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 His robe[a] filled the temple. Seraphim[b] were standing above Him; each one had six wings:(E) with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.(F) And one called to another:

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts;
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[c]
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 Hosts.

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 wickedness is removed
and your sin is atoned for.(N)

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying:

Who should 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 Dull the minds[d] of these people;
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. Isaiah 6:1 Lit seam
  2. Isaiah 6:2 = heavenly beings
  3. Isaiah 6:5 Or I must be silent
  4. Isaiah 6:10 Lit heart

A Vision of the Lord in the Temple

(A) In the year that King Uzziah died,[a] I had a vision of the Lord. He was on his throne high above, and his robe filled the temple. Flaming creatures with six wings each were flying over him. They covered their faces with two of their wings and their bodies with two more. They used the other two wings for flying, (B) as they shouted,

“Holy, holy, holy,
    Lord All-Powerful!
The earth is filled
    with your glory.”

(C) As they shouted, the doorposts of the temple shook, and the temple was filled with smoke. Then I cried out, “I'm doomed! Everything I say is sinful, and so are the words of everyone around me. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord All-Powerful.”

One of the flaming creatures flew over to me with a burning coal that it had taken from the altar with a pair of metal tongs. It touched my lips with the hot coal and said, “This has touched your lips. Your sins are forgiven, and you are no longer guilty.”

After this, I heard the Lord ask, “Is there anyone I can send? Will someone speak for us?”

“I'll go,” I answered. “Send me!”

(D) Then the Lord told me to go and speak this message to the people:

“You will listen and listen,
    but never understand.
You will look and look,
    but never see.”

The Lord also said,

10 “Make these people stubborn!
Make them stop up
    their ears,
cover their eyes,
    and fail to understand.
Don't let them turn to me
    and be healed.”

11 Then I asked the Lord, “How long will this last?”

The Lord answered:

Until their towns are destroyed and their houses are deserted, until their fields are empty, 12 and I have sent them far away, leaving their land in ruins. 13 If only a tenth of the people are left, even they will be destroyed. But just as stumps remain after trees have been cut down,[b] some of my chosen ones will be left.

Footnotes

  1. 6.1 the year that King Uzziah died: Probably 742 b.c.
  2. 6.13 But just … down: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.

Above it stood the seraphims; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

And one cried unto another and said, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.”

And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

Then said I, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar.

And he laid it upon my mouth and said, “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.”

Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then said I, “Here am I. Send me!”

And He said, “Go, and tell this people: “‘Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.’

10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert and be healed.”

11 Then said I, “Lord, how long?” And He answered, “Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,

12 and the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

13 “But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return and shall be eaten, as a teil tree and as an oak whose substance is in them when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.”

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