6.7
The Book of Isaiah 6.7 · Your guilt is gone6.7Your guilt is gone
The seraph touches Isaiah's mouth with the coal. His words answer the confession of unclean lips.
· · ·
וַיַּגַּע1
wa-yyaggaʿ
And he touchedand he caused to touch
עַל־2
ʿal-
on
פִּי3
pî
my mouth
וַיֹּאמֶר4
wa-yyōʾmer
and saidand he said
, הִנֵּה5
hinnê
Lookbehold
, נָגַע6
nāḡaʿ
has touchedhe touched
זֶה7
zeh
this
עַל־8
ʿal-
on
שְׂפָתֶיךָ9
śəp̄āṯêḵā
your lips
וְסָר10
wə-sār
and has goneand has turned aside
עֲוֺנֶךָ11
ʿăwōneḵā
your guiltyour iniquity
וְחַטָּאתְךָ12
wə-ḥaṭṭāʾṯəḵā
and your sin
תְּכֻפָּר׃13
təḵuppār
is atoned foris covered
And he touched my mouth and said, “Look, this has touched on your lips and your guilt has gone and your sin is atoned for.”
And he touched my mouth and said, “Look, this has touched on your lips and your guilt has gone and your sin is atoned for.”
6.8
The Book of Isaiah 6.8 · Whom shall I send?6.8Whom shall I send?
With his guilt dealt with, Isaiah hears the Lord speak. He answers at once.
· · ·
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here I am. Send me.”
↔ echoes in other books:·
Kuppar, “is atoned for”, is the verb behind Yom Kippur. Its root is often explained as “to cover” or “to wipe away”, and the debate over which is old and unresolved. Isaiah does not explain the mechanism. A coal touches his lips, and the guilt is gone. Compare the call of Jeremiah, where God touches the mouth with his own hand (Jeremiah 1:9).