Isaiah 6:3

Hebrew Bible

1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly. 3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!” 4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames, and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 I said, “Woe to me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” 6 But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.”

Jonathan Isaiah 6:3

Targum

1 In the year in which King Uzziah was smitten with the leprosy the prophet said, I saw the glory of the Lord sitting upon His throne, high, and lifted up unto the highest heavens, and the temple was filled with the brightness of His glory. 2 Holy ministers on high stood before him: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, that it should not see; and with twain he covered his body, that it should not be seen; and with twain he was ministering. 3 And one cried unto another, and they were saying, Holy in the highest and exalted heavens is the house of His Shekinah, holy upon the earth is the work of His might, holy for ever, world without end, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of the brightness of His glory. 4 And the posts of the threshold of the temple moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house of the sanctuary was filled with cloudy darkness. 5 Then said I, Woe is me, for I have sinned, for I am a guilty man to reprove, and I dwell in the midst of a people polluted with sin: for mine eyes have seen the glory of the Shekinah of the King of the worlds, the Lord of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the ministers unto me, and in his mouth was a word, which he received from the Shekinah of Him who sat upon the throne of glory in the highest heavens, above the altar. 7 And he placed it in my mouth, and said, Behold, I have put the words of my prophecies in thy mouth, and thy iniquities are put away, and thy sins are expiated.

 Notes and References

"... The targumic development of Isaiah 6:3, Holy in the highest heavens... holy upon earth... holy for endless ages, certainly is to be related, directly or indirectly, to Luke 2:14. If David Flusser's conclusions are exact, the tripartite form would have to be restored to the Gloria, by reading with a large number of witnesses: ... and among men divine benevolence — en anthropos eudokia, instead of eudokias ..."

Le Déaut, Roger Targumic Literature and New Testament Interpretation (p. 248) Biblical Theology Bulletin, 1974

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.