Isaiah 6: Holy, Holy, Holy
Isaiah sees the LORD high and lifted up, is undone by his holiness, cleansed by a live coal, and sent with a hard and humbling message.
Isaiah 6 (WEB)
1 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.
2 Above 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.
3 One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Armies!”
6 Then 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.
7 He touched my mouth with it, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.”
8 I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
9 He said, “Go, and tell this people, ‘You hear indeed, but don’t understand; and you see indeed, but don’t perceive.’
10 Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.”
11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” He answered, “Until cities are waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land becomes utterly waste,
12 And Yahweh has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13 If there is a tenth left in it, that also will in turn be consumed: as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remains when they are felled; so the holy seed is its stock.”
Isaiah 6 (KJV)
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
12 And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
Isaiah 6 (ASV)
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple.
2 Above him stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7 and he touched my mouth with it, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin forgiven.
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me.
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.
11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land become utterly waste,
12 and Jehovah have removed men far away, and the forsaken places be many in the midst of the land.
13 And if there be yet a tenth in it, it also shall in turn be eaten up: as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remaineth, when they are felled; so the holy seed is the stock thereof.
Summary
In the year King Uzziah died, Isaiah sees the Lord seated on a throne, high and lifted up, the train of his robe filling the temple. Above him stand the seraphim, each with six wings, calling to one another, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!” The foundations shake and the house fills with smoke. Confronted with God's blazing holiness, Isaiah cries out that he is undone, a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips, for his eyes have seen the King. Then a seraph flies to him with a live coal taken from the altar, touches his mouth, and declares his guilt taken away and his sin forgiven. Cleansed, Isaiah hears the Lord asking, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” and answers, “Here I am. Send me!” Yet his commission is sobering: he is to preach to a people who will hear but not understand, see but not perceive, their hearts made dull until cities lie waste and the land is desolate. When Isaiah asks how long, the answer stretches to near-total devastation, yet the chapter ends with a seed of hope: like a felled tree whose stump remains, a holy seed will be the stump of the nation.
Key Figures
- The LORD enthroned — Yahweh of Armies seen high and lifted up in the temple, whose holiness fills the seraphim with awe and the whole earth with glory.
- The seraphim — The burning attendants around the throne who cover their faces and feet, cry out God's threefold holiness, and carry the cleansing coal to Isaiah.
- Isaiah the prophet — The man undone by God's holiness, cleansed by the coal, and commissioned to carry a hard word to a people who will not turn.
Key Verse
Isaiah 6:8 (WEB)
I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
Lessons Learned
- A true vision of God's holiness exposes our own sinfulness (Isaiah 6:1-5).
- God himself provides the cleansing we cannot achieve, taking away our guilt (Isaiah 6:6-7).
- Cleansing leads to willing service: forgiven people say, “Here I am, send me” (Isaiah 6:8).
- Faithful ministry may meet hard hearts, yet God preserves a holy seed of hope (Isaiah 6:9-13).
- God is supremely holy. The seraphim cry, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies!” (Isaiah 6:3, WEB). His holiness is the central reality of the universe and the measure of all things.
- Holiness reveals our need. Seeing the King, Isaiah cries, “Woe is me! For I am undone” (Isaiah 6:5, WEB). Encountering God's purity makes us aware of our uncleanness.
- God provides the cleansing. The coal touches his lips: “your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven” (Isaiah 6:7, WEB). Forgiveness comes from God's altar, not our effort.
- The cleansed are sent. “Here I am. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8, WEB). Having received grace, Isaiah offers himself for God's mission, however costly.
- What strikes you most about the vision of God in verses 1-4, and what does the threefold “holy” emphasize?
- Why does seeing God lead Isaiah to despair before it leads to commission (6:5-7)?
- What does the live coal from the altar signify, and how does it change Isaiah?
- How do you understand the hard commission to a people who will not perceive (6:9-13), and where is the hope?
- How would a fresh vision of God's holiness change the way you approach him and respond to his call?
- The Lord is high and lifted up, his robe filling the temple, attended by burning seraphim who veil themselves before him (6:1-4). The threefold “holy” is the strongest possible emphasis in Hebrew, declaring God utterly set apart and pure; the shaking foundations and smoke underscore his overwhelming majesty.
- Confronted with absolute holiness, Isaiah immediately sees his own uncleanness and that of his people, and feels undone (6:5). True worship begins not with self-confidence but with a humbling awareness of our need; only then is the way open for grace.
- The coal taken from the altar represents atonement and cleansing applied to Isaiah's guilt (6:6-7). It moves him from despair to forgiveness, and from forgiveness to willing service. This points ahead to the cleansing accomplished at the cross, where our guilt is truly taken away.
- Isaiah is sent to preach even though most will harden rather than turn, a sobering reminder that faithfulness is measured by obedience, not visible results (6:9-12). Yet the chapter ends with a holy seed in the stump (6:13)—a remnant and, ultimately, the Messiah who springs from it. Hope survives the judgment.
- This is a personal-application question. Invite members to consider how rarely we approach God with the awe Isaiah felt, and how a renewed sense of his holiness might deepen both our repentance and our readiness to say, “Here I am.” Keep the tone worshipful rather than guilt-driven.