Isaiah 6:1-7:6

New International Version

Isaiah’s Commission

6 In the year that King Uzziah^(A) died,^(B) I saw the Lord,^(C) high and exalted,^(D) seated on a throne;^(E) and the train of his robe^(F) filled the temple. ²Above him were seraphim,^(G) each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet,^(H) and with two they were flying. ³And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy^(I), holy is the Lord Almighty;^(J)
the whole earth^(K) is full of his glory.”^(L)

⁴At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.^(M)

⁵“Woe^(N) to me!” I cried. “I am ruined!^(O) For I am a man of unclean lips,^(P) and I live among a people of unclean lips,^(Q) and my eyes have seen^(R) the King,^(S) the Lord Almighty.”^(T)

⁶Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal^(U) 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;^(V) your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.^(W)”

⁸Then I heard the voice^(X) of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?^(Y) And who will go for us?^(Z)”

And I said, “Here am I.^(AA) Send me!”

⁹He said, “Go^(AB) and tell this people:

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
    be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’^(AC)
¹⁰Make the heart of this people calloused;^(AD)
    make their ears dull
    and close their eyes.^[a]^(AE)
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    hear with their ears,^(AF)
    understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”^(AG)

¹¹Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”^(AH)

And he answered:

“Until the cities lie ruined^(AI)
    and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted^(AJ)
    and the fields ruined and ravaged,^(AK)
¹²until the Lord has sent everyone far away^(AL)
    and the land is utterly forsaken.^(AM)
¹³And though a tenth remains^(AN) in the land,
    it will again be laid waste.^(AO)
But as the terebinth and oak
    leave stumps^(AP) when they are cut down,
    so the holy^(AQ) seed will be the stump in the land.”^(AR)

The Sign of Immanuel

7 When Ahaz^(AS) son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin^(AT) of Aram^(AU) and Pekah^(AV) son of Remaliah^(AW) king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.

²Now the house of David^(AX) was told, “Aram has allied itself with^[b] Ephraim^(AY)”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken,^(AZ) as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

³Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub,^[c]^(BA) to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.^(BB) ⁴Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm^(BC) and don’t be afraid.^(BD) Do not lose heart^(BE) because of these two smoldering stubs^(BF) of firewood—because of the fierce anger^(BG) of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.^(BH) ⁵Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s^(BI) son have plotted^(BJ) your ruin, saying, ⁶“Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 6:10 Hebrew; Septuagint ‘You will be ever hearing, but never understanding; / you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ / ¹⁰This people’s heart has become calloused; / they hardly hear with their ears, / and they have closed their eyes
Isaiah 7:2 Or has set up camp in
Isaiah 7:3 Shear-Jashub means a remnant will return.