Isaiah

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.

1In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne. The throne was high and lifted up, and the long robe he wore filled the temple.

2Above 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.

2Above him stood seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.

3And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

3They called out to each other and said, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory."

Note"LORD of hosts" means the Lord who commands vast armies, here the armies of heaven.

4And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

4The sound of their voices shook the doorposts of the temple, and the temple filled with smoke.

5Then 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.

5Then I said, "It is over for me! I am ruined. My lips are unclean, and I live among people whose lips are unclean. And now my own eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."

Note"I am undone" in the KJV does not mean confused. It means ruined or destroyed.

6Then 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:

6Then one of the seraphim flew over to me. In his hand was a burning coal that he had lifted from the altar with tongs.

7And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

7He touched my mouth with it and said, "Look, this has touched your lips. Your guilt is taken away, and your sin is wiped clean."

8Also 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.

8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" I said, "Here I am. Send me."

9And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

9And he said, "Go and tell this people: You will hear and keep hearing, but you will not understand. You will look and keep looking, but you will not see."

10Make 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.

10"Make the hearts of these people hard. Make their ears deaf and shut their eyes. Otherwise they might see, hear, understand, turn back, and be healed."

NoteThe KJV says "make the heart of this people fat." A "fat" heart here means a dull, hardened heart that no longer responds.

11Then 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,

11Then I said, "Lord, how long?" He answered, "Until the cities are ruined and empty, the houses have no one in them, and the land is left bare,

12And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

12and until the LORD has sent the people far away, and much of the land is left behind and empty.

13But 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.

13But a tenth part will still be there, and it too will be burned. Yet like a terebinth or an oak that leaves a living stump when it is cut down, that stump is the holy seed."

NoteA "teil tree" is the terebinth, a large tree common in that land. Both it and the oak leave a live stump that can sprout again.