Amplified Bible
Isaiah 6:5
5Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am ruined, Because I am a man of [ceremonially] unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
Isaiah 6:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for 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, the Lord of hosts!"
- New King James Version (NKJV)So 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, The Lord of hosts.”
Context of Isaiah 6:5
3And one called out to another, saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is filled with His glory.” 4And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, and the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am ruined, Because I am a man of [ceremonially] unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” 6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7He touched my mouth with it and said, “Listen carefully, this has touched your lips; your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing] is taken away and your sin atoned for and forgiven.”
Read all of Isaiah 6Isaiah 6:5 word by word
וָאֹמַ֞ר אֽוֹי־לִ֣י כִֽי־נִדְמֵ֗יתִי כִּ֣י אִ֤ישׁ טְמֵֽא־שְׂפָתַ֙יִם֙ אָנֹ֔כִי וּבְתוֹךְ֙ עַם־טְמֵ֣א שְׂפָתַ֔יִם אָנֹכִ֖י יוֹשֵׁ֑ב כִּ֗י אֶת־הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ יְהוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת רָא֥וּ עֵינָֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- I, Woeאוֹי'ôy · woe!H188
- me! for I am undoneדָּמָהdâmâh · to ceaseH1820
- a manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- of uncleanטָמֵאţâmê' · uncleanH2931
- lipsשָׂפָהώâphâh ώepheth · lipsH8193
- and I dwellיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- in the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
- of a peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- for mine eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
- have seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- the Kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
Cross-references for Isaiah 6:5
- Exodus 33:20But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me and live!”
- Judges 6:22When Gideon realized [without any doubt] that He was the Angel of the Lord, he declared, “Oh no, Lord God! For now I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face [and I am doomed]!”
- Judges 13:22So Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die, because we have seen God.”
- Job 42:5I had heard of You [only] by the hearing of the ear, But now my [spiritual] eye sees You.
- Daniel 10:6His body also was like beryl [with a golden luster], his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and his feet like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words was like the noise of a multitude [of people or the roaring of the sea].
- Habakkuk 3:16I heard and my whole inner self trembled; My lips quivered at the sound. Decay and rottenness enter my bones, And I tremble in my place. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, For the people to arise who will invade and attack us.
- Luke 5:8But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
- Revelation 1:16In His right hand He held seven stars, and from His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword [of judgment]; and His face [reflecting His majesty and the Shekinah glory] was like the sun shining in [all] its power [at midday].
- Exodus 4:10Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I am not a man of words (eloquent, fluent), neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and tongue.”
- Exodus 6:12But Moses said to the Lord, “Look, [my own people] the Israelites have not listened to me; so how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am unskilled and inept in speech?”
- Jeremiah 1:6Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, For I am [only] a young man.”
- Zechariah 3:1Then the guiding angel showed me Joshua the high priest [representing disobedient, sinful Israel] standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at Joshua’s right hand to be his adversary and to accuse him.
- Matthew 12:34You brood of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.
- James 3:1Not many [of you] should become teachers [serving in an official teaching capacity], my brothers and sisters, for you know that we [who are teachers] will be judged by a higher standard [because we have assumed greater accountability and more condemnation if we teach incorrectly].
- Isaiah 29:13Then the Lord said, “Because this nation approaches [Me only] with their words And honors Me [only] with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me is a tradition that is learned by rote [without any regard for its meaning],
- Jeremiah 9:3“They bend their tongue like their bow; [Their] lies and not truth prevail and grow strong in the land; For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know and understand and acknowledge Me,” says the Lord.
Commentaries on Isaiah 6:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Wo is me! for I am undone - נדמיתי nidmeythi, I am become dumb. There is something exceedingly affecting in this complaint. I am a man of unclean lips; I cannot say, Holy, holy, holy! which the seraphs exclaim. They are holy; I am not so: they see God, and live; I have seen him, and must die, because I am unholy. Only the pure in heart shall see God; and they only can live in his presence for ever, Reader, lay this to heart; and instead of boasting of thy…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Wo is me! - That is, I am filled with overwhelming convictions of my own unworthiness, with alarm that I have seen Yahweh. For I am undone - Margin, Cut off.‘ Chaldee, I have sinned.‘ Septuagint, I am miserable, I am pierced through.‘ Syriac, I am struck dumb.‘ The Hebrew word may sometimes have this meaning, but it also means “to be destroyed, to be ruined, to perish;” see Hosea 10:15; Zephaniah 1:2; Hosea 4:6; Isaiah 15:1. This is probably the meaning…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5Woe is me, for I am ruined: The prophet felt unworthy of the vision. He was painfully aware of his personal uncleanness (unclean lips) when compared to the holiness of God. Isaiah knew that he was unworthy to speak the pure word of God, as were his people.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. undone--(Ex 33:20). The same effect was produced on others by the presence of God (Jud 6:22; 13:22; Job 42:5, 6; Lu 5:8; Re 1:17). lips--appropriate to the context which describes the praises of the lips, sung in alternate responses (Ex 15:20, 21; Is 6:3) by the seraphim: also appropriate to the office of speaking as the prophet of God, about to be committed to Isaiah (Is 6:9). seen--not strictly Jehovah Himself (Joh 1:18; 1Ti 6:16), but the symbol of…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 6:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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