Isaiah 6:1-8

Isaiah’s Vision of the Lord

1 In the year that ¹King Uzziah died I ²saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train^[a] of his robe filled the temple.

2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had ³six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

3 And one called to another and said: ⁴“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; ⁵the whole earth is full of his glory! ” ^[b]

4 And ⁶the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and ⁷the house was filled with smoke.

5 And I said: “Woe is me! ⁸For I am lost; ⁹for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the ¹⁰King, the Lord of hosts! ”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

7 And he ¹¹touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for. ”

Isaiah’s Commission from the Lord

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for ¹²us? ” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me. ”

Isaiah 6:1-8 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 6

This chapter contains a vision of the glory and majesty of Christ, the mission and commission of the prophet, and the destruction of the Jews. In the vision may be observed the time of it, and the object seen; who is described by the throne on which he sat, Isa 6:1 and by his ministers about him; and these, by their name, by their situation, by their wings and the use of them, and by their employment, Isa 6:2,3 and by the effects their crying to one another had upon the place where they were, Isa 6:4 and next follows the effect the whole vision had on the prophet, which threw him into great distress of mind; and the relief he had by one of the seraphim, and the manner of it, Isa 6:6,7 upon which a question being put, concerning sending some person, the prophet makes answer, expressing his readiness to go, Isa 6:8 when a commission is given him, and the message he is sent with is declared, Isa 6:9,10 whereupon he asks how long it would be the case of the Jews mentioned in the message he was sent with; and he is told it would continue until the utter destruction of them, Isa 6:11,12 and yet, for the comfort of him and other saints, it is intimated that there would be a remnant among them, according to the election of grace, Isa 6:13.

Cross References

• 1. 6:1 ch. 1:1; 2 Chr. 26:16-21
• 2. 6:1 [John 12:41]
• 3. 6:2 Rev. 4:8
• 4. 6:3 [See ver. 2 above]
• 5. 6:3 Ps. 72:19
• 6. 6:4 Amos 9:1
• 7. 6:4 1 Kgs. 8:10, 11; Rev. 15:8; [Ex. 19:18]
• 8. 6:5 [Judg. 13:22]
• 9. 6:5 [Luke 5:8]
• 10. 6:5 ch. 33:17; Jer. 10:10; [1 Sam. 12:12]
• 11. 6:7 Jer. 1:9; Dan. 10:16
• 12. 6:8 See Gen. 1:26

Footnotes

• [a] 6:1 Or 'hem'
• [b] 6:3 Or 'may his glory fill the whole earth'