[1] In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. [2] Seraphim were standing above him; they each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. [3] And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Armies; his glory fills the whole earth. [4] The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke. [5] Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Armies. [6] Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. [7] He touched my mouth with it and said: Now that this has touched your lips, your iniquity is removed and your sin is atoned for. [8] Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who will I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me. [9] And he replied: Go! Say to these people: Keep listening, but do not understand; keep looking, but do not perceive. [10] Make the minds of these people dull; deafen their ears and blind their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed. [11] Then I said, "Until when, Lord?" And he replied: Until cities lie in ruins without inhabitants, houses are without people, the land is ruined and desolate, [12] and the LORD drives the people far away, leaving great emptiness in the land. [13] Though a tenth will remain in the land, it will be burned again. Like the terebinth or the oak that leaves a stump when felled, the holy seed is the stump.
