(Matthew 13:10–17; Mark 4:10–12; Acts 28:16–31)
1
In the year in which king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, sublime and exalted, and the things that were under him filled the temple.
2
The Seraphim were standing above the throne. One had six wings, and the other had six wings: with two they were covering his face, and with two they were covering his feet, and with two they were flying.
3
And they were crying out to one another, and saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!”
4
And the lintels above the hinges were shaken at the voice of the one crying out. And the house was filled with smoke.
5
And I said: “Woe to me! For I have remained silent. For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live in the midst of a people having unclean lips, and I have seen with my eyes the King, the Lord of hosts!”
6
And one of the Seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a burning coal, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
7
And he touched my mouth, and he said, “Behold, this has touched your lips, and so your iniquities will be taken away, and your sin will be cleansed.”
8
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.”
9
And he said: “Go forth! And you shall say to this people: ‘When you listen, you will hear and not understand. And when you see a vision, you will not comprehend.’
10
Blind the heart of this people. Make their ears heavy and close their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and then I would heal them.”
11
And I said, “For how long, O Lord?” And he said, “Until the cities are desolate, without an inhabitant, and the houses are without a man, and the land will be left behind, deserted.”
12
For the Lord will take the men far away, and she who will have been left behind will be multiplied in the midst of the earth.
13
But still, there will be a tithing within her, and she will be converted, and she will be put on display, like a terebinth tree and like an oak which extends its branches. And what will remain standing within her will be a holy offspring.