New International Version
Isaiah 6:5
5“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.”
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.
- 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.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”
Context of Isaiah 6:5
3And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “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.” 6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
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 one may see me and live.”
- Judges 6:22When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”
- Judges 13:22“We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!”
- Job 42:5My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.
- Daniel 10:6His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.
- Habakkuk 3:16I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.
- Luke 5:8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”
- Revelation 1:16In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
- Exodus 4:10Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
- Exodus 6:12But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?”
- Jeremiah 1:6“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
- Zechariah 3:1Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him.
- Matthew 12:34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
- James 3:1Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
- Isaiah 29:13The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
- Jeremiah 9:3“They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies; it is not by truth that they triumph in the land. They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me,” declares 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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