The Meaning of Isaiah 64:3 Explained

Isaiah 64:3

KJV: When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.

YLT: In Thy doing fearful things -- we expect not, Thou didst come down, From Thy presence did mountains flow.

Darby: When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, and the mountains flowed down at thy presence.

ASV: When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains quaked at thy presence.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

When thou didst  terrible things  [which] we looked  not for, thou camest down,  the mountains  flowed down  at thy presence. 

What does Isaiah 64:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

At the Exodus , God had done awesome things that no one had expected. Isaiah wished that instead of remaining quiet, the Lord would do something spectacular again-something that would motivate the Israelites and the nations to respect Him.
"We too who are so often baffled by the way the Lord runs the world can identify with the spirit which wonders why he has acted in some other way-why he has not done something to check evil, change circumstances and people, rescue his own-rather than, as it appears, doing nothing!" [1]

Context Summary

Isaiah 64:1-12 - A Cry For Pardon
The great past, Isaiah 64:1-5. We are introduced to the prophet's oratory and hear the outpourings of his heart. As he recalls the story of bygone days, he asks that God would do as He had done. It is as easy for God to rend the heavens as for us to tear a piece of cloth: and great mountains of difficulty dissolve before Him, as a pyramid of snow in a thaw. God works while we wait. When there is no sign of His help, He is hastening toward us. If you go out to meet Him, He will quicken His pace, and run to embrace you. These are God's ways and in them there is everlasting continuance. See Malachi 3:6.
Confession and prayer, Isaiah 64:6-12. The leper, the foul garment, the fading leaf fleeing before the autumn gusts-such emblems become us. If our righteousnesses are black, what must not our sins be! We need Him who comes not with water only, but with water and with blood. See 1 John 5:6. Perhaps our greatest sin is our prayerlessness. We do not stir ourselves up to it. God cannot refrain His mercy, if we cannot refrain our tears! [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 64

1  The church prays for the illustration of God's power
4  Celebrating God's mercy, it makes confession of their natural corruptions
9  It complains of their afflictions

What do the individual words in Isaiah 64:3 mean?

When You did awesome things not [for which] we did look You came down at Your presence the mountains shook
בַּעֲשׂוֹתְךָ֥ נוֹרָא֖וֹת לֹ֣א נְקַוֶּ֑ה יָרַ֕דְתָּ מִפָּנֶ֖יךָ הָרִ֥ים נָזֹֽלּוּ

בַּעֲשׂוֹתְךָ֥  When  You  did 
Parse: Preposition-b, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, second person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
נוֹרָא֖וֹת  awesome  things 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Participle, feminine plural
Root: יָרֵא 
Sense: to fear, revere, be afraid.
נְקַוֶּ֑ה  [for  which]  we  did  look 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, first person common plural
Root: קָוָה 
Sense: to wait, look for, hope, expect.
יָרַ֕דְתָּ  You  came  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
מִפָּנֶ֖יךָ  at  Your  presence 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, common plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
הָרִ֥ים  the  mountains 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
נָזֹֽלּוּ  shook 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: זָלַל 
Sense: to be worthless, be vile, be insignificant, be light.