6.5
The Book of Isaiah 6.5 · Woe to me, I am undone6.5Woe to me, I am undone
Isaiah responds to what he has seen. Facing the holy King, he is overwhelmed by his own unworthiness and that of his people.
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וָאֹמַר1
wā-ʾōmar
And I said
, אוֹי־2
ʾôy-
Woe
לִי3
lî
to me
, כִי־4
ḵî-
for
נִדְמֵיתִי5
niḏmêṯî
I am ruinedI am silenced
! כִּי6
kî
For
אָנֹכִי7
ʾānōḵî
I am
אִישׁ8
ʾîš
a man
טְמֵא־9
ṭəmēʾ-
of unclean
שְׂפָתַיִם10
śəp̄āṯayim
lips
, וּבְתוֹךְ11
û-ḇəṯôḵ
and in the midst of
עַם־12
ʿam-
a people
טְמֵא13
ṭəmēʾ
of unclean
שְׂפָתַיִם14
śəp̄āṯayim
lips
אָנֹכִי15
ʾānōḵî
I
יוֹשֵׁב16
yôšēḇ
dwellsitting
; כִּי17
kî
for
רָאוּ18
rāʾû
have seen
עֵינָי׃19
ʿênāy
my eyes
אֶת־20
ʾeṯ-
mark of the accusative
הַמֶּלֶךְ21
ha-mmeleḵ
the King
, יְהוָה22
YHWH
the LORDYHWH
צְבָאוֹת23
ṣəḇāʾôṯ
of hostsarmies
And I said, “Woe to me, for I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and in the midst of a people of unclean lips I dwell; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
And I said, “Woe to me, for I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and in the midst of a people of unclean lips I dwell; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
6.6
The Book of Isaiah 6.6 · A burning coal from the altar6.6A burning coal from the altar
One of the seraphs responds to Isaiah's cry. He brings something from the altar to deal with his unclean lips.
· · ·
One of the seraphs flew to me, and in his hand was a hot coal which he had taken from the altar with tongs.
Nidmêṯî, “I am undone”, can mean “I am silenced” or “I am destroyed”; the Hebrew root holds both, and Isaiah may mean both. Unclean lips are exactly what a prophet cannot have: his mouth is his office.
The reason he gives is the old fear that no one sees God and lives (Exodus 33:20). His eyes have seen “the King”. In Jerusalem, a king has just died; the real one is still on the throne.