CHAPTER 6
In the year
that King
Uzziah
died,
I saw
the Lord
seated
on
a throne,
high
and exalted;
and the train of His robe
filled
the temple.
Above
Him
stood
seraphim,
each
having six
wings:
With two wings
they covered
their faces,
with two
they covered
their feet,
and with two
they were flying.
And they
called out
to
one another:
Holy,
holy,
holy
is the LORD
of Hosts;
His glory
fills
all
the earth.
The doorposts
and thresholds
shook
at the sound
of their voices,
and the temple
was filled
with smoke.
Then I said,
“Woe
is me,
for
I am ruined,
because
I
am a man
of unclean
lips
dwelling
among
a people
of unclean
lips,
and
my eyes
have seen
the King,
the LORD
of Hosts.”
Then one
of
the seraphim
flew
to me,
and in his hand
was a glowing coal
that he had taken
with tongs
from
the altar.
And with it he touched
my mouth
and said,
“Now that
this
has touched
your lips,
your iniquity
is removed
and your sin
is atoned for.”
Then I heard
the voice
of the Lord
saying,
“Whom
shall I send?
Who
will go for Us?”
And I said,
“Here am I.
Send me!”
And He replied,
“Go
and tell
this
people:
‘Be ever hearing,
but never
understanding;
be ever seeing,
but never
perceiving.’
Make the hearts
of this
people
calloused;
deafen
their ears
and close
their eyes.
Otherwise
they might see
with their eyes,
hear
with their ears,
understand
with their hearts,
and turn
and be healed.
Then I asked,
“How long,
O Lord?”
And He replied,
“Until
cities
lie in ruins
without
an inhabitant,
until the houses
are left unoccupied,
and the land
is desolate
and ravaged,
And though
a tenth remains
in the land,
it will be
burned
again.
As the terebinth
and oak
leave stumps
when felled,
so the holy
seed
will be a stump
in the land.”