Isaiah 6

Isaiah's Call and Mission

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and His robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphim were standing above Him; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

3 And one called to another:

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts;
His glory fills the whole earth.

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

5 Then I said:

Woe is me for I am ruined
because I am a man of unclean lips
and live among a people of unclean lips,
[and] because my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of Hosts.
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs.

7 He touched my mouth [with it] and said:

Now that this has touched your lips,
your wickedness is removed
and your sin is atoned for.

8 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.

9 And He replied:

Go! Say to these people:
Keep listening, but do not understand;
keep looking, but do not perceive.

10 Dull the minds 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.

11 Then I said, "Until when, Lord?" And He replied:

Until cities lie in ruins without inhabitants,
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 is the stump.

Isaiah 6

Isaiah’s Commission

1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death,s I saw the sovereign mastert seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple.2 Seraphst stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet,s and they used the remaining two to fly.3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holyts is the Lord who commands armies!t His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!”

4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames,t and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed,t for my lips are contaminated by sin,t and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin.t My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.”t6 But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs.7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.”t8 I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?”t I answered, “Here I am, send me!”

9 He said, “Go and tell these people:
‘Listen continually, but don’t understand!
Look continually, but don’t perceive!’

10 Make the hearts of these people calloused;
make their ears deaf and their eyes blind!
Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.”s

11 I replied, “How long, sovereign master?” He said,
“Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated,
and houses are uninhabited,
and the land is ruined and devastated,

12 and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place,
and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned.t

13 Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed,t like one of the large sacred treest or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down.t That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.”t