Isaiah 6

“Here Am I; Send Me”

In the year an earthly king died, Isaiah saw the true King. He was undone, cleansed with a coal from the altar, and sent.

c. 740 BC, the year King Uzziah died Also in 2 Ne. 16 Read with footnotes in Gospel Library

Background

This is Isaiah’s call, placed not at the beginning of the book but after five chapters of judgment.

This is Isaiah’s call, placed not at the beginning of the book but after five chapters of judgment. By the time we reach it, we know how unclean the people are. Now we learn that the prophet sent to them had to be made clean first.

The date is significant: “the year that king Uzziah died,” about 740 BC. Uzziah had reigned for more than fifty years and brought Judah prosperity. But late in life he grew proud, entered the temple to burn incense (a privilege reserved for priests), and was struck with leprosy on the spot. He lived out his days quarantined and died a leper (2 Chr. 26:16–21). So in the year a proud king who had intruded into the temple died, Isaiah is shown the true King, sitting on His throne in that same temple.

Nephi quoted the chapter as 2 Ne. 16. The Apostle John tells us whom Isaiah saw: “These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him” (John 12:41). In context, “him” is Jesus.

The thread through the chapter

Isaiah 6 follows a pattern that repeats in the calls of prophets throughout scripture, and in some form in every disciple’s life.

Isaiah 6 follows a pattern that repeats in the calls of prophets throughout scripture, and in some form in every disciple’s life. It moves in four steps.

Vision (verses 1–4). Isaiah sees the Lord enthroned, with blazing seraphim crying “Holy, holy, holy.” The temple shakes and fills with smoke. The first thing Isaiah learns is not a message but a Person: God’s holiness.

Confession (verse 5). Seeing God’s holiness, Isaiah sees himself clearly: “Woe is me! for I am undone.” Remember that chapters 1–5 were full of “woes” against the people. Now the prophet pronounces a woe on himself. Before he can say woe unto them, he has to say woe is me.

Cleansing (verses 6–7). A seraph takes a burning coal from the altar, the place of sacrifice, and touches Isaiah’s lips: “thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” The Hebrew verb for “purged” is kipper, the word for atonement. Isaiah is cleansed by something that comes from the altar.

Commission (verses 8–13). Only then does the Lord ask, “Whom shall I send?” and Isaiah, freshly forgiven, volunteers. The message he receives is sobering. His preaching will mostly harden people, until the land is ruined and only a stump remains. But even the stump holds a “holy seed.”

The order matters: vision, confession, cleansing, commission. We can’t be sent until we’ve been cleansed, and we can’t be cleansed until we see our need, which happens when we see Him.

Tap any highlighted phrase to open a note beneath its versein the margin.

Verses 1–4

The King on His throne

In plain words

In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne, and the hem of His robe filled the temple. Fiery seraphim stood above Him, each with six wings: two to cover the face, two to cover the feet, and two to fly. They called to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” Their voices shook the doorposts, and the temple filled with smoke.

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.

History & Setting #

The death of a proud king

Uzziah (also called Azariah) was one of Judah’s most successful kings.

Uzziah (also called Azariah) was one of Judah’s most successful kings. He reigned about fifty-two years, built up the army, and expanded trade (2 Chr. 26:1–15). “But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction.” He entered the temple to burn incense, which only priests were allowed to do. When the priests confronted him, leprosy broke out on his forehead. He was “cut off from the house of the LORD” for the rest of his life (2 Chr. 26:16–21).

Isaiah’s vision dates to the year of Uzziah’s death, about 740 BC. The contrast is surely deliberate. An earthly king, “lifted up” with pride, was banished from the temple. Now Isaiah sees the true King, “high and lifted up” in holiness, sitting enthroned in that same temple.

Sources: “Uzziah”, Bible Dictionary.

Witness of Christ #

Isaiah saw Jesus Christ

Who did Isaiah see? The Apostle John answers directly. After quoting verse 10 of this chapter, John writes: “These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him” (John 12:41).

Who did Isaiah see? The Apostle John answers directly. After quoting verse 10 of this chapter, John writes: “These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him” (John 12:41). In context, John is speaking of Jesus.

This fits the Restoration teaching that Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament, is the premortal Jesus Christ (3 Ne. 15:5; D&C 110:2–4). Nephi says Isaiah “verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him” (2 Ne. 11:2), almost certainly referring to this vision. Isaiah, like Nephi and Jacob, was an eyewitness of the Lord.

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.

Word & Language #

The burning ones

Seraphim (the KJV adds an unnecessary English plural -s to a word that is already plural in Hebrew) probably means “burning ones,” from the verb saraph, “to burn.”

Seraphim (the KJV adds an unnecessary English plural -s to a word that is already plural in Hebrew) probably means “burning ones,” from the verb saraph, “to burn.” The Bible Dictionary describes them as “angelic beings… attendants in Jehovah’s court, the ministers of the heavenly sanctuary.” This is the only place in the Bible they are named. The same root is used for the “fiery serpents” in the wilderness (Num. 21:6–8).

Their six wings are eloquent. Two cover their faces, because even these holy beings cannot gaze on God. Two cover their feet, a gesture of modesty and humility. Only two are used for flying. Most of their being is devoted to reverence.

Sources: “Seraphim”, Bible Dictionary.

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

Word & Language #

Holy, holy, holy

Hebrew had no easy way to say “holiest,” so it expressed the superlative by repetition: “holy of holies” means the most holy place.

Hebrew had no easy way to say “holiest,” so it expressed the superlative by repetition: “holy of holies” means the most holy place. Saying a word three times is the strongest emphasis possible. This is the only attribute of God repeated three times in the Bible. John heard the same cry in heaven (Rev. 4:8).

“Holy” (qadosh) means set apart, utterly other, pure. It is the root of Isaiah’s favorite title for God, “the Holy One of Israel,” which may well have been born in this moment.

Notice the second line: “the whole earth is full of his glory.” God’s holiness is not remote. It fills the world.

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

Verses 5–7

Undone and made clean

In plain words

I cried out, “I’m doomed! My lips are unclean, and I live among people with unclean lips, and I have seen the King, the Lord of hosts, with my own eyes!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me holding a burning coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “This has touched your lips. Your guilt is gone and your sin is atoned for.”

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.

Word & Language #

“I am undone”

The Hebrew verb (nidmeti) means “I am destroyed,” “I am cut off,” or even “I am silenced.”

The Hebrew verb (nidmeti) means “I am destroyed,” “I am cut off,” or even “I am silenced.” It is fitting language for a man whose calling is to speak and who now realizes his lips are unclean.

This is the universal response of mortals in God’s presence. Moses, after seeing God, said, “Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing” (Moses 1:10). Peter fell at Jesus’s knees: “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8). Nephi cried, “O wretched man that I am!” (2 Ne. 4:17). Seeing God clearly means seeing ourselves clearly.

Notice, too, that after five chapters of pronouncing woes on others (Isa. 5:8–22), Isaiah now pronounces one on himself.

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:

Witness of Christ #

A coal from the altar

The coal comes from the altar, the place where sacrifices were offered and where the fire was never allowed to go out (Lev. 6:12–13).

The coal comes from the altar, the place where sacrifices were offered and where the fire was never allowed to go out (Lev. 6:12–13). It may have been the altar of incense, whose coals came from the altar of sacrifice (Lev. 16:12–13). Either way, Isaiah is cleansed by fire that comes from the place of sacrifice.

Latter-day Saints can read in this an image of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Our cleansing does not come from our own effort. It is brought to us, as the seraph brings the coal, from the place where the Lamb was sacrificed. It is also striking that the seraph uses tongs, because the coal was too holy and too hot even for him to touch, yet it is laid directly on Isaiah’s lips. The fire burns away uncleanness without destroying the man.

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.

Word & Language #

“Purged” means atoned

The Hebrew verb translated “purged” is tekuppar, from kipper, the word for making atonement (Lev. 16:30).

The Hebrew verb translated “purged” is tekuppar, from kipper, the word for making atonement (Lev. 16:30). It is the root of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. So the seraph literally says: “your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is atoned for.”

This may be the clearest picture in Isaiah of what forgiveness feels like: guilt removed in an instant by something applied from the altar. Isaiah didn’t have to earn it or argue for it. He only had to confess it and receive the coal.

Sources: Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.

Verses 8–13

The commission

In plain words

Then I heard the Lord ask, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me!” He said, “Go and tell these people: ‘Keep listening, but you won’t understand; keep looking, but you won’t perceive.’ Your message will make their hearts dull, their ears deaf, and their eyes blind, so that they won’t turn and be healed.” I asked, “Lord, how long?” He answered, “Until the cities are ruined and empty, the land is desolate, and the people have been carried far away. Even if a tenth remain, it will be burned again. But like an oak or terebinth that leaves a stump when it is cut down, the holy seed will be the stump.”

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.

Restoration Insight #

The council in heaven

Notice the shift from “I” to “us.” The Lord is consulting with a heavenly council, as in 1 Kgs. 22:19–22 and Gen. 1:26 (“let us make man”).

Latter-day scripture opens this scene wider. In the premortal council, the Lord asked the same question, and the answer came from “one… like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me” (Abr. 3:27). Isaiah’s reply is word for word what the premortal Christ said when He volunteered to be our Redeemer.

There’s a sobering detail, though. According to Abr. 3:27 and Moses 4:1, Lucifer used the very same words: “Behold, here am I, send me.” The difference was not the words but the motive. Lucifer added, “give me thine honor.” The Beloved Son said, “Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever” (Moses 4:2). Isaiah, freshly cleansed and conscious of his unworthiness, answers in the spirit of the Son.

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

Restoration Insight #

A hard commission, clarified

This is one of the most puzzling commissions in scripture. Is God really sending a prophet to keep people from understanding?

This is one of the most puzzling commissions in scripture. Is God really sending a prophet to keep people from understanding? The Hebrew imperatives are best read as bitter irony, or as a statement of result rather than purpose. Your preaching will have this effect: the more you speak, the more they will harden. God knows in advance how Judah will respond.

Nephi’s version makes the point clearer: “Go and tell this people—Hear ye indeed, but they understood not; and see ye indeed, but they perceived not” (2 Ne. 16:9). The Book of Mormon text describes the people’s condition instead of commanding it.

Jesus quoted these verses to explain why many did not grasp His parables (Matt. 13:13–15), and Paul quoted them at the end of Acts (Acts 28:25–28). Truth received with a hardened heart hardens it further. Truth received with a soft heart heals it.

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,

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.

Seeing Christ in Isaiah 6

Isaiah 6 is a vision of Jesus Christ in His premortal glory, as John testifies (John 12:41). The seraphim’s triple “holy” describes Him. The chapter also foreshadows His whole mission.

The coal from the altar that atones for Isaiah’s sin points to the Lamb whose sacrifice cleanses every repentant sinner. Isaiah’s “Here am I; send me” echoes the premortal Son’s offer in the council in heaven (Abr. 3:27). The people who hear but don’t understand foreshadow the reception Jesus received (Matt. 13:13–15; John 12:37–41). And the stump with a holy seed anticipates the Branch from the stem of Jesse (Isa. 11:1).

In this one chapter, Isaiah sees Christ enthroned, is cleansed by His atonement, and answers His call in His own words.

Liken it to yourself

Isaiah saw God clearly and then saw himself clearly. When have I had a spiritual experience that made me more aware of my weaknesses? Did I receive it as a gift?
What are my “unclean lips”? What would it mean to ask the Lord to touch and cleanse that part of me before He sends me?
The sacrament is our weekly reminder that cleansing comes from the altar of Christ’s sacrifice. How could I approach it with Isaiah’s mix of honesty (“woe is me”) and hope (“thy sin purged”)?
Is there an assignment where I feel I’m preaching to people who “hear but understand not”? Can I keep going, trusting the holy seed in the stump?

Worth exploring next

Call narratives. Compare Isaiah’s call with Moses’s (Ex. 3–4), Jeremiah’s (Jer. 1:4–10), Ezekiel’s (Ezek. 1–3), Lehi’s (1 Ne. 1:6–15), and Joseph Smith’s (JS—H 1:14–20). What elements repeat?
Throne visions. Read 1 Ne. 1:8 and Alma 36:22. Lehi saw “God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels.” What does it mean that Book of Mormon prophets had similar visions?
Isaiah 6 and the temple. Consider how this vision in the temple moves from God’s presence, to cleansing, to covenant commitment. How does that parallel your own temple worship?

This chapter elsewhere in scripture

Nephi’s text of this chapter (2 Ne. 16) reads differently from the King James Version in 10 verses. The BoM markers show the 6 where more than a small word changes.

2 Ne. 16 — Nephi quotes the chapter, clarifying verse 9.
John 12:37–41 — John quotes verse 10 and says Isaiah saw Christ’s glory.
Abr. 3:27 — “Here am I, send me” in the premortal council.
Rev. 4:8 — The heavenly beings cry “Holy, holy, holy.”

Sources & further reading

“Seraphim”, Bible Dictionary.
“Uzziah”, Bible Dictionary.
Victor L. Ludlow, Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and Poet, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1982.
Donald W. Parry, Jay A. Parry, and Tina M. Peterson, Understanding Isaiah, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1998.
John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, New International Commentary on the Old Testament, 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986–1998.
Chapter 13: The Establishment of Zion (Isaiah 1–12), Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi (2003).

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