Isaiah 6⌄
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Isaiah’s Commission

(Matthew 13:10–17; Mark 4:10–12; Acts 28:16–31)

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; and the train of His robea filled the temple. 2Above Him stood seraphim, each having 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 out to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts;
all the earth is full of His glory.”

4At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, 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
dwelling among a people of unclean lips;
for my eyes have seen the King,
the LORD of Hosts.”

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

“Whom shall I send?
Who will go for Us?”

And I said:

“Here am I. Send me!”

9And He replied:

“Go and tell this people,
‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’b
10Make the hearts of this people calloused;
deafen their ears and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.c”

11Then I asked:

“How long, O Lord?”

And He replied:

“Until the cities lie ruined
and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left unoccupied
and the land is desolate and ravaged,
12until the LORD has driven men far away
and the land is utterly forsaken.
13And though a tenth remains in the land,
it will be burned again.
As the terebinth and oak leave stumps when felled,
so the holy seed will be a stump in the land.”
  1. a 6:1 Or the hem of His robe ↩
  2. b 6:9 Hebrew; LXX ‘You shall be ever hearing, but never understanding; you shall be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’Cited in Matthew 13:14, Mark 4:12, Luke 8:10, and Acts 28:26 ↩
  3. c 6:10 Hebrew; LXX For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.Cited in Matthew 13:15, Mark 4:12, John 12:40, and Acts 28:27 ↩