Isaiah 6
New Living Translation
Isaiah’s Cleansing and Call
6 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. 2 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. 3 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!”
4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.
5 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.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 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.”
8 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.”
9 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
- 6:1 King Uzziah died in 740 B.c.
- 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.
Isaiah 6
International Standard Version
Holy is the Lord
6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon his[a] throne, high and exalted. The train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 The seraphim stood above him. Each had six wings:[b] with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he was flying. 3 They kept on calling to each other:[c]
“Holy, holy, holy[d] is the Lord of the Heavenly Armies!
The whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 The foundations of the thresholds quaked at the sound of those who kept calling out,[e] and the Temple was filled with smoke.
5 “How terrible it will be for me!” I cried, “because I am ruined! I’m a man with unclean lips, and I live among a people with unclean lips! And my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of the Heavenly Armies!”
The Calling of Isaiah
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, carrying a burning coal in his hand that he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth and said, “Look! Now that this has touched your[f] lips, your guilt is taken away, and your sins[g] atoned for.”
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord as he was asking, “Whom will I send? Who will go for us?”
“Here I am!” I replied. “Send me.”
9 “Go!” he responded. “Tell this people:
“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
keep[h] on seeing, but do not perceive.’
10 Dull the mind[i] of this people,
deafen their ears,
and blind their eyes.
By doing so, they won’t see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their minds,
turn back,
and be healed.”
11 Then I asked, “For how long, Lord?”[j]
He replied:
“Until cities lie waste,
without inhabitants,
and houses without people;
and the land becomes utterly desolate.
12 Until[k] the Lord removes people far away,
and there are many empty places
in the middle of the land.
13 Even though a tenth of its people remain[l] in it,
it will once again be burned,[m]
like a terebinth[n] or an oak tree,[o]
the stump of which, though the tree has been[p] felled,
still contains holy seed.”[q]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 6:1 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read a
- Isaiah 6:2 So 1QIsaa; MT reads six wings, six wings; LXX reads six wings and six wings
- Isaiah 6:3 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read calling and saying
- Isaiah 6:3 So MT LXX; 1QIsaa reads Holy, holy
- Isaiah 6:4 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads of him who called out
- Isaiah 6:7 So 1QIsaa MT LXX; 4QIsaf reads the
- Isaiah 6:7 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads sin
- Isaiah 6:9 So 1QIsaa; MT reads and keep
- Isaiah 6:10 Lit. Fatten the heart
- Isaiah 6:11 So 1QIsaa; MT reads Lord
- Isaiah 6:12 Lit. And
- Isaiah 6:13 Lit. tenth remains
- Isaiah 6:13 Or devastated
- Isaiah 6:13 I.e. a sacred tree used for idolatry; cf. Hos 4:13
- Isaiah 6:13 Or Asherah pole; i.e. felled oaks used for making idols; cf. Hos 4:13, Isa 44:14
- Isaiah 6:13 1QIsaa lacks though the tree has been; MT LXX read which, when
- Isaiah 6:13 So 1QIsaa MT; LXX lacks this line
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