Isaiah’s Call and Mission
6 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. 2 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) 3 And one called to another:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts;
His glory(G) fills the whole earth.(H)
4 The foundations of the doorways shook(I) at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 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.
6 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. 7 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)
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;(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
- Isaiah 6:1 Lit seam
- Isaiah 6:2 = heavenly beings
- Isaiah 6:5 Or I must be silent
- Isaiah 6:10 Lit heart
Cross references
- 6:1 : 2Kg 15:1-7; Is 1:1; 14:28
- 6:1 : Gn 32:30; Ex 3:1-6; 24:9-10; Jos 5:13-15; 1Kg 22:19; Is 31:3; Jn 1:18; 4:24; 12:41
- 6:1 : Is 52:13; 57:15
- 6:1 : Ps 9:7; 11:4; 45:6; Is 66:1; Jr 3:17; Ezk 1:26; 10:1; 43:7
- 6:2 : Rv 4:8
- 6:2 : Ezk 1:14
- 6:3 : Ex 16:10; 24:16-17; 40:34-35; 1Kg 8:11; Is 35:2; 40:5; 60:1; Ezk 1:28; Lk 9:32
- 6:3 : Nm 14:21; Ps 72:19
- 6:4 : Ex 19:8; Hab 3:3-10; Rv 15:8
- 6:5 : Ex 33:20; Jdg 13:22; Is 59:3; Jr 9:3-8; Lk 5:8
- 6:5 : Ex 6:12, 30
- 6:6 : Lv 6:12-13; 17:11
- 6:7 : Jr 1:9; Dn 10:16
- 6:7 : Ex 21:30; 30:12-16
- 6:9-10 : Mt 13:14-15; Mk 4:12; Lk 8:10; Jn 12:40; Ac 28:26-27
- 6:10 : Zch 7:11-12; 1Th 2:16
- 6:11 : Ps 79:5; 89:46
- 6:11 : Is 1:7; 27:10
- 6:13 : Is 41:8; 43:5; 45:25; 53:10; 59:21; 65:9, 23; 66:22
- 6:13 : Is 11:1