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Major Prophets · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Isaiah 6

Judgment and hope, God's holiness, the servant, restored Zion, and new creation.

Old Testament

Isaiah 6

1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple.

2Above 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.

3One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!”

4The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

5Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am undone, 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 Armies!”

6Then 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.

7He touched my mouth with it, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.”

8I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!”

9He said, “Go, and tell this people, ‘You hear indeed, but don’t understand. You see indeed, but don’t perceive.’

10Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.”

11Then I said, “Lord, how long?” He answered, “Until cities are waste without inhabitant, houses without man, the land becomes utterly waste,

12and the LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many within the land.

13If there is a tenth left in it, that also will in turn be consumed, as a terebinth, and as an oak whose stump remains when they are cut down, so the holy seed is its stump.”

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Judgment and hope, God's holiness, the servant, restored Zion, and new creation. Read Isaiah 6 within the complete Isaiah overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Isaiah 6

Isaiah 6 contains 13 verses and about 319 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “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.” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 13 closes: “If there is a tenth left in it, that also will in turn be consumed, as a terebinth, and as an oak whose stump remains when they are cut down, so the holy seed is its…” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include holy, lips, people, eyes, king, filled. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Isaiah 6

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Isaiah 6:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer