:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.