ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Isaiah 6

Book: Isaiah · NASB95

Isaiah's throne vision and prophetic commissioning. The prophet sees the Lord enthroned, hears the seraphim's threefold "Holy, holy, holy," is undone by his own uncleanness, is purged by coal from the altar, and is sent. The chapter is the source text for one of Scripture's clearest statements of divine holiness, a Trinitarian touchpoint in later Christian reading, and the call-narrative model for prophetic and apostolic vocation across both Testaments.

Key verses

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"In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple." (Isaiah 6:1, NASB95)

"And one called out to another and said, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.'" (Isaiah 6:3, NASB95)

"Then I said, 'Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.'" (Isaiah 6:5, NASB95)

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'" (Isaiah 6:8, NASB95)

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. 2. Above him stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4. And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; 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, Jehovah of hosts. 6. Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7. and he touched my mouth with it, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin forgiven. 8. And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me. 9. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10. Make 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 heart, and turn again, and be healed. 11. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land become utterly waste, 12. and Jehovah have removed men far away, and the forsaken places be many in the midst of the land. 13. And if there be yet a tenth in it, it also shall in turn be eaten up: as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remaineth, when they are felled; so the holy seed is the stock thereof." (Isaiah 6:1-13, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. 2. Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. With two he flew. 3. One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!” 4. The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5. Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Armies!” 6. Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. 7. He touched my mouth with it, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.” 8. I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!” 9. He said, “Go, and tell this people, ‘You hear indeed, but don’t understand; and you see indeed, but don’t perceive.’ 10. Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.” 11. Then I said, “Lord, how long?” He answered, “Until cities are waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land becomes utterly waste, 12. And Yahweh has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many within the land. 13. If there is a tenth left in it, that also will in turn be consumed: as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remains when they are felled; so the holy seed is its stock.”" (Isaiah 6:1-13, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. his: or, the skirts thereof 2. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. one: Heb. this cried to this the whole: Heb. his glory is the fulness of the whole earth 4. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. door: Heb. thresholds 5. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; 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 hosts. undone: Heb. cut off 6. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: having: Heb. and in his hand a live coal 7. And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. laid: Heb. caused it to touch 8. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. Here: Heb. behold me 9. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. indeed, but understand: or, without ceasing, etc: Heb. in hearing, etc 10. Make 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 heart, and convert, and be healed. 11. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, utterly: Heb. desolate with desolation 12. And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. 13. But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof. and it: or, when it is returned, and hath been broused substance: or, stock, or, stem" (Isaiah 6:1-13, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. In the year of the death of king Uzziah, I see the Lord, sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and His train is filling the temple. 2. Seraphs are standing above it: six wings hath each one; with two [each] covereth its face, and with two [each] covereth its feet, and with two [each] flieth. 3. And this one hath called unto that, and hath said: 'Holy, Holy, Holy, [is] Jehovah of Hosts, The fulness of all the earth [is] His glory.' 4. And the posts of the thresholds are moved by the voice of him who is calling, and the house is full of smoke. 5. And I say, 'Woe to me, for I have been silent, For a man, unclean of lips [am] I, And in midst of a people unclean of lips I am dwelling, Because the King, Jehovah of Hosts, have my eyes seen.' 6. And flee unto me doth one of the seraphs, and in his hand a burning coal, (with tongs he hath taken [it] from off the altar,) 7. and he striketh against my mouth, and saith: 'Lo, this hath stricken against thy lips, And turned aside is thine iniquity, And thy sin is covered.' 8. And I hear the voice of the Lord, saying: 'Whom do I send? and who doth go for Us?' And I say, 'Here [am] I, send me.' 9. And He saith, 'Go, and thou hast said to this people, Hear ye, to hear, and ye do not understand, And see ye, to see, and ye do not know. 10. Declare fat the heart of this people, And its ears declare heavy, And its eyes declare dazzled, Lest it see with its eyes, And with its ears hear, and its heart consider, And it hath turned back, and hath health.' 11. And I say, 'Till when, O Lord?' And He saith, 'Surely till cities have been wasted without inhabitant, And houses without man, And the ground be wasted, a desolation, 12. And Jehovah hath put man far off, And great [is] the forsaken part in the heart of the land. 13. And yet in it a tenth, and it hath turned, And hath been for a burning, As a teil-tree, and as an oak, that in falling, Have substance in them, The holy seed [is] its substance!'" (Isaiah 6:1-13, YLT)

Setting

  • Speaker: Isaiah son of Amoz, with seraphim and the Lord in direct discourse
  • Audience: Judah under Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah; downstream, the exilic remnant
  • Location: the Jerusalem temple, possibly read as the heavenly temple of which the earthly is pattern (Hebrews 8:5)
  • Time period: the year King Uzziah died, c. 740 BC, opening Isaiah's roughly forty-year ministry

Theological reading

The threefold "Holy, holy, holy" is the strongest Hebrew superlative possible (trisagion) and became, in Christian reading, a Trinitarian witness embedded in the Old Testament. The Spirit speaks the words; John 12:41 identifies the enthroned Lord as the Son ("These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him"); the Father is addressed throughout the chapter. Patristic exegesis (Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, Augustine) read the seraphim's three Holies as utterance to one God in three Persons, an early prooftext that the Trinity is not a late ecclesiastical imposition but a structural reading of Israel's Scripture. See Trinity and John 12.41.

The chapter's grammar of holiness is irreducible. Isaiah does not call himself a sinner because of misdeeds catalogued in the morning, but because contact with the holy reveals what he already was. Holiness in Isaiah is not moralism, it is the categorical otherness of God (qadosh, literally "set apart") confronting the unclean creature and exposing the creature's actual state. The coal from the altar (Hebrew kapporeth resonance) prefigures atonement: cleansing is not Isaiah's achievement but a unilateral act of God through the altar's mediation. The prophet does not volunteer until he is cleansed.

The call-narrative shape (vision, woe, cleansing, commission) becomes the template for prophetic and apostolic vocation: Ezekiel 1 and 2, Daniel 10, Revelation 1, and Paul's Damascus-road encounter all follow this contour. The commission itself is paradoxical: Isaiah is sent to preach to a people who will not respond, until the land is desolate (verse 11). Jesus quotes verses 9 to 10 to explain the parables in Matthew 13:14 to 15, Mark 4:12, Luke 8:10, John 12:40, and Paul quotes them in Acts 28:26 to 27 and Romans 11:8. The hardening is not arbitrary cruelty but the just outcome of persistent refusal, and the "holy seed" of verse 13 holds open the door to remnant and messianic hope.

Key words

  • H6918 - qadosh, qadosh (holy), the categorical otherness of God; the trisagion
  • H3068 - YHWH, YHWH (the divine name), the enthroned Lord
  • H3519 - kavod, kavod (glory), "the whole earth is full of His glory," weight and manifest presence
  • H6635 - tzevaot, tzevaot (hosts/armies), the Lord of armies, cosmic-cultic title
  • H5771 - avon, avon (iniquity), what the coal takes away

Theological themes

  • Divine holiness. The trisagion is the OT's strongest superlative; holiness is otherness before it is moral cleanness
  • Trinitarian witness. Three Holies; "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?"; John 12:41 reads the Lord as the Son
  • Atonement and call. Cleansing precedes commission, never the reverse; the prophet is not self-purified
  • Judicial hardening. The commission's paradox: preaching that produces hardening in the unrepentant, anticipating both exile and remnant
  • The holy seed. Verse 13's last line opens the messianic horizon picked up across Isaiah and into the New Testament

Cross-references

  • John 12.41, Isaiah "saw His glory," identifying the enthroned Lord as Christ
  • Revelation 4.8, the four living creatures with the same trisagion, anchoring the throne vision in the Christian apocalypse
  • Ezekiel 1, Daniel 10, Revelation 1, parallel commission-visions
  • Matthew 13:14 to 15, Acts 28:26 to 27, Romans 11:8, NT quotation of Isaiah 6:9 to 10

See also

Key words (lexicon stub-set)

Quoted in

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.