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The Bible · 685 of 1189

Isaiah 6

1.In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

5.Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7. And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

9.And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. 11. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, 12. And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

13.But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

Asked of Guide

Why does Isaiah cry “Woe is me!” after seeing the Lord in the temple?

Isaiah says “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips” after seeing the LORD because the vision exposes the gap between his holiness and Isaiah’s sinfulness. The overwhelming presence—“the whole earth is full of his glory”—and the seraphim’s proclamation of holyness reveal Isaiah’s impurity and the communal corruption around him.

A seraph touches his lips with a live coal from the altar to cleanse him, and that act enables Isaiah to answer God’s call: “Here am I; send me.” This sequence of conviction, purification, and commissioning echoes themes in Ezekiel and in the New Testament where encounter with God leads to cleansing and mission.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.