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.”
上帝呼召以賽亞
1烏西雅王駕崩那年，我看見主坐在高高的寶座上，祂的衣袍下垂，充滿聖殿。 2在祂上方侍立著撒拉弗天使，他們各有三對翅膀：一對遮臉，一對遮腳，一對飛翔。 3他們彼此呼喊：
「聖哉，聖哉，聖哉，
萬軍之耶和華！
祂的榮耀充滿大地。」
4他們的呼喊聲震動聖殿門檻的基石，聖殿裡煙雲彌漫。 5那時我說：「我有禍了！我要滅亡了！因為我嘴唇不潔淨，又住在嘴唇不潔淨的民中，並且親眼看見了大君王——萬軍之耶和華。」 6有個撒拉弗天使用火鉗從祭壇上取了一塊燃燒的炭，飛到我面前， 7用炭碰我的嘴，說：「看啊，這炭碰了你的嘴唇，你的過犯已被除掉，你的罪惡已被赦免。」 8然後，我聽見主說：「我可以差遣誰呢？誰肯為我們去呢？」我說：「我在這裡，請差遣我！」 9祂說：「你去告訴這百姓，
「『你們聽了又聽，卻不明白；
看了又看，卻不領悟。』
10你要讓這些人心靈麻木，
耳朵發背，
眼睛昏花，
免得他們眼睛看見，
耳朵聽見，
心裡明白，
回心轉意，就得到醫治。」
11我說：「主啊，這要到什麼時候呢？」祂說：
「直到城邑荒涼，無人居住，房屋空置，
土地荒廢的時候。
12那時，我必把他們趕到遠方，
他們的土地必大量荒廢。
13即使境內只剩下十分之一的人，
也必被消滅。
然而，就像砍掉松樹和橡樹後必留下樹樁，
聖潔的苗裔就是殘留的樹樁。」
