And I said: “Woe is me! (A)For I am lost; (B)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 (C)King, the Lord of hosts!”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he (D)touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah's Commission from the Lord

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for (E)us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

(F)“‘Keep on hearing,[a] but do not understand;
keep on seeing,[b] but do not perceive.’
10 (G)Make the heart of this people (H)dull,[c]
    and their ears heavy,
    and blind their eyes;
(I)lest they see with their eyes,
    and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
    and turn and be healed.”
11 Then I said, (J)“How long, O Lord?”
And he said:
“Until (K)cities lie waste
    without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
    and the land is a desolate waste,
12 and the Lord removes people far away,
    and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13 (L)And though a tenth remain in it,
    it will be burned[d] again,
like a terebinth or an oak,
    whose stump (M)remains
    when it is felled.”
(N)The holy seed[e] is its stump.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 6:9 Or Hear indeed
  2. Isaiah 6:9 Or see indeed
  3. Isaiah 6:10 Hebrew fat
  4. Isaiah 6:13 Or purged
  5. Isaiah 6:13 Or offspring

“Woe(A) to me!” I cried. “I am ruined!(B) For I am a man of unclean lips,(C) and I live among a people of unclean lips,(D) and my eyes have seen(E) the King,(F) the Lord Almighty.”(G)

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal(H) 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;(I) your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.(J)

Then I heard the voice(K) of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?(L) And who will go for us?(M)

And I said, “Here am I.(N) Send me!”

He said, “Go(O) and tell this people:

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
    be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’(P)
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;(Q)
    make their ears dull
    and close their eyes.[a](R)
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    hear with their ears,(S)
    understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”(T)

11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”(U)

And he answered:

“Until the cities lie ruined(V)
    and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted(W)
    and the fields ruined and ravaged,(X)
12 until the Lord has sent everyone far away(Y)
    and the land is utterly forsaken.(Z)
13 And though a tenth remains(AA) in the land,
    it will again be laid waste.(AB)
But as the terebinth and oak
    leave stumps(AC) when they are cut down,
    so the holy(AD) seed will be the stump in the land.”(AE)

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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