The Meaning of Isaiah 64:5 Explained

Isaiah 64:5

KJV: 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.

YLT: Thou hast met with the rejoicer And the doer of righteousness, In Thy ways they remember Thee, Lo, Thou hast been wroth when we sin, By them is continuance, and we are saved.

Darby: Thou meetest him that rejoiceth to do righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: (behold, thou wast wroth, and we have sinned:) in those is perpetuity, and we shall be saved.

ASV: Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou wast wroth, and we sinned: in them have we been of long time; and shall we be saved?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Isaiah 64:5 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The prophet knew that God has fellowship with those who practice righteousness and who "remember His ways," i.e, to walk in them. He wondered if there was any hope of Israel being saved, since she had sinned so much for so long, and since this sinning had angered God.

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 64:5 mean?

You meet - him who rejoices and does righteousness in Your ways [Who] remembers You indeed You are angry for we have sinned in these ways we continue and we need to be saved
פָּגַ֤עְתָּ אֶת־ שָׂשׂ֙ וְעֹ֣שֵׂה צֶ֔דֶק בִּדְרָכֶ֖יךָ יִזְכְּר֑וּךָ הֵן־ אַתָּ֤ה קָצַ֙פְתָּ֙ וַֽנֶּחֱטָ֔א בָּהֶ֥ם עוֹלָ֖ם וְנִוָּשֵֽׁעַ

פָּגַ֤עְתָּ  You  meet 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: פָּגַע  
Sense: to encounter, meet, reach, entreat, make intercession.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
שָׂשׂ֙  him  who  rejoices 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שׂוּשׂ  
Sense: to exult, rejoice.
וְעֹ֣שֵׂה  and  does 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular construct
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
צֶ֔דֶק  righteousness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: צֶדֶק  
Sense: justice, rightness, righteousness.
בִּדְרָכֶ֖יךָ  in  Your  ways 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, common plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
יִזְכְּר֑וּךָ  [Who]  remembers  You 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural, second person masculine singular
Root: זָכַר 
Sense: to remember, recall, call to mind.
הֵן־  indeed 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הֵן  
Sense: behold, lo, though hypothetical part.
קָצַ֙פְתָּ֙  are  angry 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: קָצַף  
Sense: to be displeased, be angry, fret oneself, be wroth.
וַֽנֶּחֱטָ֔א  for  we  have  sinned 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common plural
Root: חָטָא 
Sense: to sin, miss, miss the way, go wrong, incur guilt, forfeit, purify from uncleanness.
בָּהֶ֥ם  in  these  ways 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
עוֹלָ֖ם  we  continue 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.
וְנִוָּשֵֽׁעַ  and  we  need  to  be  saved 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive imperfect, first person common plural
Root: יָשַׁע 
Sense: to save, be saved, be delivered.