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 my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
All Commentaries on Isaiah 6:5 Go To Isaiah 6
Jerome
AD 420
According to the Hebrew, Isaiah cries out in anguish and says, “Woe is me because I have held my peace, because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people that has unclean lips, and I have seen with my eyes the Lord of hosts!” Because of his virtues, he deserved to enjoy the sight of God, and, because of his awareness of his sins, he confessed that his lips were unclean. Not because he had said anything that was contrary to the will of God, but because he had held his peace, deterred either by fear or modesty, and because he had not exercised the prerogative of a prophet, of condemning a sinful nation. When we, who flatter the rich and accept sinful persons, rebuke sinners, is it for the sake of base gain? Unless, perhaps, we speak with complete frankness to those whose wealth we stand in need of. We may act otherwise; we may refrain from every type of sin, but, if we keep silent about the truth, we are certainly committing a sin.
