1Oh that thou would rend the heavens, that thou would come down, that the mountains might quake at thy presence, 2as when fire kindles the brushwood, [and] the fire causes the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! 3When thou did fearful things which we did not look for, thou came down; the mountains quaked at thy presence. 4For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither has the eye seen, O God, besides thee, [what] he has prepared for him who waits for him. 5Thou meet him who rejoices and works righteousness, those who remember thee in thy ways. Behold, thou were angry, and we sinned. Therefore we have erred. 6For we have all become as unclean, and all our righteous acts are as a polluted garment. And we all fade as a leaf. And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7And there is none who calls upon thy name, who stirs himself up to take hold of thee. For thou have hid thy face from us, and have consumed us through our iniquities. 8But now, O LORD, thou are our Father. We are the clay, and thou our potter, and we are all the work of thy hand. 9Be not angry very severely, O LORD, nor remember iniquity forever. Behold, look, we beseech thee, we are all thy people. 10Thy holy cities have become a wilderness. Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. 11Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned with fire, and all our pleasant places are laid waste. 12Will thou restrain thyself for these things, O LORD? Will thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very severely?