Isaiah 6:8-12

English Standard Version

Isaiah's Commission from the Lord

⁸And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for ^(A)us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” ⁹And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

^(B)“‘Keep on hearing,^[a] but do not understand;
keep on seeing,^[b] but do not perceive.’
¹⁰^(C)Make the heart of this people ^(D)dull,^[c]
    and their ears heavy,
    and blind their eyes;
^(E)lest they see with their eyes,
    and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
    and turn and be healed.”
¹¹Then I said, ^(F)“How long, O Lord?”
And he said:
“Until ^(G)cities lie waste
    without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
    and the land is a desolate waste,
¹²and the Lord removes people far away,
    and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.