“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”
Then Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?" Isaiah responds: "Here am I! Send me." The progression from cleansing to commissioning is immediate; having been restored, Isaiah is now ready to receive God's commission. The divine question (Whom shall I send?) suggests that God's work requires human partnership; the eternal God seeks a human instrument through whom to accomplish His purposes. The first-person plural (Us, Our) suggests the divine council or the fullness of God's purposes; this is not one moment in Isaiah's life but participation in God's eternal redemptive work. Isaiah's response is immediate and unqualified; having encountered God's holiness and received cleansing, he offers himself without negotiation or hesitation. This verse becomes paradigmatic for Christian understanding of calling; encounter with God's holiness, conviction of sin, cleansing, and then commission to service form the pattern. The phrase "Here am I, send me" expresses the essence of prophetic response: complete submission to God's purposes.