Isaiah 6 11

Isaiah 6:11 kjv

Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,

Isaiah 6:11 nkjv

Then I said, "Lord, how long?" And He answered: "Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, The land is utterly desolate,

Isaiah 6:11 niv

Then I said, "For how long, Lord?" And he answered: "Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged,

Isaiah 6:11 esv

Then I said, "How long, O Lord?" And he said: "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,

Isaiah 6:11 nlt

Then I said, "Lord, how long will this go on?" And he replied, "Until their towns are empty,
their houses are deserted,
and the whole country is a wasteland;

Isaiah 6 verses

Isaiah 6 11 meaning

Isaiah 6:11 reveals the prophet Isaiah's immediate concern about the duration and severity of the impending spiritual blindness and judgment he has been commissioned to declare upon Israel. His question, "Lord, how long?", expresses a natural human cry for an end to suffering or divine wrath. God's response defines the extreme extent of this judgment: a total devastation of cities, homes, and the land, rendering them without inhabitants or people, utterly desolate. This verse thus delineates the comprehensive scope and duration of divine judgment for persistent unfaithfulness, signifying that a deep, societal desolation must occur before any hope of repentance or restoration.

Isaiah 6 11 Context

Isaiah 6:11 immediately follows Isaiah's traumatic commissioning experience in which he sees the Lord enthroned in glory and is cleansed of his own sin (Isa 6:1-8). He is then given a challenging task: to speak words that will ironically harden the hearts of his people, making them spiritually deaf, blind, and unresponsive (Isa 6:9-10). This commission explains the Lord's chosen method of judgment due to Israel's deep-seated rebellion. Understanding the difficulty and severity of this prophetic role, Isaiah instinctively cries out, "Lord, how long?" This question underscores his human concern and possibly a plea for the duration of this spiritual and physical judgment to be limited. The Lord's answer in verse 11 provides the stark and absolute condition for the lifting of this judgment, setting the stage for the book's major themes of judgment, desolation, and eventual hope in a future remnant.

Isaiah 6 11 Word analysis

• Then I said, “Lord, how long?”

  • וָאֹמַר (va'ōmar): "Then I said." This Hebrew consecutive imperfect implies a direct and immediate reaction from Isaiah, an interjection in the ongoing divine monologue, indicating human wrestling with a difficult divine pronouncement.
  • אֲדֹנָי (Adonai): "Lord." A respectful and deferential title for God, acknowledging His supreme authority and sovereignty even when questioning His will or timeframe.
  • עַד-מָתָי (ʿad-mātay): "How long?" This is a classic biblical expression of lament and inquiry into the duration of suffering or a difficult situation. It doesn't question God's justice but expresses a deep longing for an end, often implying hope for divine intervention or relief.

• And He answered, “Until cities lie in waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is utterly desolate."

  • וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyōmer): "And He answered." This highlights God's direct, authoritative, and non-negotiable response to Isaiah's question.
  • עַד (ʿad): "Until." This crucial preposition serves as a temporal marker, indicating a necessary completion point. The described condition must be fully realized for the period of judgment to conclude. It signals God's purposeful hand in the judgment.
  • תִּשֶּׁאנָה (tishshaʾna): "lie in waste." From the root nāshaʾ, meaning "to abandon, to forget," and by extension, "to leave desolate." It signifies a state of emptiness due to being deserted.
  • לְלֹא יֹשֵׁב (lĕlōʾ yôshēb): "without inhabitant." Emphasizes the complete absence of life in the cities.
  • וּבָתִּים (ûvattîm): "and houses." The judgment will extend from public spaces (cities) to private dwellings (houses), showing its comprehensiveness.
  • מֵאָדָם (mēʾādām): "without people." Reinforces the desolation; human presence, activity, and life will cease.
  • וְהָאֲדָמָה (wĕhāʾădāmāh): "and the land." The judgment is not just urban; it affects the entire agricultural and living space.
  • תִּשָּׁאֶה (tishshaʾeh): "is utterly desolate." This is an intensive form (Nifal of sha'ah, "to gaze, to devastate") reinforcing the depth and completeness of the desolation.
  • שְׁמָמָה (sh'mamah): "utterly desolate." This noun means "desolation, waste, ruin." Often used with an active verb for emphasis. It refers to the physical state of emptiness, barrenness, and destruction. The repetition of the concept of desolation in the Hebrew through different words and phrases creates an intense picture of total destruction.

Isaiah 6 11 Bonus section

The "until" clause (עַד - ʿad) is a critical prophetic marker. While it describes a devastating endpoint, it simultaneously implies a future beyond that point. It prevents the interpretation of total, final annihilation and suggests a divinely ordained limit to the judgment, setting the stage for themes of the remnant and restoration (e.g., Isa 6:13). This full measure of desolation, though dire, serves God's ultimate purpose in sanctifying His people and land, reminding them of the covenant curses (e.g., Lev 26; Deut 28) and driving home the seriousness of unfaithfulness. The judgment is not capricious but an act of righteous justice leading to a new, albeit distant, redemptive future.

Isaiah 6 11 Commentary

Isaiah 6:11 reveals the profound chasm between humanity's finite perspective and God's sovereign purposes. Isaiah's natural plea of "how long?" echoes throughout biblical laments, a universal human cry in the face of suffering or overwhelming judgment. However, the Lord's answer is sobering and uncompromising. It clarifies that the period of judgment, symbolized by the hardening of hearts in verses 9-10, will endure until its ultimate and complete objective is achieved: a sweeping, devastating desolation across the land. This judgment encompasses not merely parts of the nation but a comprehensive eradication of its social and physical fabric—cities, homes, and the very land—stripped of life and inhabitants. This severe and complete devastation, the Lord declares, is a necessary precursor for any future divine intervention or possibility of restoration, highlighting God's justice and the profound consequences of continued spiritual rebellion. It speaks to a necessary purging, indicating that once sin has fully run its course and the land bears the full weight of judgment, a new season, perhaps for a remnant, might then emerge, a theme developed later in Isaiah.