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

The Parable of the Sower

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house (A)and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, (B)so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And (C)he told them many things in parables, saying: (D)“A sower went out to sow.

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The Purpose of the Parables

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, (A)“To you it has been given to know (B)the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 (C)For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, (D)even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because (E)seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, (F)nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

(G)“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,
    and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
15 For this people's heart has grown dull,
    and with their ears (H)they can barely hear,
    and (I)their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
    and hear with their ears
and (J)understand with their heart
    and (K)turn, and I would heal them.’

16 But (L)blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 (M)For truly, I say to you, (N)many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

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Prophecy and Parables

34 (A)All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:[a]

(B)“I will open my mouth in parables;
    (C)I will utter what has been hidden (D)since the foundation of the world.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 13:35 Some manuscripts Isaiah the prophet

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