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¶ In the year that king Uzziah died I saw 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 out unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of the hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.

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

¶ Then I said, Woe is me! for I am dead 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 the hosts.

Then one of the seraphim flew 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, Behold, this has touched thy lips; and it shall take away thy guilt, and thy sin shall be cleansed.

After this, I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I answered, Here am I; send me.

¶ Then he said, Go and tell this people, Hear indeed, but do not understand; and see indeed, but do not perceive.

10 Make the heart of this people fat and make their ears heavy and blind their eyes that they not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their heart, nor convert and there be healing for him.

11 And I said, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities are wasted without inhabitant and not a man in the houses, and the land is turned into desert,

12 until the LORD has removed men far away, and there is great solitude in the midst of the land.

13 But yet in it shall remain a tenth, and it shall return and shall be razed; as the teil tree and as the oak, of which the stump remains alive when they are cut down, likewise in these his stump shall remain holy seed.

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