Bible Strands
Isaiah 64:5
You welcome those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. Surely You were angry, for we sinned. How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet speaks on behalf of the exiled people of Israel, addressing God in a corporate prayer of confession. This occurs during a moment of national despair, immediately following a recollection of God's past interventions for those who wait on Him.
The words — The Hebrew פָּגַעְתָּ (pa.ga'ta) literally means "you meet" or "you encounter," depicting God's active welcome toward those who rejoice and do righteousness. The particle הֵן (hen) translates as "surely" or "behold," underscoring the unvarnished reality of divine anger over their ongoing sin.
The thread — The concept of God welcoming those who fear Him and do right reappears in Acts 10:35, while the tension between human effort and divine grace runs through Philippians 3:13 and Hebrews 4:16. The verse directly sets up Isaiah 64:6, which immediately follows by declaring that all human righteous acts are like filthy rags.
Why it lands — The text states that salvation cannot be sustained by persisting in sin, but requires remembering God's ways. It demands the reader abandon self-justification and approach God with honest confession rather than performative righteousness.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
Cross-references
- Acts 10:35 but welcomes those from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.
- Philippians 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
- Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
- Exodus 20:24 You are to make for Me an altar of earth, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats and cattle. In every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.
- Exodus 25:22 And I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony; I will speak with you about all that I command you regarding the Israelites.
- Exodus 29:42 For the generations to come, this burnt offering shall be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak with you.
- Exodus 30:6 Place the altar in front of the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony—before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony—where I will meet with you.
- Psalms 25:10 All the LORD’s ways are loving and faithful to those who keep His covenant and His decrees.
- Psalms 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
- Psalms 90:7 For we are consumed by Your anger and terrified by Your wrath.