Isaiah 6 opens with a date, not a prophecy: in the year that king Uzziah died. Judah’s king is dead, and in that same year Isaiah sees the King, the LORD of hosts.
By the end of the chapter God asks a question – Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? – and it is not put to Isaiah by name. He only heard it. What he says next, and what it costs him to be able to say it, is the whole story.
The Story of Isaiah’s Vision
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. 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.
One cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. At the sound of that voice the posts of the door moved, and the house was filled with smoke.
Isaiah’s first words are not praise but a confession. 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. Seeing God clearly showed him himself clearly.
Then one of the seraphims flew to him, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. He laid it upon Isaiah’s mouth – the very lips he had just called unclean – and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
Only after that does Isaiah hear the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Isaiah hears the question and answers: Here am I; send me.
The message he is given is a hard one. He is to tell the people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Isaiah asks, Lord, how long? and the answer is, until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the land be utterly desolate. Yet the chapter does not end in total loss: a tenth shall return, and like a teil tree or an oak whose substance remains when they cast their leaves, the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
Key Verses
“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” Isaiah 6:1
“Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory” Isaiah 6:3
“Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips” Isaiah 6:5
“Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged” Isaiah 6:7
“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me” Isaiah 6:8
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), a public-domain translation.
What the Story of Isaiah’s Vision Teaches Us
Holiness comes first in this chapter, and everything else follows from it. The seraphims, who stand in God’s presence, cover their faces before him, and the word they repeat three times is holy. Isaiah’s reaction is not curiosity but woe: next to a holy God, he can only see his own unclean lips.
The cleansing comes from God’s side, before the call. Isaiah does nothing to remove his sin; a coal from the altar is brought to him, and he is told his iniquity is taken away. Only a man who has been purged answers Here am I; send me, and the order of events in the text is the point.
Isaiah is not promised success. He is sent to a people who will hear and not understand, until the land is desolate. He goes anyway, and the last line of the chapter keeps a thread of hope: a remnant will remain, and the holy seed will be its substance.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What did Isaiah see in his vision?
Isaiah 6:1-4 says he saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, with his train filling the temple, and seraphims above it crying Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts, while the house filled with smoke.
When did Isaiah’s vision happen?
Isaiah 6:1 dates it to the year that king Uzziah of Judah died.
What are seraphims?
They are the heavenly beings Isaiah saw above the throne. Isaiah 6:2 says each one had six wings: two covering the face, two covering the feet, and two for flying.
Why did Isaiah say Woe is me?
Because he had seen the King, the LORD of hosts, and knew he was a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5).
What does the live coal mean in Isaiah 6?
A seraph took it from off the altar and touched Isaiah’s lips with it, saying his iniquity was taken away and his sin purged (Isaiah 6:6-7). It is how Isaiah was cleansed before he was sent.
Where does Here am I, send me come from?
Isaiah 6:8. When Isaiah heard the Lord ask, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? he answered, Here am I; send me.