King James Version
Isaiah 6
13 verses with commentary
Isaiah's Vision and Commission
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. his: or, the skirts thereof
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KJV Study Commentary
Isaiah's temple vision occurred 'in the year that king Uzziah died' (740 BC), a time of national transition and uncertainty. Uzziah's 52-year prosperous reign ended with his judgment for priestly presumption (2 Chronicles 26). Isaiah's vision of the true King 'sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up' contrasted earthly kingship's failure with divine sovereignty. The train of His robe filling the...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**VI.**
(1) **In the year that king Uzziah died.**—Probably before his death. Had it been after it, the first year of king Jotham would have been the more natural formula. The chapter gives us the narrative of the solemn call of Isaiah to the office of a prophet. It does not follow that it was written at that time, and we may even believe that, if the prophet were the editor of his own discourses,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
17-18. Yet let none rejoice over the fate of evildoers, lest God punish their wrong spirit by relieving the sufferer (compare Pr 17:5; Job 31:29).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
The vanity of riches. Also of long life and flourishing families. (Eccl. 6:1-6) The little advantage any one has in outward things. (Eccl. 6:7-12)
**Verses 1-6** A man often has all he needs for outward enjoyment; yet the Lord leaves him so to covetousness or evil dispositions, that he makes no good or comfortable use of what he has. By one means or other his possessions come to st...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
The seraphim ('burning ones') serve around God's throne, each with six wings: two covering their face (reverence before divine glory), two covering their feet (humility/modesty), and two for flying (readiness to serve). Even these holy beings cannot gaze directly upon God's glory, demonstrating His transcendent holiness. Their position 'above' the throne suggests service rather than equality—even ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Above it stood the seraphims . . .**—It is noticeable that this is the only passage in which the seraphim are mentioned as part of the host of heaven. In Numbers 21:6, the word (the primary meaning of which is *the burning ones*) occurs as denoting the fiery serpents that attacked the people in the wilderness. Probably the brazen serpent which Hezekiah afterwards destroyed (2Kings 18:4) had ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
17-18. Yet let none rejoice over the fate of evildoers, lest God punish their wrong spirit by relieving the sufferer (compare Pr 17:5; Job 31:29).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verse 2** ,3 Christ's church is a garden, enclosed, and separated from the world; he takes care of it, delights in it, and visits it. Those who would find Christ, must attend him in his ordinances, the word, sacraments, and prayer. When Christ comes to his church, it is to entertain his friends. And to take believers to himself: he picks the lilies one by one; and at the great day he will send f...
Read full commentary →And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. one: Heb. this cried to this the whole: Heb. his glory is the fulness of the whole earth
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KJV Study Commentary
The seraphim's antiphonal cry 'Holy, holy, holy' (trisagion) emphasizes God's supreme holiness—the only attribute given three-fold repetition in Scripture. 'LORD of hosts' connects His holiness to sovereign power. The declaration 'the whole earth is full of His glory' contrasts God's transcendent holiness with His immanent presence—He is both utterly separate from creation and fills it with glory....
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **And one cried unto another.**—So in Psalm 29:9, which, as describing a thunderstorm, favours the suggestion that the lightnings were thought of as the symbols of the fiery seraphim, we read, “in his temple doth every one *say, Glory.” *The threefold repetition, familiar as the *Trisagion *of the Church’s worship, and reproduced in Revelation 4:8 (where “Lord God Almighty” appears as the equi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
19-20. (Psa 37:1, 38; 18:28).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
The vanity of riches. Also of long life and flourishing families. (Eccl. 6:1-6) The little advantage any one has in outward things. (Eccl. 6:7-12)
**Verses 1-6** A man often has all he needs for outward enjoyment; yet the Lord leaves him so to covetousness or evil dispositions, that he makes no good or comfortable use of what he has. By one means or other his possessions come to st...
Read full commentary →And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. door: Heb. thresholds
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KJV Study Commentary
The seraphim's cry caused physical effects: shaking door posts and smoke-filled temple. These theophanic elements (earthquake and smoke) recall Sinai (Exodus 19:18) and demonstrate God's power. The temple structure itself responds to holy worship, showing creation's appropriate response to Creator. The smoke (likely from incense and glory cloud) emphasizes God's presence while also veiling His ful...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **The posts of the door.**—Better, *the foundations of the threshold. *The words seem to point to the prophet’s position as in front of the Holy of holies.
**The house was filled with smoke.**—The vision had its prototype in “the smoke as of a furnace” on Sinai (Exodus 19:18), in the glory-cloud of 1Kings 8:10, and possibly in its lurid fire-lit darkness represented the wrath of Jehovah, as th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
19-20. (Psa 37:1, 38; 18:28).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-10** All the real excellence and holiness on earth centre in the church. Christ goes forth subduing his enemies, while his followers gain victories over the world, the flesh, and the devil. He shows the tenderness of a Redeemer, the delight he takes in his redeemed people, and the workings of his own grace in them. True believers alone can possess the beauty of holiness. And when their ...
Read full commentary →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. undone: Heb. cut off
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KJV Study Commentary
Isaiah's immediate response to God's holiness is 'Woe is me! for I am undone.' The Hebrew 'damah' (undone/destroyed) indicates not mere embarrassment but recognition of deserved judgment. He confesses being a man of 'unclean lips' dwelling among an unclean people—acknowledging both personal and corporate sin. Seeing God's holiness exposes human sinfulness. Only after conviction of sin can cleansin...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Then said I, Woe is me.**—The cry of the prophet expresses the normal result of man’s consciousness of contact with God. So Moses “hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God” (Exodus 3:6). So Job “abhorred himself and repented in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6). So Peter fell down at his Lord’s feet, and cried, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8). Man at such a time f...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
21-22. A warning against impiety and resistance to lawful rule (Ro 13:1-7; 1Pe 2:17).
**meddle ... change--**(Compare Margin), literally, "mingle not yourself," avoid the society of restless persons.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-10** All the real excellence and holiness on earth centre in the church. Christ goes forth subduing his enemies, while his followers gain victories over the world, the flesh, and the devil. He shows the tenderness of a Redeemer, the delight he takes in his redeemed people, and the workings of his own grace in them. True believers alone can possess the beauty of holiness. And when their ...
Read full commentary →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: having: Heb. and in his hand a live coal
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KJV Study Commentary
The seraph's action—taking a live coal from the altar with tongs and touching Isaiah's lips—depicts cleansing through sacrifice. The altar coal, symbol of atoning sacrifice, purifies the prophet for service. This ceremonial cleansing anticipates Christ's atoning work that purifies believers for ministry (Hebrews 9:14). The physical touch to lips specifically addresses Isaiah's confessed sin (v. 5)...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Then flew one of the seraphims.**—In presenting the vision to our mind’s eye we have to think of the bright seraph form, glowing as with fire, and with wings like the lightning-flash, leaving his station above the throne, and coming to where the prophet stood in speechless terror. The altar from which he took the “live coal “—literally, *stone, *and interpreted by some critics of the stones ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
21-22. A warning against impiety and resistance to lawful rule (Ro 13:1-7; 1Pe 2:17).
**meddle ... change--**(Compare Margin), literally, "mingle not yourself," avoid the society of restless persons.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-10** All the real excellence and holiness on earth centre in the church. Christ goes forth subduing his enemies, while his followers gain victories over the world, the flesh, and the devil. He shows the tenderness of a Redeemer, the delight he takes in his redeemed people, and the workings of his own grace in them. True believers alone can possess the beauty of holiness. And when their ...
Read full commentary →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. laid: Heb. caused it to touch
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KJV Study Commentary
The pronouncement 'thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged' declares forensic cleansing. The Hebrew 'sur' (taken away) and 'kaphar' (purged/atoned) indicate both removal of guilt and covering through sacrifice. This justification enables sanctification—Isaiah can now serve. The pattern of conviction (v. 5), cleansing (v. 6-7), and commissioning (v. 8) models the ordo salutis in Reformed t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **And he laid it upon my mouth.**—So Jehovah “touched the mouth” of Isaiah’s great successor (Jeremiah 1:9); but not in that case with a “coal from the altar.” That prophet, like Moses (Exodus 4:10), had felt only or chiefly the want of power (“Alas! I cannot speak), and power was given him. Isaiah desired purity, and his prayer also was answered.
**Thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin pu...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23. These ... wise--**literally, "are of the wise," as authors (compare "Psalms of David," Hebrew). "These" refers to the verses following, Pr 24:24-34.
**to have respect--**literally, "to discern faces," show partiality,
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-10** All the real excellence and holiness on earth centre in the church. Christ goes forth subduing his enemies, while his followers gain victories over the world, the flesh, and the devil. He shows the tenderness of a Redeemer, the delight he takes in his redeemed people, and the workings of his own grace in them. True believers alone can possess the beauty of holiness. And when their ...
Read full commentary →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. Here: Heb. behold me
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KJV Study Commentary
After cleansing (verse 6-7), Isaiah hears God's call: 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' The plural 'Us' hints at divine plurality (Trinity). Isaiah's eager response 'Here am I; send me' demonstrates readiness born from experiencing grace. He volunteers without knowing the message content, trusting the God who called and cleansed him. True ministry flows from encounter with God's holines...
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(8) **Also I heard the** **voice of the Lord.**—The work of cleansing has made the prophet one of the heavenly brotherhood. He is as an angel called *to *an angel’s work. (Comp. Judges 2:1; Judges 5:23; Malachi 3:1.) He had before seen the glory of Jehovah, and had been overwhelmed with terror. Now he hears His voice (John 10:4), and it rouses him to self-consecration and activity.
**Whom shall I ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
24-25. of which an example is justifying the wicked, to which is opposed, rebuking him, which has a blessing.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-10** All the real excellence and holiness on earth centre in the church. Christ goes forth subduing his enemies, while his followers gain victories over the world, the flesh, and the devil. He shows the tenderness of a Redeemer, the delight he takes in his redeemed people, and the workings of his own grace in them. True believers alone can possess the beauty of holiness. And when their ...
Read full commentary →And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. indeed, but understand: or, without ceasing, etc: Heb. in hearing, etc
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KJV Study Commentary
God's commission is shocking: proclaim a message that will result in people hearing but not understanding, seeing but not perceiving. This judicial hardening represents God's judgment on persistent rejection—He confirms people in their chosen path. Jesus quotes this passage explaining why He taught in parables (Matthew 13:14-15), and Paul applies it to Jewish rejection of the gospel (Acts 28:26-27...
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(9) **Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not.**—No harder task, it may be, was ever given to man. Ardent dreams of reformation and revival, the nation renewing its strength like the eagle, were scattered to the winds; and he had to face the prospect of a fruitless labour, of feeling that he did but increase the evil against which he strove. It was the very opposite mission of...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
24-25. of which an example is justifying the wicked, to which is opposed, rebuking him, which has a blessing.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-13** God sends Isaiah to foretell the ruin of his people. Many hear the sound of God's word, but do not feel the power of it. God sometimes, in righteous judgment, gives men up to blindness of mind, because they will not receive the truth in the love of it. But no humble inquirer after Christ, need to fear this awful doom, which is a spiritual judgment on those who will still hold fast ...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
The divine purpose intensifies: 'Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes.' This judicial hardening means God actively confirms people in their rebellion. The grammar indicates both divine sovereignty and human responsibility—they could perceive, but won't. The purpose clause explains why: 'lest they see...understand...convert, and be healed.' God prevents ...
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(10) **Make the heart of this people fat.**—The thought is the same as that of the “hardening” of Pharaoh’s heart (Exodus 8:19; Exodus 9:34, &c) and that of Sihon (Deuteronomy 2:30). It implies the reckless headstrong will which defies restraint and warnings. So the poets of Greece, in their thoughts as to the Divine government of the world, recognised the truth that there is a judicial blindness ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**26. kiss his lips--**love and obey, do homage (Psa 2:12; So 8:1).
**right answer--**literally, "plain words" (compare Pr 8:9), opposed to deceptive, or obscure.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-13** God sends Isaiah to foretell the ruin of his people. Many hear the sound of God's word, but do not feel the power of it. God sometimes, in righteous judgment, gives men up to blindness of mind, because they will not receive the truth in the love of it. But no humble inquirer after Christ, need to fear this awful doom, which is a spiritual judgment on those who will still hold fast ...
Read full commentary →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, utterly: Heb. desolate with desolation
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KJV Study Commentary
Isaiah asks the duration question: 'Lord, how long?' God's answer is devastating: until complete desolation—cities without inhabitants, houses without people, land utterly desolate. This prophesies the Babylonian exile but also looks forward to eschatological judgment. The thoroughness ('utterly desolate') emphasizes comprehensive judgment, not partial chastisement. Only after utter devastation wi...
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(11) **Lord, how long?**—The prophet asks the question which is ever on the lips of those who are brought face to face with the problems of the world, with the great mystery of evil, sin permitted to work out fresh evil as its punishment, and yet remaining evil. How long shall all this last? So a later prophet, towards the close of the seventy years of exile, cried once again, “How long?” (Daniel ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**27. Prepare ... in the field--**Secure, by diligence, a proper support, and then build; provide necessaries, then comforts, to which a house rather pertained, in a mild climate, permitting the use of tents.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-13** God sends Isaiah to foretell the ruin of his people. Many hear the sound of God's word, but do not feel the power of it. God sometimes, in righteous judgment, gives men up to blindness of mind, because they will not receive the truth in the love of it. But no humble inquirer after Christ, need to fear this awful doom, which is a spiritual judgment on those who will still hold fast ...
Read full commentary →And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
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KJV Study Commentary
The LORD's sending away of 'men far away' with resulting 'great forsaking in the midst of the land' describes exile's depopulation. This fulfills the prophetic commission (vv. 9-11) that Isaiah's ministry would harden many, resulting in judgment. The phrase 'great forsaking' (Hebrew 'azubah rabbah') depicts massive abandonment—both geographic exile and spiritual desolation. Yet this judgment isn't...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **And the Lord have removed men far away.**—The words point to the policy of deportation adopted by the Assyrian kings. From the first hour of Isaiah’s call the thought of an exile and a return from exile was the key-note of his teaching, and of that thought thus given in germ, his whole after-work was but a development, the horizon of his vision expanding and taking in the form of another em...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
28. Do not speak even truth needlessly against any, and never falsehood.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-13** God sends Isaiah to foretell the ruin of his people. Many hear the sound of God's word, but do not feel the power of it. God sometimes, in righteous judgment, gives men up to blindness of mind, because they will not receive the truth in the love of it. But no humble inquirer after Christ, need to fear this awful doom, which is a spiritual judgment on those who will still hold fast ...
Read full commentary →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. and it: or, when it is returned, and hath been broused substance: or, stock, or, stem
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KJV Study Commentary
Though a tenth remains (the remnant), even this will face further judgment, 'and shall return, and shall be eaten.' The analogy to felled trees (teil tree and oak) whose stump remains introduces hope: 'the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.' The stump produces new growth—from the decimated remnant, God will bring forth His purposes. This 'holy seed' ultimately points to Christ (Isaiah 11:1,...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **But yet in it shall be a tenth . . .**—Better, *And though there should be a tenth in it, yet this shall be again devoured *(*with fire*)*. *What the prophet is led to expect is a series of successive chastisements sifting the people, till the remnant of the chosen ones alone is left. (Comp. the same thought under a different imagery in Ezekiel 5:12 : Zechariah 13:8-9.) The “tenth” is taken...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
29. Especially avoid retaliation (Mt 5:43-45; Ro 12:17).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-13** God sends Isaiah to foretell the ruin of his people. Many hear the sound of God's word, but do not feel the power of it. God sometimes, in righteous judgment, gives men up to blindness of mind, because they will not receive the truth in the love of it. But no humble inquirer after Christ, need to fear this awful doom, which is a spiritual judgment on those who will still hold fast ...
Read full commentary →