ISAIAH’S CALL AND MISSION

6 In the year that King Uzziahk died, I saw the Lordl seated on a high and loftym throne,n and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 SeraphimB were standing above him; they each had six wings:o with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.p 3 And one called to another:

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies;

his gloryq fills the whole earth.r

4 The foundations of the doorways shooks at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke.

5 Then I said:

Woe is met for I am ruinedC

because I am a man of unclean lips

and live among a people of unclean lips,u

and because my eyes have seen the King,

the Lord of Armies.

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altarv with tongs. 7 He touched my mouthw with it and said:

Now that this has touched your lips,

your iniquity is removed

and your sin is atoned for.x

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking:

Who will 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;y

keep looking, but do not perceive.

10 Make the mindsD 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.z

11 Then I said, “Until when, Lord?”aa And he replied:

Until cities lie in ruins without inhabitants,ab

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 seeda is the stump.b