There, instead of the wooden Ark of the Covenant, he beheld a great and lofty throne on which was God, Himself. Instead of the two Cherubim of wood and gold, that surmounted the Ark, he beheld Seraphim, the fiery Angels, standing attendant before Him. Each of the Seraphim had six wings, with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet and with two he flew. And one cried unto another and said: "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." Isaiah felt the very foundations of the threshold shake under him, at the sound of the calling. Covering his face with both hands, he cried out: "Woe is me! I am undone. For I am a man of unclean lips. And I am dwelling among a people of unclean lips; Yet mine eyes have seen the King, the God of hosts." Uncovering his face, he stretched out his hands towards the throne in mute appeal. Thereupon one of the Seraphim flew to the Altar and, with a pair of tongs, took from it a live coal. From the Altar the Seraph flew directly to Isaiah and, touching his mouth with the live coal, said: "See, this has touched thy lips, Therefore thine iniquity is gone And thy sin forgiven." Then Isaiah heard the voice of God Himself, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for us?" Falling to his knees, and again stretching out his hands towards the throne, Isaiah answered: "Here am I! Send me!" Kneeling there, motionless, hardly breathing, his lips apart, his face expressing the fear and anguish that were in his heart, Isaiah heard the reply: "Go and say to this people: Hear and hear again, but understand not; See and see again, but perceive not. Make fat the heart of this people, And their ears dull, and besmear their eyes, Lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears And their heart should understand and they be healed." The force of this message struck Isaiah to the heart. He understood its meaning very well. It was terrible! It carried with it the sound of doom and the end of his nation. The very thought of it terrified him. Holding his head with both hands his back bent forward as under a heavy weight, until his face touched his knees upon the floor, he cried in heartbreaking tones: "Lord! How long?" And God answered him: "Until the cities are in ruin without an inhabitant, And the houses without a human occupant, And the land become utterly desolate, And God hath sent the men far away, And in the midst of the land the deserted territory be great. And should there be a tenth in it, It must in turn be fuel for flame, Like the terebinth and the oak, Of which, after falling, but a stump remains." For a long time after the voice had ceased speaking, Isaiah remained in the position in which he had listened to the last reply.