New International VersionDo not be angry beyond measure, LORD; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look on us, we pray, for we are all your people.
New Living TranslationDon’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.
English Standard VersionBe not so terribly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people.
Berean Standard BibleDo not be angry, O LORD, beyond measure; do not remember our iniquity forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray; we are all Your people!
King James BibleBe not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
New King James VersionDo not be furious, O LORD, Nor remember iniquity forever; Indeed, please look—we all are Your people!
New American Standard BibleDo not be angry beyond measure, LORD, Nor remember wrongdoing forever. Behold, please look, all of us are Your people.
NASB 1995Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD, Nor remember iniquity forever; Behold, look now, all of us are Your people.
NASB 1977Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD, Neither remember iniquity forever; Behold, look now, all of us are Thy people.
Legacy Standard BibleDo not be angry beyond measure, O Yahweh, Nor remember iniquity forever; Behold, look now, all of us are Your people.
Amplified BibleDo not be angry beyond measure, O LORD, Do not remember our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing] forever. Now look, consider, for we are all Your people.
Christian Standard BibleLORD, do not be terribly angry or remember our iniquity forever. Please look—all of us are your people!
Holman Christian Standard Bible LORD, do not be terribly angry or remember our iniquity forever. Please look—all of us are Your people!
American Standard VersionBe not wroth very sore, O Jehovah, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, look, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
Contemporary English VersionDon't be so furious or keep our sins in your thoughts forever! Remember that all of us are your people.
English Revised VersionBe not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, look, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
GOD'S WORD® TranslationDon't be too angry, LORD. Don't remember our sin forever. Now look, we are all your people.
Good News Translationso do not be too angry with us or hold our sins against us forever. We are your people; be merciful to us.
International Standard VersionDon't be angry beyond measure, LORD, and don't remember our iniquity for a season. Please look now, we are all your people.
NET BibleLORD, do not be too angry! Do not hold our sins against us continually! Take a good look at your people, at all of us!
New Heart English BibleDo not be furious, LORD, neither remember iniquity forever: see, look, we beg you, we are all your people.
Webster's Bible TranslationBe not very wroth, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people. Majority Text Translations Majority Standard BibleDo not be angry, O LORD, beyond measure; do not remember our iniquity forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray; we are all Your people!
World English BibleDon’t be furious, Yahweh. Don’t remember iniquity forever. Look and see, we beg you, we are all your people. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionDo not be angry, O YHWH, very severely, "" Nor remember iniquity forever, "" Behold, look attentively, we implore You, "" We [are] all Your people.
Young's Literal Translation Be not wroth, O Jehovah, very sore, Nor for ever remember iniquity, Lo, look attentively, we beseech Thee, Thy people are we all.
Smith's Literal TranslationThou wilt not be angry, O Jehovah, even greatly, and not forever wilt thou remember iniquity: behold, look now, Ye are all thy people. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleBe not very angry, O Lord, and remember no longer our iniquity: behold, see we are all thy people.
Catholic Public Domain VersionDo not be so angry, O Lord, and no longer call to mind our iniquity. Behold, consider that we are all your people.
New American BibleDo not be so very angry, LORD, do not remember our crimes forever; look upon us, who are all your people!
New Revised Standard VersionDo not be exceedingly angry, O LORD, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleBe not very angry, O LORD, neither remember our sins for ever; behold, see, we are all thy people.
Peshitta Holy Bible TranslatedDo not be very angry forever, LORD JEHOVAH, and do not remember our sins forever. See that we are all your people OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, Neither remember iniquity for ever; Behold, look, we beseech Thee, we are all Thy people.
Brenton Septuagint TranslationBe not very wroth with us, and remember not our sins for ever; but now look on us, for we are all thy people.
Additional Translations ... Audio Bible
Context A Prayer for God's Power… 8But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand. 9Do notbe angry,O LORD,beyondmeasure;do notrememberour iniquityforever.Oh,look upon us,we pray;we are allYour people!10Your holy cities have become a wilderness. Zion has become a wasteland and Jerusalem a desolation.…
Cross References Exodus 32:12-14Why should the Egyptians declare, ‘He brought them out with evil intent, to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce anger and relent from doing harm to Your people. / Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom You swore by Your very self when You declared, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised, and it shall be their inheritance forever.’” / So the LORD relented from the calamity He had threatened to bring on His people.
Psalm 79:8-9Do not hold past sins against us; let Your compassion come quickly, for we are brought low. / Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; deliver us and atone for our sins, for the sake of Your name.
Jeremiah 31:20Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the LORD.
Lamentations 3:22-23Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. / They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!
2 Chronicles 30:9For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and sons will receive mercy in the presence of their captors and will return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful; He will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”
Nehemiah 9:31But in Your great compassion, You did not put an end to them; nor did You forsake them, for You are a gracious and compassionate God.
Psalm 103:8-10The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. / He will not always accuse us, nor harbor His anger forever. / He has not dealt with us according to our sins or repaid us according to our iniquities.
Micah 7:18-19Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion? / He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea.
Joel 2:13So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.
Hosea 11:8-9How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within Me; My compassion is stirred! / I will not execute the full fury of My anger; I will not destroy Ephraim again. For I am God and not man—the Holy One among you—and I will not come in wrath.
Romans 11:1-2I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. / God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel:
2 Corinthians 5:19that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Ephesians 2:4-5But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, / made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!
Hebrews 8:12For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”
1 John 1:9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Treasury of Scripture Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech you, we are all your people. wroth Psalm 6:1 To the chief Musician on Neginoth upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David. O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Psalm 38:1 A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Psalm 74:1,2 Maschil of Asaph. O God, why hast thou castus off for ever?why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? … remember Jeremiah 3:12 Go 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 Iam merciful, saith the LORD,and I will not keepanger for ever. Lamentations 5:20 Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever,and forsake us so long time? Micah 7:18-20 Whois 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 delightethin mercy… we are Isaiah 63:19 We arethine: thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by thy name. Psalm 79:13 So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations. Psalm 119:94 Iam thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts. Jump to Previous AngryAttentivelyBegBeseechBrokenConsiderExceedinglyForeverFuriousHolyIniquityJerusalemLookMassMeasureRememberSoreTownsWallsWasteWrothZionJump to Next AngryAttentivelyBegBeseechBrokenConsiderExceedinglyForeverFuriousHolyIniquityJerusalemLookMassMeasureRememberSoreTownsWallsWasteWrothZionIsaiah 64 1.The church prays for the illustration of God's power4.Celebrating God's mercy, it makes confession of their natural corruptions9.It complains of their afflictionsDo not be angry, O LORD, beyond measure;This plea reflects the Israelites' understanding of God's righteous anger due to their sins. In the Old Testament, God's anger is often depicted as a response to covenant unfaithfulness ( Deuteronomy 29:24-28). The Israelites are aware of the consequences of divine wrath, as seen in the Babylonian exile. The phrase suggests a hope for God's mercy, reminiscent of His character described in Exodus 34:6-7, where He is "slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." do not remember our iniquity forever.
The request for God not to remember their sins highlights the concept of divine forgiveness. In biblical terms, to "remember" often means to act upon something. The Israelites are asking God to forgive and not act upon their past transgressions. This is echoed inPsalm 103:12, where God removes transgressions "as far as the east is from the west." The plea for forgiveness is a central theme in the sacrificial system and foreshadows the ultimate forgiveness through Christ's atonement (Hebrews 10:17). Oh, look upon us, we pray;
This is a call for God’s attention and favor. In the ancient Near Eastern context, to have a deity "look upon" someone was to receive their blessing and protection. The Israelites are seeking restoration of their relationship with God, akin to the priestly blessing inNumbers 6:24-26, where God's face shining upon His people signifies peace and grace. we are all Your people!
This declaration reaffirms the covenant relationship between God and Israel. Despite their sins, the Israelites claim their identity as God's chosen people, as established inDeuteronomy 7:6. This identity is not based on their righteousness but on God's promise to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 17:7). The phrase also points to the future hope of restoration and unity under the Messiah, as seen in prophecies likeIsaiah 11:10-12, where all nations will seek the root of Jesse. Persons / Places / Events 1. IsaiahThe prophet who authored the book, delivering messages from God to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 2. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant God of Israel, whom Isaiah addresses in this plea for mercy. 3. The People of IsraelThe nation chosen by God, often straying from His commandments, yet seeking His forgiveness and restoration. 4. Judah and JerusalemThe primary audience of Isaiah's prophecies, representing the southern kingdom of Israel. 5. The ExileThe context of the plea, as the people face the consequences of their sins, including the Babylonian exile. Teaching Points God's Mercy and PatienceGod is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. We are encouraged to approach Him with humility, seeking His mercy. The Nature of RepentanceTrue repentance involves acknowledging our sins and turning back to God, trusting in His willingness to forgive. Identity as God's PeopleDespite our failures, we are reminded of our identity as God's people, chosen and loved by Him. The Importance of IntercessionIsaiah's prayer serves as a model for interceding on behalf of others, asking God to remember His covenant promises. Hope in RestorationEven in times of judgment, there is hope for restoration and renewal through God's grace and forgiveness. Bible Study Questions and Answers 1.What is the meaning of Isaiah 64:9?
2.How can Isaiah 64:9 guide us in seeking God's mercy in prayer?
3.What does Isaiah 64:9 reveal about God's nature as "our Father"?
4.How does Isaiah 64:9 connect with God's forgiveness in 1 John 1:9?
5.In what ways can we apply "do not remember our iniquity forever"?
6.How can acknowledging God as "our Father" impact our daily spiritual walk?
7.How does Isaiah 64:9 reflect God's mercy despite human sinfulness?
8.Why does Isaiah plead for God not to remember iniquity forever?
9.What historical context influenced the plea in Isaiah 64:9?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Isaiah 64?
11.How does the judgment in Ezekiel 9 align with other biblical passages emphasizing mercy and forgiveness?
12.Is God merciful to all? (Psalm 145:9 vs. Isaiah 13:9)
13.Isaiah 57:9: Does the reference to courting foreign powers challenge God's sovereignty, and is there any conflict with other biblical texts that describe reliance on allies?
14.Isaiah 27:7-9 describes collective punishment or forgiveness--does this conflict with other Old Testament texts emphasizing individual responsibility (e.g., Ezekiel 18)?What Does Isaiah 64:9 Mean Do not be angry, O LORD, beyond measure• Isaiah’s words echo a humble awareness that God’s righteous anger is real, yet it has bounds set by His own character.Psalm 30:5 reminds us, “His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime.” • The plea reflects confidence in the LORD’s self-description: “slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion” (Exodus 34:6–7). • Believers today can share this posture—acknowledging the seriousness of sin while trusting God’s measured discipline (Jeremiah 10:24).
do not remember our iniquity forever• The prophet appeals to God’s covenant mercy, asking Him not to keep sin on the ledger indefinitely. •Micah 7:18–19 paints the same hope: God “casts all our sins into the depths of the sea.” • In the new covenant God promises, “I will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12; cf.Psalm 79:8). The request anticipates the full pardon secured through Christ’s atoning work.
Oh, look upon us, we pray• Isaiah longs for God’s favorable attention. Scripture often ties divine “looking” with action: “Turn again, O God of Hosts, and look down from heaven and see; attend to this vine” (Psalm 80:14). • When the Father’s eyes are on His people, it signals protection and restoration (Psalm 25:18;2 Chronicles 7:15). • This teaches us to seek more than relief from consequences—we seek renewed fellowship with the God who sees.
we are all Your people!• The appeal rests on covenant identity: Israel belongs to the LORD by His choice (Exodus 19:5–6;Deuteronomy 32:9). • Even in exile and judgment, that relationship remains. Isaiah’s cry is, “Remember whose we are.” • For believers grafted into God’s family through Christ, Peter echoes the language: “Now you are God’s people” (1 Peter 2:9–10). Our standing with God becomes the basis for every plea for mercy.
summaryIsaiah 64:9 is a heartfelt, covenant-based appeal. It acknowledges God’s just anger yet trusts His measured discipline, seeks forgiveness that He delights to give, asks for His attentive care, and stands on the unshakable truth that His people belong to Him. The verse invites us to approach the LORD with the same humble confidence, assured that in Christ He hears, forgives, and restores. Verse 9. - Be not wroth verysore. At the time of the Captivity God was wroth very sore ( Lamentations 5:22). His auger was hot against the sheep of his pasture ( Psalm 74:1). But they had suffered, they had been afflicted many years. Might he not now relent, and remit somewhat from his fierce anger? Neither remember iniquity (comp. Psalm 79:8). God had already made a promise by the mouth of Isaiah, "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy trangressions, and will not remember thy sins" ( Isaiah 43:25). The captives lay hold, as it were, on this promise, and entreat that their "iniquity" may be not only forgiven, but forgotten ( Jeremiah 31:34). We are all thypeople. A fresh argument. "We are thy children," individually (ver. 8); "we are thy work, thy creatures" (ver. 8), again individually; but also, "we are all of us ( kullanu), collectively, thy people" - the people whom thou hast chosen to thyself, and over whom thou hast watched for so many centuries. Surely this consideration, if no other, will induce thee to forego thy wrath and forgive our iniquity.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew Do notאַל־(’al-)Adverb
Strong's 408:Notbe angry,תִּקְצֹ֤ף(tiq·ṣōp̄)Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 7107:To crack off, burst out in rageO LORD,יְהוָה֙(Yah·weh)Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068:LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israelbeyondעַד־(‘aḏ-)Preposition
Strong's 5704:As far as, even to, up to, until, whilemeasure;מְאֹ֔ד(mə·’ōḏ)Adverb
Strong's 3966:Vehemence, vehemently, wholly, speedilydo notוְאַל־(wə·’al-)Conjunctive waw | Adverb
Strong's 408:Notrememberתִּזְכֹּ֣ר(tiz·kōr)Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 2142:To mark, to remember, to mention, to be maleour iniquityעָוֺ֑ן(‘ā·wōn)Noun - common singular
Strong's 5771:Iniquity, guilt, punishment for iniquityforever.לָעַ֖ד(lā·‘aḏ)Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5703:A, terminus, duration, advance, perpetuityOh,הֵ֥ן(hên)Interjection
Strong's 2005:Lo! behold!look upon us,הַבֶּט־(hab·beṭ-)Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 5027:To scan, look intently at, to regardwe pray;נָ֖א(nā)Interjection
Strong's 4994:I pray', 'now', 'then'we are allכֻלָּֽנוּ׃(ḵul·lā·nū)Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common plural
Strong's 3605:The whole, all, any, everyYour people!עַמְּךָ֥(‘am·mə·ḵā)Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5971:A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock
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OT Prophets: Isaiah 64:9 Don't be furious Yahweh neither remember iniquity (Isa Isi Is) |
