Isaiah - The Old Testament

¹ In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne; his train filled the sanctuary.

² Above him stood seraphs, each one with six wings: two to cover its face, two to cover its feet and two for flying;

³ and they were shouting these words to each other: Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh Sabaoth. His glory fills the whole earth.

⁴ The door-posts shook at the sound of their shouting, and the Temple was full of smoke.

⁵ Then I said: 'Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh Sabaoth.'

⁶ Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding in its hand a live coal which it had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs.

⁷ With this it touched my mouth and said: 'Look, this has touched your lips, your guilt has been removed and your sin forgiven.'

⁸ I then heard the voice of the Lord saying: 'Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I, send me.'

⁹ He said: 'Go, and say to this people, "Listen and listen, but never understand! Look and look, but never perceive!"

¹⁰ Make this people's heart coarse, make their ears dull, shut their eyes tight, or they will use their eyes to see, use their ears to hear, use their heart to understand, and change their ways and be healed.'

¹¹ I then said, 'Until when, Lord?' He replied, 'Until towns are in ruins and deserted, houses untenanted and a great desolation reigns in the land,

¹² and Yahweh has driven the people away and the country is totally abandoned.

¹³ And suppose one-tenth of them are left in it, that will be stripped again, like the terebinth, like the oak, cut back to the stock; their stock is a holy seed.'