1In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train[1] of his robe filled the temple. (2Ch 26:16; Isa 1:1; Joh 12:41)2Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. (Re 4:8)3And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”[2] (Ps 72:19; Isa 6:2)4And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. (Ex 19:18; 1Ki 8:10; Am 9:1; Re 15:8)5And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; 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 King, the Lord of hosts!” (Jud 13:22; 1Sa 12:12; Isa 33:17; Jer 10:10; Lu 5:8)6Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.7And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” (Jer 1:9; Da 10:16)
Isaiah’s Commission from the Lord
8And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” (Ge 1:26)9And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing,[3] but do not understand; keep on seeing,[4] but do not perceive.’ (Mt 13:14; Mr 4:12; Lu 8:10; Ac 28:26; Ro 11:8)10Make the heart of this people dull,[5] and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” (Ps 119:70; Jer 5:21; Joh 12:40)11Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, (Ps 79:5; Ps 89:46; Isa 1:7; Isa 27:10)12and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.13And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned[6] again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed[7] is its stump. (Ezr 9:2; Job 14:7; Isa 10:22)
Isaiah 6
New International Version
Isaiah’s commission
1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.2Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.3And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’4At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.5‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.7With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’9He said, ‘Go and tell this people: ‘ “Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.”10Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes.[1] Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.’11Then I said, ‘For how long, Lord?’ And he answered: ‘Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged,12until the Lord has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken.13And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.’
Isaiah 6
King James Version
1In 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.2Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.3And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.4And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.5Then 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.6Then 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:7And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.8Also 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.9And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.10Make 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.11Then 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,12And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.13But 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 6
New International Reader’s Version
The Lord appoints Isaiah to speak for him
1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. He was seated on his throne. His long robe filled the temple. He was highly honoured.2Above him were seraphs. Each of them had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces. With two wings they covered their feet. And with two wings they were flying.3They were calling out to one another. They were saying, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD who rules over all. The whole earth is full of his glory.’4The sound of their voices caused the stone doorframe to shake. The temple was filled with smoke.5‘How terrible it is for me!’ I cried out. ‘I’m about to be destroyed! My mouth speaks sinful words. And I live among people who speak sinful words. Now I have seen the King with my own eyes. He is the LORD who rules over all.’6A seraph flew over to me. He was holding a hot coal. He had used tongs to take it from the altar.7He touched my mouth with the coal. He said, ‘This has touched your lips. Your guilt has been taken away. Your sin has been paid for.’8Then I heard the voice of the Lord. He said, ‘Who will I send? Who will go for us?’ I said, ‘Here I am. Send me!’9So he said, ‘Go and speak to these people. Tell them, ‘ “You will hear but never understand. You will see but never know what you are seeing.”10Make the hearts of these people stubborn. Plug up their ears. Close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes. They might hear with their ears. They might understand with their hearts. And they might turn to me and be healed.’11Then I said, ‘Lord, how long will it be like that?’ He answered, ‘It will last until the cities of Israel are destroyed. It will last until no one is living in them. It will last until the houses are deserted. The fields will be completely destroyed.12It will last until the LORD has sent everyone far away. The land will be totally deserted.13Suppose only a tenth of the people remain there. Even then the land will be completely destroyed again. But when oak trees and terebinth trees are cut down, stumps are left. And my holy people will be like stumps that begin to grow again.’