# A Biblical interpretation question **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 22, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115 "2011-12-22T20:29:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/1 "2011-12-22T20:29:33Z")
Why would a Christian fundamentalist refer to Isaiah 6:2-6:9 on a Christmas card when his niece marries a Nice Jewish Boy? ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/2 "2011-12-22T20:38:37Z")
[Here’s a link](http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Isa&c=6), for those of us who don’t have Isaiah memorized. Maybe he thinks you have unclean lips? I suggest you tell him that you hear indeed, but understand not. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/3 "2011-12-22T21:02:45Z")
Being one of the major prophets, I assume that section of Isaiah refers (in Christian opinion) to the coming of Jesus and people not understanding his message. That’s all I got. And that only refers to the last two verses. The trippy stuff about the seraphim is anyone’s guess. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/4 "2011-12-22T21:03:12Z")
Wanting to believe the good in everyone I’m going to assume that it was an attempt to include the nice Jewish boy by citing the OT rather than the NT. That’s probably not it. The only verse in there I’d consider slapping in a card is 6:3 "And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, [is] the LORD of hosts: the whole earth [is] full of his glory. " But I’d reject the notion as soon as I did consider it. Did he send this to just you, or is it in all his cards? Also, did he write out the text or just a note steering you to Isa 6? I hate being this curious about a question to which I can never ever know the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/5 "2011-12-22T21:04:25Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Why would a Christian fundamentalist refer to Isaiah 6:2-6:9 on a Christmas card when his niece marries a Nice Jewish Boy? I think verse five is most apt: [QUOTE=what did I just say?] 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. [/QUOTE] I’d take the verse to mean that the NJB is part of the people of unclean lips. It’s a passive-aggressive dig, in other words. I wouldn’t respond. Conversations like that with fundamentalist bigots always end badly. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/6 "2011-12-22T21:18:23Z")
> [@](#): > > And he laid [it] upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. This. Because it sounds very sexual. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/7 "2011-12-22T21:24:41Z")
My impression is that, as God comissions Isaiah in that passage to bring His word to His people (i.e. the Jews), the fundamentalist is “comissioning” his niece to bring God’s word (i.e. Christianity) to the Nice Jewish Boy. The specific message God gives Isaiah in this passage seems to speak against that, though. Also, whatever the message, those are some strange starting and ending points. You would think he would include 6:1-10, at least. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/8 "2011-12-22T21:47:47Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I’d take the verse to mean that the NJB is part of the people of unclean lips. It’s a passive-aggressive dig, in other words. > > I wouldn’t respond. Conversations like that with fundamentalist bigots always end badly. But I brush the matzoh out of my teeth and everything… :dubious: You said something nice…who are you and what have you done with Skald? Thanks, man. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/9 "2011-12-22T21:55:33Z")
> [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](#): > > …the fundamentalist is “comissioning” his niece to bring God’s word (i.e. Christianity) to the Nice Jewish Boy. The specific message God gives Isaiah in this passage seems to speak against that, though. And I thought it was all about G-d being really, really annoyed that Judah and Israel were at war when they should be watching out for the Assyrians. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/10 "2011-12-22T22:14:15Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > But I brush the matzoh out of my teeth and everything… > > :dubious: You said something nice…who are you and what have you done with Skald? > > Thanks, man. 🙂 Not nice; practical. I need you alive and in fine fettle til 29th February. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/11 "2011-12-22T22:24:49Z")
The link in the OP was a mess for me, [here](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%206&version=NIV) is a fairly clean site with the verses. I used the NIV, which is what I usually read. While I think these verses have something to say to modern Christians, it strikes me as a rather odd section to send at Christmas to anyone. [QUOTE=Isaiah 6] 1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 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.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” 9 He said, “Go and tell this people: “‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/12 "2011-12-22T22:26:52Z")
[Quote=Skald the Rhymer] Not nice; practical. I need you alive and in fine fettle til 29th February. [/Quote] What are the rest of us, chopped liver? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/13 "2011-12-23T02:26:28Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > What are the rest of us, chopped liver? Dude…quit making predictions! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/14 "2011-12-23T02:57:42Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > What are the rest of us, chopped liver? No, no, no. The next February 29th is in 2015, so it’s about Skald’s secret plan to… dammit. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/15 "2011-12-23T03:03:45Z")
They really took vs 9 to heart, huh - > [@](#): > > 9 He said, “Go and tell this people: > > “‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; > be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ I think I saw a set of monkey statues like that - ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/16 "2011-12-23T16:40:26Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > What are the rest of us, chopped liver? Of course not. I need you alive till 4th March, \*\*jayjay \*\*until 19th May, and of course the people on the Short List are not to be directly harmed for any reason. Besides, I didn’t say I planned to murder **carnivorous plant** at any point; just that I actively re4quire his non-deadness and fine fettleness. The same goes for the rest of you. Geeze, people, reading comprehension. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/17 "2011-12-23T16:57:53Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Of course not. I need you alive till 4th March, \*\*jayjay \*\*until 19th May, and of course the people on the Short List are not to be directly harmed for any reason. Besides, I didn’t say I planned to murder **carnivorous plant** at any point; just that I actively re4quire his non-deadness and fine fettleness. The same goes for the rest of you. > > Geeze, people, reading comprehension. _sneaks behind **Skald** , carrying pencil_ _adds name to Short List_ _sneaks out_ ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/18 "2011-12-23T17:27:31Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Being one of the major prophets, I … You really should talk to the admins about getting a custom title. I don’t know if anyone else here has the distinction of being even a minor prophet. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2011, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/19 "2011-12-24T05:35:01Z")
I’ve never heard that passage used for anyone, whether Christian or not. I’d be more inclined to believe they got the chapter or verse wrong. I was definitely expecting one of the verses Christians believe prophesy the coming of Christ. What’s the rest of the card say, for context purposes? ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115/20 "2011-12-25T07:39:53Z")
I’m wondering if the sender might have been confused & meant Isaiah 9:2-9, tho adding v9 is kinda odd. Isaiah 9 2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. 5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. 6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. 8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. 9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-biblical-interpretation-question/607115.md?page=2)