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Isaiah chapter 6

English Standard Version

1In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 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. 3And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
4And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 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!”
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.”
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.” 9And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
10Make the heart of this people dull, 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.” 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, 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 again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.
New International Version

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.
5Woe 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. 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.'
New American Standard Bible

1In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2Seraphim were standing above Him, each having six wings: with two each covered his face, and with two each covered his feet, and with two each flew.
3And one called out to another and said, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of armies. The whole earth is full of His glory.'
4And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.
5Then I said, 'Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of armies.'
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7He touched my mouth with it and said, 'Behold, this has touched your lips; and your guilt is taken away and atonement is made for your sin.'
8Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'
9And He said, 'Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not understand; And keep on looking, but do not gain knowledge.’ 10Make the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes blind, So that they will not see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.' 11Then I said, 'Lord, how long?' And He answered, 'Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate, 12The Lord has completely removed people, And there are many forsaken places in the midst of the land. 13Yet there will still be a tenth portion in it, And it will again be subject to burning, Like a terebinth or an oak Whose stump remains when it is cut down. The holy seed is its stump.'
Christian Standard Bible

1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2Seraphim were standing above him; they each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.
3And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies; his glory fills the whole earth.
4The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke.
5Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies.
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs.
7He touched my mouth with it and said: Now that this has touched your lips, your iniquity is removed and your sin is atoned for.
8Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who will I send? Who will go for us?I said: Here I am. Send me.
9And he replied: Go! Say to these people: Keep listening, but do not understand; keep looking, but do not perceive. 10Make the minds of these people dull; 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.
11Then I said, "Until when, Lord? " And he replied: Until cities lie in ruins without inhabitants, houses are without people, the land is ruined and desolate, 12and the Lord drives the people far away, leaving great emptiness in the land. 13Though 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 is the stump.
New Living Translation

1It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.
3They were calling out to each other, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!'
4Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.
5Then I said, 'It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.'
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7He touched my lips with it and said, 'See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.'
8Then I heard the Lord asking, 'Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?' I said, 'Here I am. Send me.'
9And he said, 'Yes, go, and say to this people, ‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’ 10Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing.'
11Then I said, 'Lord, how long will this go on?' And he replied, 'Until their towns are empty, their houses are deserted, and the whole country is a wasteland; 12until the Lord has sent everyone away, and the entire land of Israel lies deserted. 13If even a tenth — a remnant — survive, it will be invaded again and burned. But as a terebinth or oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down, so Israel’s stump will be a holy seed.'
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.

What does Isaiah chapter 6 mean?

Isaiah 6 describes Isaiah's call from God to take His message to the people of Judah. Some scholars believe the book may have been meant to begin with this chapter, but many see this as the fitting conclusion to the introduction of Isaiah 1—5. This chapter is as if Isaiah is answering the question of what gives him the authority to the tell the people of the Judah of the coming judgement of the Lord.

This chapter establishes the beginning of Isaiah's work as a prophet. This came in the year King Uzziah died, around 740 BC. Uzziah was one of the great kings of Judah. At the time of his death, the Assyrians were beginning to mount the great war machine that would roll over the nations of the middle east (Isaiah 6:1; 2 Kings 24:10–16).

Isaiah describes a remarkable experience, either a vision or an actual appearance of the Lord. This was for his eyes only in the temple in Jerusalem. He sees the Lord dressed in royal robes sitting on a throne high up in the temple. Above the Lord stands an unnamed number of seraphim, six-winged angelic beings possibly in the form of fiery serpents (Isaiah 6:1–2).

The seraphim call out to each other in voices that shake the foundations of the temple. They proclaim the holiness of the Lord and declare His glory. Smoke fills the temple as they call (Isaiah 6:3–4).

Hearing their voices proclaim the pure praise of the Lord, Isaiah is overwhelmed with his unworthiness to be in such a place. He knows he has "unclean lips:" that he is a sinful, mortal man who has no business seeing God. He is not worthy even of praising the holiness of the King as the angels do. He deserves death (Isaiah 6:5).

Instead, one of the seraphim flies to him and touches Isaiah's mouth with a coal from the altar. The angel says simply that this action has taken away his guilt. His sins are atoned for. The implication is that Isaiah has been cleansed to speak on behalf of the Lord (Isaiah 6:6–7).

Only after this does Isaiah hear the voice of the Lord. God asks who He should send and who will go for "us." This could be referring to Himself and the angels or Himself as the trinity. Isaiah, now cleansed and eager to serve the Lord, quickly answers that He is there and asks God to send him (Isaiah 6:8).

The Lord tells Isaiah the message He wants His prophet to give to the people of Judah. They are to hear without hearing and see without seeing. In other words, the Lord knows the people of Judah are too far gone into their sin and rebellion to receive Isaiah's warnings about God's coming judgment. Yet they will not be given the excuse that they were never warned. In response to Isaiah's question of "how long?" the Lord tells him to continue to preach to his unresponsive people until the judgment comes. He is to continue until the land is laid to waste and the people are carried away into exile (Isaiah 6:9–12).

The tiniest bit of hope remains. The Lord's promise is there that even after everything is destroyed a "holy seed" remains. This seed is referring to when the Messiah will come and bring salvation to the world. (Isaiah 6:13).
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