Isaiah gives a heartrending response here. In the presence of the Holy One, he is painfully aware of his own and the people’s sinfulness.
Woe is me!: Isaiah now pronounces a Woe Oracle on himself after pronouncing many of them on other people (see 3.9, 11; 5.8, 11, 18, 20, 21, 22). Even though this is a slightly different context, translators should see if they can use the same expression for Woe that they have used elsewhere. Good News Translation has “There is no hope for me!” This is an excellent English rendering of the depth of feeling and sense of hopelessness expressed in the exclamation here. Contemporary English Version combines this clause with the next one, saying “I’m doomed!”
For I am lost: The Hebrew particle ki rendered For may introduce the reason why Isaiah is overcome by his sense of hopelessness, or it may be an emphatic marker, meaning “Indeed.” Many translations omit it (for example, Good News Translation, New Revised Standard Version). I am lost means that he feels helpless, not that he is unable to find his way. A number of English translations suggest “I am doomed” (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New American Bible), which is a good attempt to show both the feeling and meaning. However, since a word like “doomed” in many languages may have unwanted connotations, it may be better to say “I am finished,” “this is the end of me,” or “there is no [more] hope left for me.” Bible en français courant is different with “now I am condemned to silence,” but gives “I am lost” in a footnote as another translation.
For I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: If the first occurrence of for is an emphatic marker, here it introduces the reason for Isaiah’s sense of hopelessness. It may be rendered “because.” The phrase of unclean lips is repeated for emphasis. He individually, as well as the nation in which he lives, are both characterized by uncleanness or sin. The concept of being clean or unclean is an important one in Israelite religion. It is a religious notion, not a matter of being physically clean or dirty. Israel regarded all foods as either clean or unclean, meaning they could or could not be eaten. Individuals, too, could be clean or unclean, implying that they were either fit or unfit to attend worship. Certain illnesses, such as a serious skin disease, could make a person unclean. A woman was considered unclean for a certain time after giving birth and at the time of her monthly period. See Lev 11–15 for more on this (see also 30.22; 35.8).
A man of unclean lips and a people of unclean lips are figurative expressions meaning that what they say is unworthy and sinful. Lips represents their speech (Good News Translation “every word that passes my lips”) and so, by extension, their attitudes and thoughts expressed by their words. In this way it even relates to all their actions. Since God is calling Isaiah to a preaching ministry, the use of lips here is significant. Dwell in the midst of a people can either mean simply that he lives among these people, or more profoundly, that he sees himself as one of them. This is the view of Bible en français courant (1997), which translates these two clauses as “because my lips are unworthy of God, and I belong to a people with lips equally unworthy of him.”
For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!: The initial word for can be understood as offering a second reason for the prophet’s sense of hopelessness if he believed his life was in danger by seeing the LORD. However, it can also be seen as introducing a contrast between the prophet’s sinfulness and his opportunity to see the LORD. So Good News Translation has “And yet,” while Contemporary English Version and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh say “Yet….” Others simply let “and” carry the contrastive meaning (New Jerusalem Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). In verse 1 Isaiah saw the LORD sitting upon a king’s chair, here he identifies Yahweh explicitly as King. This is an important concept, especially brought to light in the “royal” Psalms, such as Psa 99. For the translation of King, see 1.1.
For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:
• Then I said, “I have no hope! I am doomed! My speech is unclean and I live among a people whose speech is unclean. Yet I have witnessed the King, Yahweh of hosts!”
• Then I cried out, “There is no hope for me! For I am a doomed man. Every word that passes my lips is unworthy and I live among people whose every word is unworthy. Yet I have seen the King, Yahweh of hosts!”
• Then I said, “What hope is there for me! I am a sinner [living] among sinners. But yet I have seen Yahweh, the all-powerful, the King!”
Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .