Isaiah 63:15
Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?
Study Note
Study Note
The lament 'look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?' dares to address divine apparent inaction with a direct petition for renewed intervention, appealing to God's own passionate nature. The phrase 'sounding of thy bowels' (hamon me'ekha) refers to the deep interior yearning of divine compassion — the same word-root as 'tender mercies' — God's maternal instinct toward his people. The rhetorical force of 'where is...? are they restrained?' implies that God's mercies exist but are not currently visible — a protest-prayer that insists on holding God to his own self-disclosure. The prayer shaped Jewish Yom Kippur liturgy and has been deeply influential in Christian mystical theology's 'dark night' language of felt divine absence.
Other Translations
Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where are thy zeal and thy mighty acts? the yearning of thy heart and thy compassions are restrained toward me.
Look attentively from the heavens, And see from Thy holy and beauteous habitation, Where <FI>is<Fi> Thy zeal and Thy might? The multitude of Thy bowels and Thy mercies Towards me have refrained themselves.
Let your eyes be looking down from heaven, from your holy and beautiful house: where is your deep feeling, the working of your power? do not keep back the moving of your pity and your mercies:
Cross References
Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given …
But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much …
Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up …
Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.
From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?
Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.
Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;
Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?
For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth;