Isaiah 6:1–13

ISAIAH’S CALL AND MISSION

6In the year that King Uzziah^k died, I saw the Lord^l seated on a high and lofty^m throne,ⁿ and the hem of his robe filled the temple. ²Seraphim^A 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 glory^q fills the whole earth.^r

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

⁵Then I said:

Woe is me^t for I am ruined^B

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.

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

Now that this has touched your lips,

your iniquity is removed

and your sin is atoned for.^x

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;^y

keep looking, but do not perceive.

¹⁰Make the minds^C 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

¹¹Then 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,

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^a is the stump.^b