< Isaiah 6 >
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also YHWH sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated in majesty on a high throne, and the train of his robe 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.
Seraphim stood above him, and each of them had six wings: They used two wings to cover their faces, two to cover their feet, and two to fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is YHWH of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
They were calling out to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; his glory fills the whole earth.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
The sound of their shouts made the doorposts and doorsteps shake, and the Temple 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, YHWH of hosts.
I cried out, “I'm doomed! I'm going to die because I'm a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, for I've seen the King, the Lord Almighty!”
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:
Then one of the seraphim flew over to me. He was holding a glowing coal that he had picked up with tongs from 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.
He touched me on my mouth with it and told me, “Look! This has touched your lips, so now your guilt is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”
8 Also I heard the voice of YHWH, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
Then I heard the Lord asking, “Who shall I send? Who will go and speak for us?” So I said, “I'm here! Please send me!”
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
He replied, “Go and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but never understanding. Keep on seeing, but never comprehending.’
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.
Make the minds of this people insensitive; make their ears deaf and shut their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their minds, and repent and be healed.”
11 Then said I, YHWH, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
Then I asked, “How long will this last, Lord?” He replied, “Until towns are ruined and empty, houses are abandoned, and the land is devastated and destroyed;
12 And YHWH have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
until the Lord sends the people far away and the country is totally deserted.
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.
Even though a tenth of the population remains in the land, it will be destroyed again. But in the same way as the terebinth and oak trees leave stumps when they're cut down, so the holy seed will remain as stump.”