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Isaiah 6

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Isaiah's Vision of the Lord 1–4

1
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. ​
2
Above him stood the seraphim: 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 Jehovah of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. ​
4
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. ​

Isaiah's Confession, Cleansing, and Commission 5–8

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, Jehovah of hosts. ​
6
Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: ​
7
and he touched my mouth with it, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin forgiven. ​
8
And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me. ​

The Message of Hardening and Judgment 9–13

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 turn again, and be healed. ​
11
Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land become utterly waste, ​
12
and Jehovah have removed men far away, and the forsaken places be many in the midst of the land.
13
And if there be yet a tenth in it, it also shall in turn be eaten up: as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remaineth, when they are felled; so the holy seed is the stock thereof. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Isaiah 6

Verse 1

the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up — Uzziah reigned 'fifty and two years' (2 Chr 26:3) and 'was a leper unto the day of his death' (26:21). In the year he died Isaiah sees the true King in the temple. 'High and lifted up' (ram, nasa) are the verbs of 52:13, 'exalted and extolled'. John applies the vision to Christ (John 12:41).

Verse 2

the seraphims — Saraph, 'burning', is elsewhere the 'fiery serpents' of Num 21:6 and the 'fiery flying serpent' of Isa 14:29; these beings are named only here and in v.6. Six wings are also the mark of the four beasts of Rev 4:8. The covered face recalls Moses, who 'hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God' (Ex 3:6).

Verse 3

Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts — The threefold cry is taken up in Rev 4:8, 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty'. 'The Holy One of Israel' is Isaiah's title for him from 1:4, found in 25 verses of the book and six elsewhere. 'The whole earth is full of his glory' states as present what Num 14:21 promises: 'all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD'.

Verse 4

the posts of the door moved — The 'posts' (ammah) are the door-bases and the 'door' (saph) is the threshold, as in Judg 19:27, so the whole entrance shakes. The house is 'filled with smoke' as it was with the cloud at its dedication (1 Kgs 8:10–11); Sinai too 'was altogether on a smoke' (Ex 19:18).

Verse 5

Woe is me! for I am undone — 'Undone' is damah, to be cut off or silenced, the verb of Moab 'laid waste, and brought to silence' (15:1). 'Unclean' is the word of the leper's cry, 'Unclean, unclean' (Lev 13:45). 'Mine eyes have seen the King' is set against 'there shall no man see me, and live' (Ex 33:20).

Verse 6

a live coal… from off the altar — The coal comes from the altar, whose fire was never to lapse: 'it shall never go out' (Lev 6:13). The one who carries it is a seraph, a 'burning' one (saraph, v.2). In Rev 8:5 an angel likewise 'filled it with fire of the altar'.

Verse 7

thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged — 'Purged' is kaphar, the verb of atonement: 'the priest make an atonement for you' (Lev 16:30). The pairing recurs in 27:9, 'By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged'. The coal touches the 'unclean lips' of v.5, as the LORD later 'touched' Jeremiah's mouth (Jer 1:9).

Verse 8

Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? — One speaker says 'I' and 'us', as in 'Let us make man' (Gen 1:26). John says Isaiah saw Christ's 'glory' here (John 12:41) and Paul says 'the Holy Ghost' spoke vv.9–10 (Acts 28:25), so Christian readers have long heard the three persons. 'Here am I' is also Moses' answer (Ex 3:4) and Samuel's (1 Sam 3:4).

Verse 9

Hear ye indeed, but understand not — The doubled verbs ('hearing, hear… seeing, see') are the form the New Testament repeats: 'By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand' (Matt 13:14); 'Hearing ye shall hear' (Acts 28:26). The text is used of the parables (Mark 4:12) and of unbelief at Christ's signs (John 12:40).

Verse 10

Make the heart of this people fat — 'Fat' (shaman) is the verb of 'Jeshurun waxed fat' (Deut 32:15), and 'heavy' (kabed) the verb of Pharaoh, who 'hardened his heart' (Ex 8:15). 'Be healed' (rapha) is the word of 53:5, 'with his stripes we are healed'. Matthew says it is 'fulfilled' in those who heard the parables (13:14–15), and Paul quotes it in Acts 28:26–27.

Verse 11

Lord, how long? — The cry is the psalmist's (Ps 94:3; 90:13). The answer is the covenant curse of Lev 26:31: 'I will make your cities waste'. 'Wasted' and 'desolate' are one verb, sha'ah, in two forms, and 1:7 already describes the land: 'Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire'.

Verse 13

the holy seed shall be the substance thereof — The 'tenth' that 'shall return' is the remnant of 10:21, 'The remnant shall return'. 'Eaten' is ba'ar, to burn up, the verb of 'the spirit of burning' (4:4). 'Substance' is matstsebeth, the stock of a tree left standing; 'holy seed' occurs elsewhere only in Ezra 9:2.