Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
Isaiah sees God sitting on his throne being attended by the six-winged Seraphim. The Seraphim purge Isaiah of his sins and send him on a mission to rebuke the rebellious people.
II. Photo
Isaiah is purged of sin: “Then one of the seraphs flew over to me with a live coal, which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched it to my lips and declared, ‘Now that this has touched your lips, Your guilt shall depart And your sin be purged away.’” (vv. 6-7)
III. Important Verses
1-2: In the year that King Uzziah died, I beheld my Lord seated on a high and lofty throne; and the skirts of His robe filled the Temple. Seraphs stood in attendance on Him. Each of them had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his legs, and with two he would fly.
3: And one would call to the other, “Holy, holy, holy! The LORD of Hosts! His presence fills all the earth!”
6-7: Then one of the seraphs flew over to me with a live coal, which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched it to my lips and declared, “Now that this has touched your lips, Your guilt shall depart And your sin be purged away.”
11-13: I asked, “How long, my Lord?” And He replied: “Till towns lie waste without inhabitants And houses without people, And the ground lies waste and desolate — For the LORD will banish the population — And deserted sites are many In the midst of the land. “But while a tenth part yet remains in it, it shall repent. It shall be ravaged like the terebinth and the oak, of which stumps are left even when they are felled: its stump shall be a holy seed.”
IV. Outline
1. God seated on his throne
2. Seraphs attending God
3-4. The awesome call of the Seraphim
5. Isaiah’s cry
6-7. A seraph cleanses Isaiah of his sins
8-10. Isaiah volunteers to deliver a message to the people
11-13. Isaiah will see destruction and rejuvenation
V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.
VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Blenkinsopp, Joseph. “Isaiah 1-39” The Anchor Bible vol. 19 (New York: Doubleday, 2000).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Sweeney, Marvin A. “Isaiah 1-39 with an Introduction to Prophetic Literature” The Forms of Old Testament Literature vol. 16 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 1996).
Photo taken from http://www.grillirious.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Hot-Coals-2.jpg
