Isaiah 64:10
in Isaiah 64Your holy cities have become a wilderness. Zion has become a wasteland and Jerusalem a desolation.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thy holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
KJV
Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
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This verse in Isaiah 64
Commentary
9 notes on this verse"The city of your sanctuary" (sancti), that is, the sanctuary of the temple, namely, Jerusalem: "the enemy has put out his hand to all her desirable things" (Lam 1:10).
This site's exposition
Your holy cities have become a wilderness
on Isaiah 64:10-12
The prayer names the ruin, the holy cities a wilderness and Jerusalem “a desolation”. Verse 11 grieves the temple, “Our holy and beautiful temple, where our fathers praised You, has been burned with fire”. The chapter ends by asking whether God will “keep silent and afflict us beyond measure”.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 8 and following) And now, Lord, you are our father, and we are clay; you are our potter, and all our works are the work of your hands. Do not be exceedingly angry, Lord, and do not remember our iniquity any longer. Look, your people are all of us. The city of your holy ones has become a desert; Zion has become a desert, Jerusalem is desolate. Our house of sanctification and glory, where our fathers praised you, has become a burning ruin, and all our desirable things have turned to ruins.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Thy holy cities are a wilderness,.... Meaning either Zion, the city of David, and Jerusalem; the one called the upper, the other the lower city; now uninhabited, and a mere wilderness: or else the other cities of Judea, in which were formerly synagogues for religious service, and in which dwelt many godly families where the worship of God was kept up; but now a desert, at least quite devoid of true religion and godliness.
), But God has revealed them unto us by his Spirit; compare Rom. xvi. That which men had not heard since the beginning of the world they should hear before the end of it, and at the end of it should see, when the veil shall be rent to introduce the glory that is yet to be revealed.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. 5 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.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
The cities of Judah were destroyed by the Chaldeans and the inhabitants of them were carried away, so that there was none to repair them or take any notice of them, which would in a few years make them look like perfect deserts: Thy holy cities are a wilderness. The cities of Judah are called holy cities, for the people were unto God a kingdom of priests.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Thy holy cities are a wilderness - It is to be remembered that this is supposed to be spoken near the close of the exile in Babylon. In accordance with the usual custom in this book, Isaiah throws himself forward by prophetic anticipation into that future period, and describes the scene as if it were passing before his eyes (see the Introduction, Section 7). He uses language such as the exiles would use; he puts arguments into their mouths which it would be proper for them to use; he describes the feelings which they would then have.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
holy cities--No city but Jerusalem is called "the holy city" (Isa 48:2; 52:1); the plural, therefore, refers to the upper and the lower parts of the same city Jerusalem [VITRINGA]; or all Judea was holy to God, so its cities were deemed "holy" [MAURER].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The house of our holiness and of our glory, where our fathers worshipped Thee, is burned up with fire: and every place of our desire hath become a waste.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
will You remain silent and afflict us Will You remain silent concerning what is done to us? Until here is the prophet’s prayer. Its beginning is (supra:7) “The kind acts of the Lord I will mention.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עָרֵ֥י | ʾarei | [the] cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| קָדְשְׁךָ֖ | kodshecha | holiness your | H6944 → | 469 times |
| הָי֣וּ | hayu | they have been | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מִדְבָּ֑ר | midbar | a wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| צִיּוֹן֙ | tziyon | Zion | H6726 → | 154 times |
| מִדְבָּ֣ר | midbar | a wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| הָיָ֔תָה | hayatah | it has been | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| שְׁמָמָֽה׃ | shemamah | [is] a desolation | H8077 → | 57 times |
עָרֵ֥י[the] cities of
ʾareiH5892 →1090 times
קָדְשְׁךָ֖holiness your
kodshechaH6944 →469 times
הָי֣וּthey have been
hayuH1961 →3559 times
מִדְבָּ֑רa wilderness
midbarH4057 →270 times
צִיּוֹן֙Zion
tziyonH6726 →154 times
מִדְבָּ֣רa wilderness
midbarH4057 →270 times
הָיָ֔תָהit has been
hayatahH1961 →3559 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
שְׁמָמָֽה׃[is] a desolation
shemamahH8077 →57 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Luke 21:24They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
it leads to
- Romans 11:25
I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles…
- Revelation 11:2
But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Do not measure it, because it has been given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months.
- Isaiah 63:18
For a short while Your people possessed Your holy place, but our enemies have trampled Your sanctuary.
- Daniel 12:7
And the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever,…
- Daniel 9:27
And he will confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of the temple…
- Romans 11:25
Through
Daniel 12:7And the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever,…
it leads to
- Daniel 7:25
He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for…
- Revelation 12:14
But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times,…
- Daniel 8:24
His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause terrible destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men along with the holy people.
- Daniel 7:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
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About Isaiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceJerusalemZionThe eastern ridge David took from the Jebusites and made his stronghold, the name the Psalms and the prophets give the city the LO…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.