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.
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.’