(Matthew 13:10–17; Mark 4:10–12; Acts 28:16–31)

¹ In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; and the train of His robe¹ filled the temple.

1. Or the hem of His robe

² Above Him stood seraphim, each having six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

³ And they were calling out to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; all the earth is full of His glory.”

⁴ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, 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 dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.”

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

⁷ And with it he touched my mouth 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 saying: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” And I said: “Here am I. Send me!”

⁹ And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’¹

1. Hebrew; LXX ‘You shall be ever hearing, but never understanding; you shall be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Cited in Matthew 13:14, Mark 4:12, Luke 8:10, and Acts 28:26

¹⁰ Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.¹”

1. Hebrew; LXX For this people’s heart has grown callous; 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 I would heal them. Cited in Matthew 13:15, Mark 4:12, John 12:40, and Acts 28:27

¹¹ Then I asked: “How long, O Lord?” And He replied: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left unoccupied and the land is desolate and ravaged,

¹² until the LORD has driven men far away and the land is utterly forsaken.

¹³ And though a tenth remains in the land, it will be burned again. As the terebinth and oak leave stumps when felled, so the holy seed will be a stump in the land.”