Isaiah 6:2-12

2 Above it stood the seraphims; each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

3 And one cried out unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of the hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.

4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 Then I said, Woe is me! for I am dead 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, the LORD of the hosts.

6 Then one of the seraphim flew unto me, having a live coal in his hand which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

7 And he laid it upon my mouth and said, Behold, this has touched thy lips; and it shall take away thy guilt, and thy sin shall be cleansed.

8 After this, I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I answered, Here am I; send me.

9 Then he said, Go and tell this people, Hear indeed, but do not understand; and see indeed, but do not perceive.

10 Make the heart of this people fat and make their ears heavy and blind their eyes that they not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their heart, nor convert and there be healing for him.

11 And I said, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities are wasted without inhabitant and not a man in the houses, and the land is turned into desert,

12 until the LORD has removed men far away, and there is great solitude in the midst of the land.

Isaiah 6:2-12 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.