Isaiah’s Commission

6 In the year that King Uzziah^(A) died,^(B) I saw the Lord,^(C) high and exalted,^(D) seated on a throne;^(E) and the train of his robe^(F) filled the temple. ² Above him were seraphim,^(G) each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet,^(H) and with two they were flying. ³ And they were calling to one another:

⁴ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.^(M)

⁵ “Woe^(N) to me!” I cried. “I am ruined!^(O) For I am a man of unclean lips,^(P) and I live among a people of unclean lips,^(Q) and my eyes have seen^(R) the King,^(S) the Lord Almighty.”^(T)

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal^(U) in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips;^(V) your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.^(W)”

⁴ Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders.^(A) They were dressed in white^(B) and had crowns of gold on their heads. ⁵ From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder.^(C) In front of the throne, seven lamps^(D) were blazing. These are the seven spirits^[a](E) of God. ⁶ Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass,^(F) clear as crystal.

In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures,^(G) and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back.^{(H) 7} The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.^{(I) 8} Each of the four living creatures^(J) had six wings^(K) and was covered with eyes all around,^(L) even under its wings. Day and night^(M) they never stop saying:

⁹ Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne^(P) and who lives for ever and ever,^{(Q) 10} the twenty-four elders^(R) fall down before him^(S) who sits on the throne^(T) and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

⁵ Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion^(A) of the tribe of Judah,^(B) the Root of David,^(C) has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶ Then I saw a Lamb,^(D) looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures^(E) and the elders.^(F) The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes,^(G) which are the seven spirits^[a](H) of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.^{(I) 8} And when he had taken it, the four living creatures^(J) and the twenty-four elders^(K) fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp^(L) and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers^(M) of God’s people. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying:^(N)

¹¹ Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.^(U) They encircled the throne and the living creatures^(V) and the elders.^{(W) 12} In a loud voice they were saying:

¹³ Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth^(AA) and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

¹⁴ The four living creatures^(AE) said, “Amen,”^(AF) and the elders^(AG) fell down and worshiped.^(AH)

¹¹ All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders^(A) and the four living creatures.^(B) They fell down on their faces^(C) before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying:

¹³ Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes^(E)—who are they, and where did they come from?”

¹⁴ I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes^(F) and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.^{(G) 15} Therefore,

³ And they sang a new song^(A) before the throne and before the four living creatures^(B) and the elders.^(C) No one could learn the song except the 144,000^(D) who had been redeemed from the earth.

⁴ The twenty-four elders^(A) and the four living creatures^(B) fell down^(C) and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: