1 In the yeere of the death of King Vzziah, I saw also the Lord sitting vpon an high throne, and lifted vp, and the lower partes thereof filled the Temple. 2 The Seraphims stoode vpon it: euery one had sixe wings: with twaine he couered his face, and with twaine hee couered his feete, and with twaine he did flie. 3 And one cryed to another, and sayde, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hostes: the whole world is full of his glory. 4 And the lintles of the doore cheekes moued at the voyce of him that cryed, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then I sayd, Wo is me: for I am vndone, because I am a man of polluted lips, and I dwell in the middes of a people of polluted lips: for mine eyes haue seene the King and Lord of hostes. 6 Then flewe one of the Seraphims vnto me with an hote cole in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with the tongs: 7 And he touched my mouth, and sayd, Loe, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquitie shall be taken away, and thy sinne shalbe purged. 8 Also I heard the voyce of the Lord, saying, Whome shall I send? and who shall goe for vs? Then I sayd, Here am I, send me. 9 And he sayd, Goe, and say vnto this people, Ye shall heare in deede, but ye shall not vnderstand: ye shall plainely see, and not perceiue. 10 Make the heart of this people fatte, make their eares heauie, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and heare with their eares, and vnderstand with their hearts, and conuert, and he heale them. 11 Then sayd I, Lord, howe long? And he answered, Vntill the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be vtterly desolate, 12 And the Lord haue remoued men farre away, and there be a great desolation in the mids of the land. 13 But yet in it shalbe a tenth, and shall returne, and shalbe eaten vp as an elme or an oke, which haue a substance in them, when they cast their leaues: so the holy seede shall be the substance thereof.
God Calls Isaiah to Be a Prophet
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. He was sitting on his throne, high and exalted, and his robe filled the whole Temple. 2 Around him flaming creatures were standing, each of which had six wings. Each creature covered its face with two wings, and its body with two, and used the other two for flying. 3 They were calling out to each other:
“Holy, holy, holy!
The Lord Almighty is holy!
His glory fills the world.”
4 The sound of their voices made the foundation of the Temple shake, and the Temple itself became filled with smoke.
5 I said, “There is no hope for me! I am doomed because every word that passes my lips is sinful, and I live among a people whose every word is sinful. And yet, with my own eyes I have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
6 Then one of the creatures flew down to me, carrying a burning coal that he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 He touched my lips with the burning coal and said, “This has touched your lips, and now your guilt is gone, and your sins are forgiven.”
8 Then I heard the Lord say, “Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?”
I answered, “I will go! Send me!”
9 So he told me to go and give the people this message: “No matter how much you listen, you will not understand. No matter how much you look, you will not know what is happening.” 10 Then he said to me, “Make the minds of these people dull, their ears deaf, and their eyes blind, so that they cannot see or hear or understand. If they did, they might turn to me and be healed.”
11 I asked, “How long will it be like this, Lord?”
He answered, “Until the cities are ruined and empty—until the houses are uninhabited—until the land itself is a desolate wasteland. 12 I will send the people far away and make the whole land desolate. 13 Even if one person out of ten remains in the land, he too will be destroyed; he will be like the stump of an oak tree that has been cut down.”
(The stump represents a new beginning for God's people.)