Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t be furious, Yahweh, and don’t remember iniquity forever. Look and see, we beg you, we are all your people.
- BSB Do not be angry, O LORD, beyond measure; do not remember our iniquity forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray; we are all Your people!
- NKJV Do not be furious, O Lord, Nor remember iniquity forever; Indeed, please look—we all are Your people!
- NASB Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord, Nor remember wrongdoing forever. Behold, please look, all of us are Your people.
- NLT Don’t be so angry with us, Lord. Please don’t remember our sins forever. Look at us, we pray, and see that we are all your people.
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 people beg God not to remain angry or remember sin forever, pleading that they are all His people. It matters because it appeals to God's mercy and covenant ownership.
Overview
The prayer asks God to set aside His just anger and not hold their iniquity against them forever, resting the appeal on the relationship: 'we are all your people.' This plea for mercy anticipates the gospel promise that in Christ God remembers our sins no more (Hebrews 8:12; Jeremiah 31:34). It models the believer's confidence that God's mercy triumphs for those who are His.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Mic 7:18–20Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
- Ps 79:13So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations.
- Ps 74:1–2O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
- Ps 79:5–9How long, LORD? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?
- Isa 57:17For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.
- Mal 1:4Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.
- Isa 43:25I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
- Jer 10:24O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
- 2 Pet 2:17These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
- Isa 63:19We are thine: thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by thy name.
- Hab 3:2O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.
- Rev 20:10And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
- Lam 5:20Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time?
- Ps 119:94I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts.
- Ps 38:1O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
- Jer 3:12Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.
- Isa 60:10And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.
- Ps 6:1O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
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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 64:9 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
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