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TitleIsaiah 6
Publication TypeBook Chapter
Year of Publication2022
AuthorsParry, Donald W.
Book TitleThe Book of Isaiah: A New Translation (Preliminary Edition)
Chapter6
PublisherBook of Mormon Central
CitySpringville, UT

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Isaiah’s Vision of God and Prophetic Commission (6:1–13)

Isaiah

6 1In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the hems of His robe filled the Temple.

2Above Him stood seraphs[1], each one had six wings;
with two he {the seraph} covered his face,
and with two he covered his feet,
and with two he flew.

3And one called to another and said:

Seraph

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.”

Isaiah

4And the posts of the thresholds shook at the voice calling out,
and the house was filled with smoke.

5Then said I, “Woe is me!
for I am brought to silence,

because I am a man of unclean[2] lips,
and I dwell among a people of unclean lips,

because my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.”

6Then flew one of the seraphs to me, in his hand a glowing coal in tongs that he had taken from the altar;

7and he touched my mouth and said,

Seraph

“Behold, this has touched your lips,

and your iniquity is removed
and your sin atoned.”

Isaiah

8Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

The Lord

“Whom will I send, and who will go for us?”

Isaiah

Then I said, “Here am I; send me.” 9And He said,

The Lord

“Go, and tell this people,

‘Indeed, hear, but [they][3] will not understand;
and indeed, see, but [they] will not know.’

10Make 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 [hearts][4],

and [be converted][5] and be healed.”

Isaiah

11Then said I: “How long, O Lord?” And He said:

The Lord

“Until the cities lie ruined without inhabitant,
and the houses without a human,
and the land lies wasted and desolate.”

Isaiah

12And the LORD will remove the human far away, [for there will be][6] a great forsaking in the land. 13And yet [there][7] will be a tenth, and [they] {the tenth} will return. And it will burn like a terebinth and an oak, which though felled have a trunk that remains—the holy seed is the trunk.[8]



[1] The seraphs are a class of angels located in the celestial kingdom. Based on the Hebrew root saraph (“to burn”), the term seraph may be translated “burning one” or “bright shining one,” referring to the seraphs’ glorious condition and location near the Lord’s throne.

[2] The Hebrew word twice translated “unclean” (tame’) in these two lines refers to ceremonial or ritual uncleanness (as per the lexicons).

[3] Bracketed words in verse 9 are from JST and 2 Nephi 16:9.

[4] From JST.

[5] From 2 Nephi 16:10.

[6] From JST and 2 Nephi 16:12.

[7] Bracketed words in verse 13 are from JST and 2 Nephi 16:13.

[8] The Hebrew in this verse poses difficulties and so is challenging to translate.

 

Scripture Reference

Isaiah 6:1