Isaiah 64:10

Isaiah 64:10

Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.

a. ASV: Thy holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.  [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: Thy holy cities have been a wilderness, Zion a wilderness hath been, Jerusalem a desolation. [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified:  Your holy cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. The Milstein Edition, Later Prophets, Isaiah: [Isaiah 64:10 in our Bible is Isaiah 64:9 in the Jewish Bible]: Your holy cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a wasteland. [THE ARTSCROLL SERIES\MILSTEIN EDITION THE LATTER PROPHETS, ISAIAH Ⓒ Copyright 2013 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ltd.]

e. Peshitta Eastern Text: Thy holy cities have become a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.  [HOLY BIBLE FROM THE ANCIENT EASTERN TEXT.Copyright  Ⓒ 1933 by A.J. Holmon Co.; copyright  Ⓒ renewed 1968 by A.J. Holmon Co.; All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.]

f. The Israel Bible [Isaiah 64:10 in our Bible is Isaiah 64:9 in the Jewish Bible]: Your holy cities have become a desert: Tzion has become a desert, Yerushalim as desolation. [The English Translation was adapted by Israel 365 from the JPS Tanakh. Copyright Ⓒ 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society. All rights reserved.]

g. Torah, Judaism and Jewish information on the web: www.chabad.org; Online English Translation of the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) [Isaiah 64:10 in our Bible is Isaiah 64:9 in the Jewish Bible]: Your holy cities have become a desert; Zion has become a desert, Jerusalem a desolation.  [English Translation, Ⓒ Copyright The Judaica Press All rights reserved.]

1. “Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.”

a. [Thy] holy [Strong: 6944 qodesh ko'-desh from 6942; a sacred place or thing; rarely abstract, sanctity:--consecrated (thing), dedicated (thing), hallowed (thing), holiness, (X most) holy (X day, portion, thing), saint, sanctuary.]

b. cities [Strong: 5892 `iyr eer or (in the plural) par {awr}; or ayar (Judges 10:4) {aw-yar'}; from 5782 a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post):--Ai (from margin), city, court (from margin), town.]

c. are [Strong: 1961 hayah haw-yaw a primitive root (Compare 1933); to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary):--beacon, X altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit (one-)self, require, X use.]

d. [a] wilderness [Strong: 4057 midbar mid-bawr' from 1696 in the sense of driving; a pasture (i.e. open field, whither cattle are driven); by implication, a desert; also speech (including its organs):--desert, south, speech, wilderness.]

e. Zion [Strong: 6726 Tsiyown tsee-yone' the same (regularly) as 6725; Tsijon (as a permanent capital), a mountain of Jerusalem:--Zion.]

f. is [Strong: 1961 hayah haw-yaw a primitive root (Compare 1933); to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary):--beacon, X altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit (one-)self, require, X use.]

g. [a] wilderness [Strong:  4057 midbar mid-bawr' from 1696 in the sense of driving; a pasture (i.e. open field, whither cattle are driven); by implication, a desert; also speech (including its organs):--desert, south, speech, wilderness.]

h. Jerusalem [Strong: 3389 Yruwshalaim yer-oo-shaw-lah'-im rarely Yruwshalayim {yer-oo- shaw-lah'-yim}; a dual (in allusion to its two main hills (the true pointing, at least of the former reading, seems to be that of 3390)); probably from (the passive participle of) 3384 and 7999; founded peaceful; Jerushalaim or Jerushalem, the capital city of Palestine:--Jerusalem.]

i. [a] desolation [Strong: 8077 shmamah shem-aw-maw' or shimamah {shee-mam-aw'}; feminine of 8076; devastation; figuratively, astonishment:--(laid, X most) desolate(- ion), waste.]

1). J. Vernon McGee: The prophet is a representative of the believing remnant of Israel in that future day. Again he is using the past tense, which is called a prophetic tense. That is, God sees it as having already taken place, and He gives the prophecy to Isaiah from the other sid, looking back at the event. The prophet is pleading with God just as the remnant of Israel will do in that day of the Great Tribulation. This Scripture is not written to us, the church is not in view here. It is addressed to the remnant of Israel, but as believers we can identify with them…But it is clear in this section that Isaiah is predicting Israel's prayer during the Great Tribulation.

2). Victor Buksbazen, The Prophet Isaiah: Israel’s situation is so desperate and hopeless that only God’s personal intervention can save her. The cry that God might tear apart the heavens and come down to earth is probably the most passionate outburst of the human soul. And so once, at a time when the cup of suffering and woe was full. God actually heard and answered that cry and actually came down to earth.