Isaiah 6
6
The Sending of Isaiah. 1In the year King Uzziah died,#In the year King Uzziah died: probably 742 B.C., although the chronology of this period is disputed. A high and lofty throne: within the holy of holies of the Jerusalem Temple stood two cherubim, or winged sphinxes, whose outstretched wings served as the divine throne (1 Kgs 6:23–28; Ez 1:4–28; 10:1, 20). The ark of the covenant was God’s footstool (Ps 132:7–8; 1 Chr 28:2), placed under the cherubim (1 Kgs 8:6–7). Temple: the holy place, just in front of the holy of holies. I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne,#1 Kgs 22:19–23; Jn 12:41. with the train of his garment filling the temple. 2Seraphim#Seraphim: the plural of saraph (“to burn”), a term used to designate the “fiery” serpents of the wilderness (Nm 21:8; Dt 8:15), and to refer to “winged” serpents (Is 14:29; 30:6). Here, however, it is used adjectivally of the cherubim, who are not serpent-like, as seen in the fact that they have faces and sexual parts (“feet”). See the adaptation of these figures by Ezekiel (Ez 1:10–12; 10:4–15). were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they hovered.#Rev 4:8. 3One cried out to the other:
“Holy, holy, holy#Holy, holy, holy: these words have been used in Christian liturgy from the earliest times. is the Lord of hosts!
All the earth is filled with his glory!”
4At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke.#Smoke: reminiscent of the clouds which indicated God’s presence at Mount Sinai (Ex 19:16–19; Dt 4:11) and which filled the tabernacle (Ex 40:34–38) and the Temple (1 Kgs 8:10–11) at their dedication. #Rev 15:8.
5Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed!#Doomed: there are two roots from which the verb here could be derived; one means “to perish, be doomed,” the other “to become silent,” and given Isaiah’s delight in puns and double entendre, he probably intended to sound both notes. “I am doomed!” is suggested by the popular belief that to see God would lead to one’s death; cf. Gn 32:31; Ex 33:20; Jgs 13:22. “I am struck silent!” is suggested by the emphasis on the lips in vv. 5–6, and such silence is attested elsewhere as the appropriate response to the vision of the Lord in the Temple (Hb 2:20). For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips,#Is 29:13; Mt 15:1–11; Mk 7:1–13; Col 2:20–23. and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
7He touched my mouth with it. “See,” he said, “now that this has touched your lips,#Touched your lips: Isaiah is thus symbolically purified of sin in preparation for his mission as God’s prophet. your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”#Jer 1:9; Dn 10:16.
8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!” 9#Isaiah’s words give evidence that he attempted in every way, through admonition, threat, and promise, to bring the people to conversion (cf. 1:18–20), so it is unlikely that this charge to “harden” is to be understood as Isaiah’s task; more probably it reflects the refusal of the people, more particularly the leaders, who were supposed to “see,” “hear,” and “understand,” a refusal which would then lead to a disastrous outcome (vv. 11–12). And he replied: Go and say to this people:
Listen carefully, but do not understand!
Look intently, but do not perceive!#Mt 13:10–17; Mk 4:10–12; Lk 8:9–10; Acts 28:25–28.
10Make the heart of this people sluggish,
dull their ears and close their eyes;
Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,
and their heart understand,
and they turn and be healed.#Jer 5:21; Jn 12:40.
11“How long, O Lord?” I asked. And he replied:
#The desolation described would be the result of the sort of deportation practiced by the Assyrians and later by the Babylonians. Isaiah seems to expect this as an eventual consequence of Judah’s submission as vassal to the Assyrians; cf. 3:1–3; 5:13. Until the cities are desolate,
without inhabitants,
Houses, without people,
and the land is a desolate waste.
12Until the Lord sends the people far away,
and great is the desolation in the midst of the land.
13If there remain a tenth part in it,
then this in turn shall be laid waste;
As with a terebinth or an oak
whose trunk remains when its leaves have fallen.#When its leaves have fallen: the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain, and the text may be corrupt. Holy offspring: part of the phrase is missing from the Septuagint and may be a later addition; it provides a basis for hope for the future. #Is 10:22.
Holy offspring is the trunk.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Isaiah 6
6
Isaiah’s Cleansing and Call
1It was in the year King Uzziah died#6:1 King Uzziah died in 740 b.c. that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3They were calling out to each other,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!
The whole earth is filled with his glory!”
4Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.
5Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”
8Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”
I said, “Here I am. Send me.”
9And he said, “Yes, go, and say to this people,
‘Listen carefully, but do not understand.
Watch closely, but learn nothing.’
10Harden the hearts of these people.
Plug their ears and shut their eyes.
That way, they will not see with their eyes,
nor hear with their ears,
nor understand with their hearts
and turn to me for healing.”#6:9-10 Greek version reads And he said, “Go and say to this people, / ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. / When you see what I do, you will not comprehend.’ / For the hearts of these people are hardened, / and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— / so their eyes cannot see, / and their ears cannot hear, / and their hearts cannot understand, / and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.” Compare Matt 13:14-15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; Acts 28:26-27.
11Then I said, “Lord, how long will this go on?”
And he replied,
“Until their towns are empty,
their houses are deserted,
and the whole country is a wasteland;
12until the Lord has sent everyone away,
and the entire land of Israel lies deserted.
13If even a tenth—a remnant—survive,
it will be invaded again and burned.
But as a terebinth or oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down,
so Israel’s stump will be a holy seed.”
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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