New International Version Look down from heaven and see, from your lofty throne, holy and glorious. Where are your zeal and your might? Your tenderness and compassion are withheld from us. New Living Translation LORD, look down from heaven; look from your holy, glorious home, and see us. Where is the passion and the might you used to show on our behalf? Where are your mercy and compassion now? English Standard Version Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me. Berean Standard Bible Look down from heaven and see, from Your holy and glorious habitation. Where are Your zeal and might? Your yearning and compassion for me are restrained. Berean Literal Bible Look down from the heavens and see, from the habitation of Your holiness and Your glory! Where is Your zeal and Your strength, the groaning of Your bowels and Your compassion toward me—are they restrained? King James Bible 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? New King James Version Look down from heaven, And see from Your habitation, holy and glorious. Where are Your zeal and Your strength, The yearning of Your heart and Your mercies toward me? Are they restrained? New American Standard Bible Look down from heaven and see from Your holy and glorious lofty habitation; Where are Your zeal and Your mighty deeds? The stirrings of Your heart and Your compassion are restrained toward me. NASB 1995 Look down from heaven and see from Your holy and glorious habitation; Where are Your zeal and Your mighty deeds? The stirrings of Your heart and Your compassion are restrained toward me. NASB 1977 Look down from heaven, and see from Thy holy and glorious habitation; Where are Thy zeal and Thy mighty deeds? The stirrings of Thy heart and Thy compassion are restrained toward me. Legacy Standard Bible Look down from heaven and see from Your holy and glorious habitation; Where are Your zeal and Your mighty deeds? The tumults within You and Your compassion are restrained toward me. Amplified Bible Look down from heaven and see from Your lofty dwelling place, holy and glorious. Where are Your zeal and Your mighty acts [Your miracles which you did for Your people]? The stirring of Your heart and Your compassion are restrained and withheld from me. Berean Annotated Bible Look down from heaven and see, from Your holy and glorious habitation. Where are Your zeal and might? Your yearning and compassion for me are restrained. Christian Standard Bible Look down from heaven and see from your lofty home—holy and beautiful. Where is your zeal and your might? Your yearning and your compassion are withheld from me. Holman Christian Standard Bible Look down from heaven and see from Your lofty home—holy and beautiful. Where is Your zeal and Your might? Your yearning and Your compassion are withheld from me. American Standard Version 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. Contemporary English Version Please, LORD, look down from your holy and glorious home in the heavens and see what's going on. Have you lost interest? Where is your power? Show that you care about us and have mercy! English Revised Version Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy mighty acts? the yearning of thy bowels and thy compassions are restrained toward me. GOD'S WORD® Translation Look down and see from heaven, from your holy and beautiful dwelling. Where is your determination and might? Where is the longing of your heart and your compassion? Don't hold back. Good News Translation LORD, look upon us from heaven, where you live in your holiness and glory. Where is your great concern for us? Where is your power? Where are your love and compassion? Do not ignore us. International Standard Version Look down from heaven, and see from your holy and glorious dwelling. Where are your zeal and your might? Where are the yearning of your heart and your compassion? They are held back from me. NET Bible Look down from heaven and take notice, from your holy, majestic palace! Where are your zeal and power? Do not hold back your tender compassion! New Heart English Bible Look down from heaven, and see from the habitation of your holiness and of your glory: where are your zeal and your mighty acts? the yearning of your heart and your compassion is restrained toward me. Webster's Bible Translation 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 towards me? are they restrained? Majority Text Translations Majority Standard BibleLook down from heaven and see, from Your holy and glorious habitation. Where are Your zeal and might? Your yearning and compassion for me are restrained. World English Bible Look down from heaven, and see from the habitation of your holiness and of your glory. Where are your zeal and your mighty acts? The yearning of your heart and your compassion is restrained toward me. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionLook attentively from the heavens, "" And see from Your holy and beautiful habitation, "" Where [is] Your zeal and Your might? The multitude of Your bowels and Your mercies—Are they restrained? Berean Literal Bible Look down from the heavens and see, from the habitation of Your holiness and Your glory! Where is Your zeal and Your strength, the groaning of Your bowels and Your compassion toward me—are they restrained? Young's Literal Translation Look attentively from the heavens, And see from Thy holy and beauteous habitation, Where is Thy zeal and Thy might? The multitude of Thy bowels and Thy mercies Towards me have refrained themselves. Smith's Literal Translation Look from the heavens, and see from thy holy dwelling and thy glory: where thy zeal and thy strength? the multitude of thy bowels and thy compassions to me restrained themselves. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleLook down from heaven, and behold from thy holy habitation and the place of thy glory: where is thy zeal, and thy strength, the multitude of thy bowels, and of thy mercies? they have held back themselves from me. Catholic Public Domain Version Gaze down from heaven, and behold from your holy habitation and from your glory. Where is your zeal, and your strength, the fullness of your heart and of your compassion? They have held themselves back from me. New American Bible Look down from heaven and regard us from your holy and glorious palace! Where is your zealous care and your might, your surge of pity? Your mercy hold not back! New Revised Standard Version Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and glorious habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The yearning of your heart and your compassion? They are withheld from me. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleLook down from heaven and behold from thy holy and glorious habitation. Where is thy zeal and thy strength? Turn thy tender mercies and compassion toward us. Are they restrained? Peshitta Holy Bible Translated Gaze from Heaven and see from your holy and glorious dwelling! Where are your zeal and your heroism, and the return of your tears and of your affection that were returned upon us? OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917Look down from heaven, and see, Even from Thy holy and glorious habitation; Where is Thy zeal and Thy mighty acts, The yearning of Thy heart and Thy compassions, Now restrained toward me? Brenton Septuagint Translation Turn from heaven, and look from thy holy habitation and from thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength? where is the abundance of thy mercy and of thy compassions, that thou hast withholden thyself from us? Additional Translations ... Audio Bible (Voice ▾ Musical ▾) Context A Prayer for Mercy15Look down from heaven and see, from Your holy and glorious habitation. Where are Your zeal and might? Your yearning and compassion for me are restrained. 16Yet You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, are our Father; our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.… Cross References Look down from heaven and see, Psalm 80:14 Return, O God of Hosts, we pray! Look down from heaven and see! Attend to this vine— Psalm 102:19-20 For He looked down from the heights of His sanctuary; the LORD gazed out from heaven to earth / to hear a prisoner’s groaning, to release those condemned to death, Psalm 33:13-14 The LORD looks down from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. / From His dwelling place He gazes on all who inhabit the earth. from Your holy and glorious habitation. Deuteronomy 26:15 Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land You have given us as You swore to our fathers—a land flowing with milk and honey.” Psalm 26:8 O LORD, I love the house where You dwell, the place where Your glory resides. Psalm 11:4 The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His heavenly throne. His eyes are watching closely; they examine the sons of men. Where are Your zeal and might? Isaiah 42:13 The LORD goes forth like a mighty one; He stirs up His zeal like a warrior. He shouts; yes, He roars in triumph over His enemies: 2 Kings 19:31 For a remnant will go forth from Jerusalem, and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this. Psalm 80:2 before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Rally Your mighty power and come to save us. Your yearning and compassion for me are restrained. Psalm 77:9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has His anger shut off His compassion?” Selah Isaiah 64:12 After all this, O LORD, will You restrain Yourself? Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure? Psalm 13:1-2 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? / How long must I wrestle in my soul, with sorrow in my heart each day? How long will my enemy dominate me? 1 Kings 8:30 Hear the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. May You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. May You hear and forgive. Psalm 123:1 A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to You, the One enthroned in heaven. Lamentations 3:50 until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees. 2 Chronicles 6:21 Hear the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. May You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. May You hear and forgive. Treasury of Scripture Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of your holiness and of your glory: where is your zeal and your strength, the sounding of your bowels and of your mercies toward me? are they restrained? down Deuteronomy 26:15 Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey. Psalm 33:14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. Psalm 80:14 Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; the habitation Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? 1 Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? where Isaiah 51:9,10 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? … Psalm 89:49 Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth? sounding, or, multitude. Isaiah 63:9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. Isaiah 49:15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Psalm 25:6 Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. are Psalm 77:7-9 Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? … Jump to Previous Acts Attentively Beauteous Beautiful Bowels Compassion Compassions Deeds Deep Eyes Feeling Glorious Glory Habitation Heart Heaven Holiness Holy House Lofty Mercies Mighty Moving Power Restrained Sounding Strength Tender Throne Towards Withheld Working Yearning ZealJump to Next Acts Attentively Beauteous Beautiful Bowels Compassion Compassions Deeds Deep Eyes Feeling Glorious Glory Habitation Heart Heaven Holiness Holy House Lofty Mercies Mighty Moving Power Restrained Sounding Strength Tender Throne Towards Withheld Working Yearning ZealIsaiah 63 1. Christ shows who he is2. What his victory over his enemies 7. And what his mercy toward his church 10. In his just wrath he remembers his free mercy 15. The church, in her prayer 17. And complaint, professes her faith Look down from heaven and see, Isaiah appeals to the God who rules over all nations and sees every condition on earth. Israel’s distress had not escaped His knowledge, yet the prophet pleads for the Lord to act as He had acted in the Exodus, when He heard His people’s groaning and delivered them from Egypt. Heaven’s distance from a devastated land intensifies the cry for divine intervention. Psa 80:14 Return, O God of Hosts, we pray! Look down from heaven… from Your holy and glorious habitation. God remains holy and glorious even when His people suffer under the consequences of sin and judgment. Though the temple in Jerusalem had represented His dwelling among Israel, no earthly sanctuary could contain Him. His heavenly throne assures the repentant that judgment has not removed God’s sovereign authority or His covenant faithfulness. Deu 26:15 Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven… Where are Your zeal and might? Israel remembered the Lord’s mighty works in the Red Sea, the wilderness, and the conquest of the promised land. His zeal had defended His name and preserved His covenant people despite their repeated rebellion. The question arises from the apparent absence of such deliverance in Isaiah’s day, when Jerusalem faced ruin and the people experienced exile and humiliation. Isa 42:13 The LORD goes forth like a mighty one; He stirs up His zeal… Your yearning and compassion for me are restrained. The prophet speaks for the afflicted people as a child pleading for a father’s mercy. God’s discipline had been righteous because Israel had grieved His Holy Spirit and turned from His ways, yet His covenant love had not ceased. The appeal anticipates the restoration God would provide, ultimately revealed in Christ, whose compassion toward sinners displays the mercy for which Israel longed. Psa 77:9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has His anger… Persons / Places / Events 1. IsaiahThe prophet who authored the book, delivering messages from God to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 2. Heaven The dwelling place of God, depicted as holy and glorious, from which God is asked to look down. 3. God The central figure being addressed, whose attributes of zeal, might, tenderness, and compassion are being sought. 4. Judah and Jerusalem The primary audience of Isaiah's prophecy, experiencing a period of distress and seeking God's intervention. Teaching Points God's Dwelling and SovereigntyRecognize that God is sovereign and dwells in a holy and glorious place, yet He is attentive to the cries of His people. Attributes of God Reflect on God's attributes of zeal, might, tenderness, and compassion. These are not just abstract qualities but are actively involved in His relationship with His people. The Human Condition and Divine Response Understand that feelings of divine distance or withheld compassion are part of the human experience, but they should lead us to earnest prayer and seeking God. Prayer as a Response to Distress Use Isaiah's example to approach God in prayer, asking Him to reveal His power and compassion in our lives and circumstances. Hope in God's Unchanging Nature Trust in the consistency of God's character, knowing that His compassion and mercy are new every morning, even when they seem distant. Bible Study Questions and Answers 1. What is the meaning of Isaiah 63:15?2. How does Isaiah 63:15 inspire us to seek God's compassion in prayer? 3. What does "Look down from heaven" reveal about God's relationship with humanity? 4. How can we apply God's "zeal and might" in our daily lives? 5. Connect Isaiah 63:15 with another scripture emphasizing God's compassion and mercy. 6. How does understanding God's "tenderness and compassion" affect our interactions with others? 7. Why does Isaiah 63:15 question God's compassion and zeal for His people? 8. How does Isaiah 63:15 reflect God's relationship with Israel? 9. What historical context influences the plea in Isaiah 63:15? 10. What are the top 10 Lessons from Isaiah 63? What Does Isaiah 63:15 Mean Look down from heaven and seeIsaiah opens this plea as if standing on tiptoe, asking God to bend low and notice His people’s distress. The invitation is not born of doubt but of confidence that the Lord truly sees (Genesis 16:13; Psalm 33:13-14). - Scripture never portrays God as aloof; He “looks down from heaven on all mankind” (Psalm 53:2). - By voicing what feels obvious—“see us!”—the prophet gives voice to every heart that wonders whether its pain has reached the courts of heaven (Exodus 3:7). - The call reminds us that petition begins with gaze: we look up, certain He will look down (Psalm 123:1-2). from Your holy and glorious habitation The throne room is not a far-off myth; it is the blazing reality from which God rules (Isaiah 6:1; Revelation 4:2-3). - “The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His throne in heaven” (Psalm 11:4). - Holiness underscores His separateness; glory magnifies His majesty. Yet Scripture holds both truths together with His nearness (Isaiah 57:15). - Knowing the One who indwells eternity also stoops to dwell with the contrite steadies the soul when earth feels unanchored. Where are Your zeal and might? Having recalled God’s vantage point, Isaiah now recalls His track record of decisive action. “Zeal” speaks of passionate commitment (Isaiah 9:7), and “might” of unmatched power (Exodus 15:6). - In earlier days the LORD’s zeal defeated Midian (Judges 7), toppled Jericho (Joshua 6), and shattered Assyria (Isaiah 37:32). - To ask “Where are they?” is to confess faith in what God has done and urge Him to act again (Habakkuk 3:2). - The prophet refuses to settle for a distant deity; he longs for the God who “stirs Himself like a warrior” (Isaiah 42:13). Your yearning and compassion for me are restrained The final clause feels raw: mercy seems withheld. Yet even this lament rests on covenant certainty that God is compassionate (Exodus 34:6). - Scripture records similar cries—“Has His loving devotion ceased forever?” (Psalm 77:8-9); “Why do You remain distant?” (Psalm 10:1). - Seasons may arise when discipline or delay masks mercy (Lamentations 3:31-33). Still, the withheld compassions are only “for a brief moment” before overwhelming kindness returns (Isaiah 54:7-8). - By naming the tension, faith stretches: it wrestles honestly while refusing to surrender expectancy. summary Isaiah 63:15 models a prayer that unites reverence with bold appeal. It looks upward to the holy throne, remembers past displays of zeal and power, admits present bewilderment, and clings to the certainty of God’s compassion even when it feels restrained. Such prayer anchors believers in the unchanging character of God, encouraging us to keep calling on Him until heaven’s zeal, might, and mercy break in once more. (15) Look down from heaven . . .—The form of the prayer reminds us of 2Chronicles 6:21. Perhaps there is a latent remonstrance, as though Jehovah, like an Eastern king, had withdrawn to the recesses of His palace, and had ceased to manifest His care and pity for His people, as He had done of old.The sounding of thy bowels.—See Note on Isaiah 16:11. The words jar upon modern ears, but were to the Hebrew what “the sighs of thy heart” would be to us. Verses 15-19. - A PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE FROM SIN AND SUFFERING. From thanksgiving and confession, the people betake themselves to prayer, and beseech God to look down from heaven once more, to have compassion on them, to acknowledge them, and to save them alike from themselves (ver. 17) and from their adversaries (vers. 18, 19). "It is difficult to overrate the spiritual beauty of the prayer contained in this passage. We may admit that the most prominent motive urged by the speaker has a nationalistic air; but behind this, and strengthening it, is a sense of the infiniteness of the Divine mercy, and of the strong vitality of the union between Jehovah and his people" (Cheyne). Verse 15. - Look down from heaven (comp. Deuteronomy 26:15; Psalm 80:14; 2 Kings 8:30). "The Lord's seat" was "in heaven." While the temple lay in ruins, the Jews would naturally address their prayers to God in his heavenly abode. From the habitation of thy holiness. Mr. Cheyne translates, from the height of thy holiness," taking the meaning of the rare word z'bul from the Assyrian. "Height" certainly suits well most of the other places where the word z'bul occurs (1 Kings 8:13; 2 Chronicles 6:2; Psalm 49:14; Habakkuk 3:11). Where is thy zeal? i.e. What has become of it? Has it ceased altogether, or is it only in abeyance for a time? Will not God "stir it up" once more (Isaiah 42:13)? And thy strength; rather, and thy great acts (comp. Psalm 106:2; Psalm 145:4; Psalm 150:2). The sounding of thy bowels; i.e. their thrilling or vibration - an indication of sympathy (see Isaiah 16:11). Jeremiah has a similar expression (Jeremiah 31:20). Are they restrained? rather, they are restrained. They no longer show themselves. There was no room for questioning the fact.Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Look downהַבֵּ֤ט (hab·bêṭ) Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular Strong's 5027: To scan, look intently at, to regard from heaven מִשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ (miš·šā·ma·yim) Preposition-m | Noun - masculine plural Strong's 8064: Heaven, sky and see, וּרְאֵ֔ה (ū·rə·’êh) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular Strong's 7200: To see from Your holy קָדְשְׁךָ֖ (qāḏ·šə·ḵā) Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular Strong's 6944: A sacred place, thing, sanctity and glorious וְתִפְאַרְתֶּ֑ךָ (wə·ṯip̄·’ar·te·ḵā) Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular Strong's 8597: Beauty, glory habitation. מִזְּבֻ֥ל (miz·zə·ḇul) Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 2073: Elevation, height, lofty abode Where אַיֵּ֤ה (’ay·yêh) Interrogative Strong's 346: Where? are Your zeal קִנְאָֽתְךָ֙ (qin·’ā·ṯə·ḵā) Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular Strong's 7068: Ardor, zeal, jealousy and might? וּגְב֣וּרֹתֶ֔ךָ (ū·ḡə·ḇū·rō·ṯe·ḵā) Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural construct | second person masculine singular Strong's 1369: Force, valor, victory Your yearning הֲמ֥וֹן (hă·mō·wn) Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 1995: A noise, tumult, crowd, disquietude, wealth and compassion וְֽרַחֲמֶ֖יךָ (wə·ra·ḥă·me·ḵā) Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular Strong's 7356: Compassion, the womb, a maiden for me אֵלַ֥י (’ê·lay) Preposition | first person common singular Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to are restrained. הִתְאַפָּֽקוּ׃ (hiṯ·’ap·pā·qū) Verb - Hitpael - Perfect - third person common plural Strong's 662: To contain, abstain Additonal Resources Isaiah 63:15 Blue Letter BibleIsaiah 63:15 Bible Gateway Isaiah 63:15 Bible.com Isaiah 63:15 NIV |
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