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Isaiah’s Call and Mission

In the year that King Uzziah(A) died, I saw the Lord(B) seated on a high and lofty(C) throne,(D) and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphim[a] were standing above him; they each had six wings:(E) with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.(F) And one called to another:

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies;
his glory(G) fills the whole earth.(H)

The foundations of the doorways shook(I) at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke.

Then I said:

Woe is me(J) for I am ruined[b]
because I am a man of unclean lips
and live among a people of unclean lips,(K)
and because my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of Armies.

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar(L) with tongs. He touched my mouth(M) with it and said:

Now that this has touched your lips,
your iniquity is removed
and your sin is atoned for.(N)

Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking:

Who will I send?
Who will go for us?

I said:

Here I am. Send me.

And he replied:

Go! Say to these people:
Keep listening, but do not understand;(O)
keep looking, but do not perceive.
10 Make the minds[c] of these people dull;
deafen their ears and blind their eyes;
otherwise they might see with their eyes
and hear with their ears,
understand with their minds,
turn back, and be healed.(P)

11 Then I said, “Until when, Lord?” (Q) And he replied:

Until cities lie in ruins without inhabitants,(R)
houses are without people,
the land is ruined and desolate,
12 and the Lord drives the people far away,
leaving great emptiness in the land.
13 Though a tenth will remain in the land,
it will be burned again.
Like the terebinth or the oak
that leaves a stump when felled,
the holy seed(S) is the stump.(T)

Footnotes

  1. 6:2 = heavenly beings
  2. 6:5 Or I must be silent
  3. 6:10 Lit heart

Isaiah's Vision of the Lord

In the year that (A)King Uzziah died I (B)saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train[a] of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had (C)six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

(D)“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
(E)the whole earth is full of his glory!”[b]

And (F)the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and (G)the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! (H)For I am lost; (I)for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the (J)King, the Lord of hosts!”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he (K)touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah's Commission from the Lord

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for (L)us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

(M)“‘Keep on hearing,[c] but do not understand;
keep on seeing,[d] but do not perceive.’
10 (N)Make the heart of this people (O)dull,[e]
    and their ears heavy,
    and blind their eyes;
(P)lest they see with their eyes,
    and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
    and turn and be healed.”
11 Then I said, (Q)“How long, O Lord?”
And he said:
“Until (R)cities lie waste
    without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
    and the land is a desolate waste,
12 and the Lord removes people far away,
    and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13 (S)And though a tenth remain in it,
    it will be burned[f] again,
like a terebinth or an oak,
    whose stump (T)remains
    when it is felled.”
(U)The holy seed[g] is its stump.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 6:1 Or hem
  2. Isaiah 6:3 Or may his glory fill the whole earth
  3. Isaiah 6:9 Or Hear indeed
  4. Isaiah 6:9 Or see indeed
  5. Isaiah 6:10 Hebrew fat
  6. Isaiah 6:13 Or purged
  7. Isaiah 6:13 Or offspring

Isaiah’s Vision

In the year of (A)King Uzziah’s death (B)I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim were standing above Him, (C)each having six wings: with two each covered his face, and with two each covered his feet, and with two each flew. And one called out to another and said,

(D)Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of armies.
The [a](E)whole earth is full of His glory.”

And the [b]foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the [c](F)temple was filling with smoke. Then I said,

(G)Woe to me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of (H)unclean lips,
And I live among a (I)people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the (J)King, the Lord of armies.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the (K)altar with tongs. He (L)touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and (M)your guilt is taken away and atonement is made for your sin.”

Isaiah’s Commission

Then I heard the (N)voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then (O)I said, “Here am I. Send me!” And He said, “Go, and tell this people:

‘Keep on (P)listening, but do not understand;
And keep on looking, but do not gain knowledge.’
10 (Q)Make the hearts of this people [d](R)insensitive,
Their ears [e]dull,
And their eyes [f]blind,
(S)So that they will not see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.”

11 Then I said, “Lord, (T)how long?” And He answered,

“Until (U)cities are devastated and without inhabitant,
Houses are without people
And the land is utterly desolate,
12 The Lord has (V)completely removed people,
And there [g]are many (W)forsaken places in the midst of the land.
13 Yet there will still be a tenth portion in it,
And it will again be subject to burning,
Like a terebinth or an (X)oak
Whose stump remains when it is cut down.
The (Y)holy seed is its stump.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 6:3 Lit fullness of the whole earth is His glory
  2. Isaiah 6:4 Lit door sockets
  3. Isaiah 6:4 Lit house
  4. Isaiah 6:10 Lit fat
  5. Isaiah 6:10 Lit heavy
  6. Isaiah 6:10 Lit sealed over
  7. Isaiah 6:12 Or forsakenness will be great

Isaiah’s Commission

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. 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. And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy(I), holy is the Lord Almighty;(J)
    the whole earth(K) is full of his glory.”(L)

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

“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)

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. 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)

Then I heard the voice(X) of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?(Y) And who will go for us?(Z)

And I said, “Here am I.(AA) Send me!”

He said, “Go(AB) and tell this people:

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
    be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’(AC)
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;(AD)
    make their ears dull
    and close their eyes.[a](AE)
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    hear with their ears,(AF)
    understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”(AG)

11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”(AH)

And he answered:

“Until the cities lie ruined(AI)
    and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted(AJ)
    and the fields ruined and ravaged,(AK)
12 until the Lord has sent everyone far away(AL)
    and the land is utterly forsaken.(AM)
13 And though a tenth remains(AN) in the land,
    it will again be laid waste.(AO)
But as the terebinth and oak
    leave stumps(AP) when they are cut down,
    so the holy(AQ) seed will be the stump in the land.”(AR)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 6:10 Hebrew; Septuagint ‘You will be ever hearing, but never understanding; / you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ / 10 This people’s heart has become calloused; / they hardly hear with their ears, / and they have closed their eyes

Isaiah’s Cleansing and Call

It was in the year King Uzziah died[a] that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They were calling out to each other,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!
    The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.

Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

And he said, “Yes, go, and say to this people,

‘Listen carefully, but do not understand.
    Watch closely, but learn nothing.’
10 Harden the hearts of these people.
    Plug their ears and shut their eyes.
That way, they will not see with their eyes,
    nor hear with their ears,
nor understand with their hearts
    and turn to me for healing.”[b]

11 Then I said, “Lord, how long will this go on?”

And he replied,

“Until their towns are empty,
    their houses are deserted,
    and the whole country is a wasteland;
12 until the Lord has sent everyone away,
    and the entire land of Israel lies deserted.
13 If even a tenth—a remnant—survive,
    it will be invaded again and burned.
But as a terebinth or oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down,
    so Israel’s stump will be a holy seed.”

Footnotes

  1. 6:1 King Uzziah died in 740 B.c.
  2. 6:9-10 Greek version reads And he said, “Go and say to this people, / ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. / When you see what I do, you will not comprehend.’ / For the hearts of these people are hardened, / and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— / so their eyes cannot see, / and their ears cannot hear, / and their hearts cannot understand, / and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.” Compare Matt 13:14-15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; Acts 28:26-27.