Isaiah’s commission
1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3And they were calling to one another:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.’
4At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’
8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’
And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’
9He said, ‘Go and tell this people:
‘ “Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.”
10Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.6:9,10 Hebrew; Septuagint “You will be ever hearing, but never understanding; / you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving.” / 10 This people’s heart has become calloused; / they hardly hear with their ears, / and they have closed their eyes
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.’
11Then I said, ‘For how long, Lord?’
And he answered:
‘Until the cities lie ruined
and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted
and the fields ruined and ravaged,
12until the Lord has sent everyone far away
and the land is utterly forsaken.
13And though a tenth remains in the land,
it will again be laid waste.
But as the terebinth and oak
leave stumps when they are cut down,
so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.’
上帝呼召以赛亚
1乌西雅王驾崩那年，我看见主坐在高高的宝座上，衣袍下垂，覆盖了圣殿。 2在祂上方侍立着撒拉弗天使，他们各有三对翅膀：一对遮脸，一对遮脚，一对飞翔。 3他们彼此呼喊：
“圣哉，圣哉，圣哉，
万军之耶和华！
祂的荣耀充满大地。”
4他们的声音震动圣殿的根基，圣殿里烟云弥漫。 5那时我说：“我有祸了！我要灭亡了！因为我口出不洁之言，又住在口出不洁之言的人群中，并且亲眼看见了大君王——万军之耶和华。” 6有个撒拉弗天使用火钳从祭坛上取了一块燃烧的炭，飞到我面前， 7用炭碰我的嘴唇，说：“看啊，这炭碰了你的嘴唇，你的过犯已被除掉，你的罪恶已被赦免。” 8然后，我听见主说：“我可以差遣谁呢？谁肯为我们去呢？”我说：“我在这里，请差遣我！” 9祂说：“你去告诉以色列人，
“‘你们听了又听，却不明白；
看了又看，却不领悟。’
10要让这些人心灵麻木，
耳朵发背，
眼睛昏花，
免得他们眼睛看见，
耳朵听见，
心里明白，
回心转意，就得到医治。”
11我说：“主啊，这要到什么时候呢？”祂说：
“直到城邑荒凉，无人居住，房屋空置，
土地荒废的时候。
12那时，我必把他们赶到远方，
他们的土地必荒芜。
13即使境内只剩下十分之一的人，
也必被消灭。
然而，就像砍掉松树和橡树后必留下树墩，
这地方必有圣洁的苗裔存留下来。”
