Bible Strands
Isaiah 6:4
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records the immediate reaction in the temple following the seraphim’s proclamation of divine holiness. This event occurs at the precise moment the heavenly hosts declare God’s glory, preceding Isaiah’s personal confession of unworthiness.
The words — The text highlights אַמּוֹת (a.Mot, foundations) and הַ/סִפִּים (ha./si.Pim, thresholds) shaking at the voice of the caller, while the house (בַּיִת, Ba.yit) was filled (יִמָּלֵא, yi.ma.Le') with smoke (עָשָׁן, 'a.Shan).
The thread — The motif of sacred space being overwhelmed by divine manifestation appears in Exodus 40:34, 1 Kings 8:10, and Revelation 15:8. These passages all describe God’s glory or power filling a temple with cloud or smoke, marking a boundary where human entry is temporarily halted.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to acknowledge that divine holiness physically disrupts human order and demands a response. It establishes the necessary precondition for confronting God’s presence without presuming casual access.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Cross-references
- Revelation 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
- Exodus 40:34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
- 1 Kings 8:10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD
- 2 Chronicles 5:13 The trumpeters and singers joined together to praise and thank the LORD with one voice. They lifted up their voices, accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and musical instruments, in praise to the LORD: “For He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.” And the temple, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud
- Revelation 11:19 Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
- Ezekiel 10:5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.
- Psalms 18:8 Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire came from His mouth; glowing coals blazed forth.
- Amos 9:1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.
- Ezekiel 1:24 When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the roar of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.