Naba signifies not only to "foretell future events," but also to "pray" and "supplicate"; and nabi, the "prophet," was by office not only a "declarer of events still future," but the general "preacher" of the day; and as he frequently foresaw the approach of disastrous times, such was the wickedness of the people, he employed his time in counselling sinners to turn from the error of their ways, and in making strong prayer and supplication to God to avert the threatened judgments; for such predictions, however apparently positive in their terms, were generally conditional.

In ancient times those who were afterwards called "prophets" were termed "seers" (1 Sam. 9:9). Haroeh signifies the "seeing person," he who perceives mentally what the design of God is. Sometimes he is called also chozeh, the man who has "visions," or supernatural revelations (1 Kings 22:17; 2 Kings 17:13). Both these terms are translated "seer" in our common version. They were sometimes called men of God, and messengers or angels of God. In their case it was ever understood that all God's prophets had an extraordinary commission and had their message given them by immediate inspiration.

Of Isaiah, the writer of this book, very little is known. He is supposed to have been of the tribe of Judah, and of the royal family of David. Himself says that he was son of Amoz; and others tell us that this Amoz was the son of Joash, and brother of Amaziah, king of Judah.

Isaiah appears to have had two sons, who were typical of their names; one, Shear-jashub, "a remnant shall return," chap. 7:3; and the other, Maher-shalal-hash-baz, "haste to the spoil; quick to the prey"; chap. 8:3; and it is remarkable, that his wife is called a "prophetess."

Isaiah 1. What does Isaiah mean?

Isaiah 2. When was Isaiah a prophet in Jerusalem?

Isaiah 3. What influence did Isaiah have during the reign of Hezekiah? Why?

Isaiah 4. According to tradition, how did Isaiah die?

Isaiah 5. What did the Lord tell the Nephites about Isaiah? (See also 3 Nephi 23:1-3)

Isaiah 6. What two things do the writings and prophecies of Isaiah deal with?

Isaiah 7. List the five parts of the major themes of his writings?

Isaiah 8. What is a major difficulty in understanding the book?

Isaiah 9. What is the best guide to understanding Isaiah?

Isaiah 10. What will we more fully comprehend when we understand Isaiah?

Isaiah 1:1. "The Vision of Isaiah"

Isaiah 1:1-9. Rebellion against the Lord

Isaiah 1:4. "Holy One of Israel"

Isaiah 1:2-4. What were most of the people in Israel?

Isaiah 1:8. What Is a "Cottage in a Vineyard"?

Isaiah 1:9. How many were faithful?

Isaiah 1:9. "Left unto Us a Very Small Remnant"

Isaiah 1:10-15. The Hypocrisy of Insincere Worship

Isaiah 1:16-19. What were the faithful called upon to do?

Isaiah 1:16-20. Call to Repentance, Promise of Forgiveness

"This is not an individual promise, but one to a rebellious nation. No matter how many prophets the Lord sent to Israel and Judah, and how many times he pleaded with them, all through their history they were rebellious.

"Here we find a promise that if they would return to the Lord, their past sins would be forgotten, and he would again receive them as his people and bless them abundantly, and they should continue to be his covenant people." (Answers to Gospel Questions, 2:180.)

Nephi, however, said that he took the words of Isaiah and "did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning" (1 Nephi 19:23). Certainly this beautiful promise, though originally given to Israel as a nation, can be "likened" to individuals. Elder Charles W. Penrose applied Isaiah's promise from the Lord to all who meet certain requirements: "Now here is the pattern: Those who believe and repent must be taken down into the water and be buried from their old lives, must put off the old man with his deeds, must be buried in the likeness of Christ's burial and raised up again in the likeness of Christ's resurrection. Then, when they come forth from the water, if they have believed, repented, and been baptized by a man sent of God to baptize -- then, 'though their sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." They are cleansed, they come forth to a new birth, they are born of the water, and every time they partake of the holy sacrament they witness to God that they will continue in his ways, and walk in his paths, that they have put on Christ, and that they will remember him to keep his commandments in all things. Now when people are thus properly cleansed, and purified and made white, like unto newborn babes on entering into the world, without blemish or spot, then their tabernacles are fit to receive the Holy Ghost." (In Journal of Discourses, 22:91.)

President Joseph Fielding Smith suggested that the washing mentioned in verse 16 could be baptism (see Answers to Gospel Questions, 1:51). From the Book of Mormon it is known that Isaiah taught baptism at least one other time (see 1 Nephi 20:1).

Isaiah 1:19-20. A Blessing or a Curse

Isaiah 1:27. When will Zion be redeemed?

Isaiah 2:1-4. List four things that Isaiah saw.

Isaiah 2:1-5. "In the Last Days ... the Mountain of the Lord's House Shall Be Established"

The "mountain of the Lord" in the last dispensation refers to the restoration of the Church. President Harold B. Lee said: "The coming forth of his church in these days was the beginning of the fulfillment of the The Salt Lake Temple at Church headquarters ancient prophecy when 'the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains'" (in Conference Report, Apr. 1973, p. 5).

On another occasion President Lee observed that "with the coming of the pioneers to establish the Church in the tops of the mountains, our early leaders declared this to be the beginning of the fulfillment of that prophecy" ("The Way to Eternal Life," Ensign, Nov. 1971, p. 15).

The establishment of the Church headquarters in Salt Lake City is only a beginning of the fulfillment of that inspired declaration. Obviously, the effect of the Church center in Utah has been great. Elder LeGrand Richards said: "How literally [Isaiah 2:3] has been fulfilled, in my way of thinking, in this very house of the God of Jacob right here on this block! This temple [Salt Lake], more than any other building of which we have any record, has brought people from every land to learn of his ways and walk in his paths." (In Conference Report, Apr. 1971, p. 143.)

But this scriptural statement extends far beyond Salt Lake City. Verse 3 suggests that eventually other world centers will be included. Then this prophetic statement will reach its fulfillment.

Isaiah 2:3. "Out of Zion Shall Go Forth the Law ... the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem"

"We are informed in the revelation given to Joseph Smith the Prophet, that the city of Zion and the New Jerusalem is one and the same. [D&C 28:9; 42:9; 45:66-67; 57:2; 58:7.] ...

"Jerusalem of old, after the Jews have been cleansed and sanctified from all their sin, shall become a holy city where the Lord shall dwell and from whence he shall send forth his word unto all people. Likewise, on this continent, the city of Zion, New Jerusalem, shall be build, and from it the law of God shall also go forth. There will be no conflict, for each city shall be headquarters for the Redeemer of the world, and from each he shall send forth his proclamations as occasion may require. Jerusalem shall be the gathering place of Judah and his fellows of the house of Israel, and Zion shall be the gathering place of Ephraim and his fellows, upon whose heads shall be conferred 'the richer blessings." ...

"These two cities, one in the land of Zion and one in Palestine, are to become capitals for the kingdom of God during the millennium.

"In the meantime, while the work of preparation is going on and Israel is being gathered, many people are coming to the land of Zion saying: 'Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob." The Latter-day Saints are fulfilling this prediction, since they are being gathered from all parts of the earth and are coming to the house of the Lord in these valleys of the mountains. Here they are being taught in the ways of the Lord through the restoration of the gospel and by receiving blessings in the temples now erected. Moreover, before many years have passed away, the Lord will command the building of the City Zion, and Jerusalem in Palestine will in due time be cleansed and become a holy city and the habitation of the Jews after they are cleansed and are willing to accept Jesus Christ as their Redeemer." (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:69-71.)

While the Saints await the time of the establishment of these world centers, the principle of sending forth the law has been associated not only with the spread of the gospel and its blessings, but also with the providing of a climate in which the gospel work can grow. President Harold B. Lee said:

"I have often wondered what that expression meant, that out of Zion shall go forth the law. Years ago I went with the brethren to the Idaho Falls Temple, and I heard in that inspired prayer of the First Presidency a definition of the meaning of that term 'out of Zion shall go forth the law." Note what they said: 'We thank thee that thou hast revealed to us that those who gave us our constitutional form of government were men wise in thy sight and that thou didst raise them up for the very purpose of putting forth that sacred document [the Constitution of the United States -- see D&C 101:80] ...

"'We pray that kings and rulers and the peoples of all nations under heaven may be persuaded of the blessings enjoyed by the people of this land by reason of their freedom and under thy guidance and be constrained to adopt similar governmental systems, thus to fulfill the ancient prophecy of Isaiah and Micah that "... out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."' (Improvement Era, October 1945, p. 564.)" (The Way to Eternal Life, p. 15).

Isaiah 2:4-5. Establishment of the Millennium

Isaiah 2:6-22. The Proud and the Wicked to Be Brought Low

Verse 6. They were "replenished from the east," or in other words, they looked to the religious philosophies and the gods of the Assyrians and other heathen countries for power and sustenance. Today people look to many other religions and philosophies of men for wisdom and guidance instead of to the gospel.

Verse 6. They "hearken unto soothsayers" (2 Nephi 12:6), those false prophets who claimed to be able to foretell the future. Today, true prophets are largely ignored, and all kinds of false religionists and counselors are looked to for guidance.

Verse 6. "They please themselves in the children of strangers" or, as C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch translated the phrase, "and with the children of foreigners they go hand in hand" (Commentary on the Old Testament, 7:1:118). In short, ancient Israel was joining the heathen nations in all their wickedness, and modern society is joining with the influences of the world rather than looking to the Lord.

Verse 7. The land was "full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots." The horse was a symbol of warfare, as was the chariot. Today is an age characterized by "wars and rumors of war" (see JS-M 1:28.)

Verse 8. The land was filled with idolatry then, and people still turn to false gods today, though not necessarily to idols made of wood or stone.

Verse 9. The "mean man boweth not down, and the great man humbleth himself not" (2 Nephi 12:9; emphasis added). The differences in the Book of Mormon account of Isaiah's writings, noted by the italics, show that Isaiah was not making further reference to idolatry but was referring to the fact that men would not worship the true God. In the preface to the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord indicated this failure would be a major concern of the last days. (See D&C 1:16.)

Because of her sins, ancient Israel brought upon herself the judgments of God, and because of the same problems the people of the last days will likewise bring sorrow and problems upon themselves.

The brass plates contained other differences that clarify Isaiah's meaning. Compare Isaiah 2:10, 12-14, 16, 19, 21 with 2 Nephi 12:10, 12-14, 16, 19, 21.

Isaiah 2:12-21. What will happen to the proud and wicked at the Second Coming?

Isaiah 2:13. What Were the "Cedars of Lebanon" and the "Oaks of Bashan"?

Isaiah 2:16. What Is Meant by the Phrase "Ships of Tarshish"?

Again the Book of Mormon affirms the completeness of the record from which its Isaiah citations were taken. Sperry illustrated this contribution:

"In 2 Nephi 12:16 (cf. Isaiah 2:16) the Book of Mormon has a reading of remarkable interest. It prefixes a phrase of eight words not found in the Hebrew or King James versions. Since the ancient Septuagint (Greek) Version concurs with the added phrase in the Book of Mormon, let us exhibit the readings of the Book of Mormon (B.M.), the King James Version (K.J.), and the Septuagint (LXX) as follows:

B.M. And upon all the ships of the sea,

K. J. ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

LXX And upon every ship of the sea,

and upon all the ships of Tarshish

And upon all the ships of Tarshish

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

and upon all pleasant pictures.

and upon all pleasant pictures.

and upon every display of fine ships.

"The Book of Mormon suggests that the original text of this verse contained three phrases, all of which commenced with the same opening words, 'and upon all." By a common accident, the original Hebrew (and hence the King James) text lost the first phrase, which was, however, preserved by the Septuagint. The latter lost the second phrase and seems to have corrupted the third phrase. The Book of Mormon preserved all three phrases. Scholars may suggest that Joseph Smith took the first phrase from the Septuagint. The prophet did not know Greek, and there is no evidence that he had access to a copy of the Septuagint in 1829-30 when he translated the Book of Mormon." (The Voice of Israel's Prophets, pp. 90-91.)

Isaiah 2:22. "Cease Ye from Man"

Isaiah 3:1-8. Prophetic Declaration of the Fall of Judah

Isaiah 3:5-8. Why will Judah and Jerusalem be punished?

Isaiah 3:9. "The Shew of Their Countenance Doth Witness against Them"

"Every man and every person who lives in this world wields an influence, whether for good or for evil. It is not what he says alone; it is not alone what he does. It is what he is. Every man, every person radiates what he or she really is ... It is what we are and what we radiate that affects the people around us.

"As individuals, we must think nobler thoughts. We must not encourage vile thoughts or low aspirations. We shall radiate them if we do. If we think noble thoughts; if we encourage and cherish noble aspirations, there will be that radiation when we meet people, especially when we associate with them." (Man May Know for Himself, p. 108.)

Isaiah 3:13. What will the Lord do for his people?

Isaiah 3:14. Why Should the Lord Be Upset

Isaiah 3:16-21. What will happen to the daughters of Zion? Why?

Isaiah 3:16-24. The "Daughters of Zion" to Succumb to Worldliness in the Latter Days

"Isaiah, one of the great prophets of early times, saw our day, and he described the conditions that would prevail among the 'daughters of Zion" in these latter days ...

"Now, in this modern day, Isaiah's prophecy has been and is being fulfilled ...

"The standards expressed by the General Authorities of the Church are that women, as well as men, should dress modestly. They are taught proper deportment and modesty at all times. It is, in my judgment, a sad reflection on the 'daughters of Zion" when they dress immodestly. Moreover, this remark pertains to the men as well as to the women. The Lord gave commandments to ancient Israel that both men and women should cover their bodies and observe the law of chastity at all times." (Answers to Gospel Questions, 5:172-74.)

Isaiah 3:16-24. Difficult Idioms and Archaic Expressions

Verse 16. "Stretched forth necks" is an idiom describing haughtiness -- pride in self and scorn toward others (see Young, Book of Isaiah, 1:162).

Verse 16. "Mincing ... and making a tinkling with their feet." The women wore costly ornamental chains connecting rings about the ankles. These were often adorned with bells. (See Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 7:1:143.)

Verse 17. "Discover their secret parts" is an idiom meaning that they would be put to shame (see Isaiah 3:17a).

Verse 18. "Cauls ... round tires like the moon" were ornamental jewelry in the shape of suns and moons according to the fashions of that day (see Young, Book of Isaiah, 1:165).

Verses 19-23. These terms describe fashions that were popular among the worldly women in Isaiah's day: "muffler" -- veil; "bonnet" -- headdress; "tablets" -- perfume boxes; "earrings" -- charms or amulets; "nose jewels" -- nose rings; "changeable suits of apparel" -- clothing for festivals only; "mantle" -- overcloak; "wimples" -- a type of shawl or veil worn over the head; "crisping pins" -- erroneously rendered as hair curling implements. The Hebrew suggests a bag, like modern purses or handbags; "glasses" -- most authorities translate as a metal mirror, although some suggest transparent clothing, "hoods" -- turbans, head cover wrapped by hand. (See Young, Book of Isaiah, 1:165-66; Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 7:1:144-47.)

Isaiah 3:24-26. The Fruits of Transgression upon the Daughters of Zion

Isaiah 4:1, 4. What will become of the daughters of Zion? When?

Isaiah 4:1. "Take Away Our Reproach"

Isaiah 4:2. What Is the "Branch of the Lord"?

Isaiah 4:4. "Washed ... Purged ... Burning"

Isaiah 4:5-6. Zion to Be a Place of Refuge

"The time is to come when God will meet with all the congregation of his Saints, and to show his approval, and that he does love them, he will work a miracle by covering them in the cloud of his glory. I do not mean something that is invisible, but I mean that same order of things which once existed on the earth so far as the tabernacle of Moses was concerned, which was carried in the midst of the children of Israel as they journeyed in the wilderness ... But in the latter days there will be people so pure in Mount Zion, with a house established upon the tops of the mountains, that God will manifest himself, not only in their Temple and upon all their assemblies, with a visible cloud during the day, but when the night shall come, if they shall be assembled for worship, God will meet with them by his pillar of fire; and when they retire to their habitations, behold each habitation will be lighted up by the glory of God, -- a pillar of flaming fire by night.

"Did you ever hear of any city that was thus favored and blessed since the day that Isaiah delivered this prophecy? No, it is a latter-day work, one that God must consummate in the latter times when he begins to reveal himself, and show forth his power among the nations." (In Journal of Discourses, 16:82.)

Isaiah 5:1-7. Isaiah's Parable of the Vineyard

The loss of protection for the vineyard, the neglect, and the effects of famine would result from Israel's transgression (see vv. 5-7).

Isaiah 5:7. What is the Lord's vineyard?

Isaiah 5:8-25. Warning of the Consequences of Apostasy and Transgression

Verse 8. They built up great estates through wickedness. Keil and Delitzsch explained: "'They, the insatiable, would not rest till, after every smaller piece of landed property had been swallowed by them, the whole land had come into their possession, and no one beside themselves was settled in the land' [Job 22:8]. Such covetousness was all the more reprehensible, because the law of Israel had provided so very stringently and carefully, that as far as possible there should be an equal distribution of the soil, and that hereditary family property should be inalienable." (Commentary, 7:1:166.)

An acre is the amount a yoke of oxen could plow in a day. A bath is about 5.5 gallons. A homer is about 6.5 bushels, and an ephah is one tenth of a homer. These measurements show how unproductive the land would become because of this wickedness.

Verse 11. Drunkenness and partying prevail, with no regard for God.

Verse 12. There is no knowledge of truth and true principles. Ignorance is a hindrance in any field of endeavor, but especially in spiritual things. The Prophet Joseph Smith gave instruction on this important principle: "The Church must be cleansed, and I proclaim against all iniquity. A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world, as evil spirits will have more knowledge, and consequently more power than many men who are on the earth. Hence it needs revelation to assist us, and give us knowledge of the things of God." (Teachings, p. 217.)

Verse 18. They draw sin and iniquity with ropes of vanity. Isaiah 5:18c helps explain Isaiah's idiomatic expressions: "They are tied to their sins like beasts to their burdens."

Verse 20. They pervert righteousness and goodness, calling them evil, and try to pass off evil things as good. It is the nature of sinners to reject the reality of the consequences of their transgressions, and so they attempt to explain them away.

Verse 21. They are "wise in their own eyes." President N. Eldon Tanner illustrated the necessity of heeding this warning. He noted that when people "become learned in the worldly things such as science and philosophy, [they] become self-sufficient and are prepared to lean unto their own understanding, even to the point where they think they are independent of God; and because of their worldly learning they feel that if they cannot prove physically, mathematically, or scientifically that God lives, they can and should feel free to question and even to deny God and Jesus Christ. Then many of our professors begin to teach perverse things, to lead away disciples after them; and our youth whom we send to them for learning accept them as authority, and many are caused to lose their faith in God ...

"How much wiser and better it is for man to accept the simple truths of the gospel and to accept as authority God, the Creator of the world, and his Son Jesus Christ, and to accept by faith those things which he cannot disprove and for which he cannot give a better explanation. He must be prepared to acknowledge that there are certain things -- many, many things -- that he cannot understand." (In Conference Report, Oct. 1968, pp. 48-49.)

Verse 23. They "justify the wicked for reward." Those who were guilty of crimes were declared innocent by bribed judges and other officials, whereas the innocent were found guilty so that they could be silenced or their property exploited. Obviously the dark evils that prevailed among the Israelites of the ancient kingdom of Judah help modern readers understand why the judgments of God come upon them. But today's world can also learn a great lesson, for one need only look to see the same evils prevailing on many sides. The effects of sin today are as devastating as they were anciently. That is the message of Isaiah for today.

Isaiah 5:45, 24-25. what will happen to Isarel?

Isaiah 5:26. What Does It Mean to "Hiss" to the Nations?

Isaiah 5:26-30. "He Will Lift Up an Ensign to the Nations" in the Latter Days

The expression "ensign to the nations" is discussed in Commentary on Isaiah 11:10, 12.

Isaiah 6:1. Whom does Isaiah see?

Isaiah 6:1. "In the Year That King Uzziah Died"

Isaiah 6:1. "I Saw ... the Lord"

Isaiah 6:1-4. Vision of the Lord and the Celestial Realms

Others who have experienced visions of the celestial realms have cited Isaiah in an attempt to explain their limited ability to tell of what they had been shown (see 1 Corinthians 2:9; D&C 76:10). The Prophet Joseph Smith provided a perspective on such experiences when he said: "Could we read and comprehend all that has been written from the days of Adam, on the relation of man to God and angels in a future state, we should know very little about it. Reading the experience of others, or the revelation given to them, can never give us a comprehensive view of our condition and true relation to God. Knowledge of these things can only be obtained by experience through the ordinances of God set forth for that purpose. Could you gaze into heaven five minutes, you would know more than you would by reading all that ever was written on the subject." (Teachings, p. 324.)

Isaiah 6:2. What Are Seraphim?

"In Hebrew the plural of seraph is seraphim or, as incorrectly recorded in the King James Version of the Bible, seraphims. Isaiah saw seraphim in vision and heard them cry one to another 'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.' ([JST], Isa. 6:1-8.) The fact that these holy beings were shown to him as having wings was simply to symbolize their 'power, to move, to act, etc.' as was the case also in visions others had received. (D&C 77:4.)" (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, pp. 702-3.)

Isaiah 6:4. "The Posts of the Door Moved ..., and the House Was Filled with Smoke"

"God Almighty Himself dwells in eternal fire; flesh and blood cannot go there, for all corruption is devoured by the fire. 'Our God is a consuming fire. [Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29].' When our flesh is quickened by the Spirit, there will be no blood in this tabernacle. Some dwell in higher glory than others.

"... Immortality dwells in everlasting burnings." (Teachings, p. 367.)

Isaiah 6:5-8. The Prophet Received Forgiveness

Isaiah 6:7. What happened to his sins?

Isaiah 6:9-10. What is he called to do?

Isaiah 6:9-13. Prophecy of the Rejection of Spiritual Things

The people claimed to hear and see, but they did not understand the spirit of the message.

The command to "make the heart of this people fat, ... their ears heavy, and shut their eyes" is used to describe the process of making the people accountable. The command, of course, refers to "their spiritual sight, spiritual hearing, and spiritual feeling." (Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 7:1:200). "There is a self-hardening in evil ... Sin from its very nature bears its own punishment ... An evil act in itself is the result of self-determination proceeding from a man's own will." (Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 7:1:201). An individual cannot resist or reject the truth without eventually becoming spiritually hardened (see History of the Church, 4:264). Isaiah's indictment of the kingdom of Judah was cited again in the New Testament to show that the people of that time were no different. The inability of many to understand the parables is a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy (see Matthew 13:10-17; Luke 8:9-10). The significance of many of the miracles was also misunderstood (see John 12:37-41). The testimony of the Messiah and His Sonship was understood, at least in part, by the disciples, but it was rejected by others (see Luke 10:21-24).

The prophet Isaiah asked the Lord how long some men would be hardened against truth (v. 11); the answer -- until mortal man no longer exists (see Isaiah 6:11a).

Isaiah 6:6a. What is the live coal a symbol of? (See Isaiah 6:6a)

Isaiah 6:13. Scattering and Gathering of the Remnant of Judah

Isaiah 7:1, 5-6. Who waged war against Judah? (See also Isaiah 7:2a)

Isaiah 7:1-9. A Prophetic Warning against an Alliance between Israel (Ephraim) and Syria

Isaiah was directed to warn King Ahaz against seeking political alliances for Judah in order to defend his people. The king, the third of the kings of Judah that Isaiah was sent to counsel, eventually rejected the Lord's warning (see 2 Kings 16:7-20.

Isaiah 7:3. Who Was Shear-jashub?

Isaiah 7:3. What Was the "Conduit of the Upper Pool"?

Isaiah 7:4. Why Were Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel Called "Smoking Firebrands"?

Isaiah 7:8. "Within Threescore and Five Years"

Isaiah 7:9b. Why is faith necessary? (See v. 9b)

Isaiah 7:10–16. The Messianic Promise a Protection

Isaiah 7:14. "A Virgin Shall ... Bear a Son"

The Book of Mormon, likewise, testifies of Mary's virginity at the time of Christ's conception (see 1 Nephi 11:13, 15, 18, 20-21). Thus, the vision of Nephi affirms Isaiah"s ancient prophecy that it was indeed a virgin who would conceive.

President Marion G. Romney spoke of the importance of spiritual direction in understanding the prophet Isaiah"s declaration:

"Here is another example in which men revise the scriptures without the inspiration of the Spirit. Isaiah, in predicting the birth of Christ, said: 'Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.' (Isaiah 7:14. Italics added.) When Isaiah used the word virgin, he was saying that a woman who had not known a man should bear a son.

"The modern translators say: 'Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version [1952], Isaiah 7:14. Italics added.) You see, they do not believe that Christ was divine, so it does not make any difference to them whether they say a 'young woman' or a 'virgin.'" (In Conference Report, Tokyo Japan Area Conference 1975, p. 46.)

Isaiah 7:14. What Is the Meaning of the Name Immanuel?

Isaiah 8. Warning of the Impending Assyrian Invasion

Isaiah 8:1-4. Who Was "Maher-shalal-hash-baz"?

Isaiah 8:14. What will the lord be like? (See also Isaiah 8:14a)

Isaiah 8:14. "A Stone of Stumbling and ... a Rock of Offence" The Messiah is referred to in the scriptures as a "stone" (see Genesis 49:24; Psalm 118:22) and also as a "rock" (see Deuteronomy 32:4, 15; 1 Samuel 2:2). The prophet here uses this expression to describe the rejection of the Savior, the stumbling and offence, by the unbelieving of Israel and Judah. The New Testament writers also cited this passage in showing how the Jews for the most part rejected the Savior (see Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:8).

Isaiah 8:18. "I and the Children Whom the Lord Hath Given Me Are for Signs and for Wonders in Israel"

Isaiah 8:19. Whom are we to seek?

Isaiah 8:19. Warning against Familiar Spirits, Peepers, and Mutterers

"To seek for information through ... any way contrary to the instruction the Lord has given is a sin. The Lord gave positive instruction to Israel when they were in the land of their inheritance that they were to go to him for revelation and to avoid the devices prevalent amongthe heathen nations who occupied their lands ...

"All through the Bible, the New Testament as well as the Old, the Lord and his prophets have expressed their displeasure when the people turned from the Lord to 'familiar spirits.'" (Answers to Gospel Questions, 4:33.)

Isaiah 8:16, 20. What should we turn to for guidance?

Isaiah 9:1-7. The Messianic Promise Reaffirmed

They added this explanation: "The reason assigned for the fact that the unbelieving people of Judah had fallen into a night without morning, is, that there was a morning coming, whose light, however, would not rise upon the land of Judah first, but upon other parts of the land ... The meaning is, There is not, i.e. there will not remain; a state of darkness over the land, ... which is now in a state of distress; but those very districts which God has hitherto caused to suffer deep humiliation He will bring to honour by and by ... The height of the glorification would correspond to the depth of the disgrace." (Commentary, 7:1:243.)

Matthew saw the fact that the Messiah dwelt in the area of Galilee as the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy (see Matthew 4:12-16).

The inconsistency of verse 3 is corrected when the purer Book of Mormon text is used. The word not does not appear (see 2 Nephi 19:3).

Isaiah 9:2. Who will see a great light? (See also Isaiah 9:2a)

Isaiah 9:5. "Every Battle ... Shall Be with Burning"

Isaiah 9:6. "Unto Us a Son Is Given ... and His Name Shall Be Called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father"

"Isaiah ... speaks of Christ as 'Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.' (Is. 9:6)

"These titles, and the sayings that Jesus was the Creator and all things were made by him, have proved to be a stumbling block to some who are not well informed. The question arises, 'How could he, if he had not body and flesh and bones, before he was born of Mary, accomplish these things as a spirit?' Jesus had no body of flesh and bones until he was born at Bethlehem. This he fully explained to the brother of Jared. The answer to this question is simply that he did these wonderful works because of the glory his Father had given him before he was born (John 17:5-24) and because at that time he was God. In an epistle issued by the First Presidency and Council of Twelve Apostles in 1916, these matters are clearly explained. (See Era, Vol. 19:34.) From this epistle the following is taken:

"'... scriptures that refer to God in any way as the Father of the heavens and in the earth are to be understood as signifying that God is the Maker, the Organizer, the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

"'With this meaning, as the context shows in every case, Jehovah, who is Jesus Christ, the Son of Elohim, is called "the Father," and even "the very eternal Father of heaven and earth." (See ... Mosiah 16:15.) With analogous meaning, Jesus Christ is called "The Everlasting Father," (Isaiah 9:6; compare 2 Nephi 19:6.) The descriptive titles "Everything" and "eternal" in the foregoing texts are synonymous.

"'That Jesus Christ who we also know as Jehovah, was the executive of the Father, Elohim, in the work of creation is set forth in the book Jesus the Christ, Chap. 4. Jesus Christ, being the Creator, is constantly called the Father of heaven and earth in the sense explained above; and since his creations are of eternal quality, he is very properly called the Eternal Father of heaven and earth.'" (Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:168).

Isaiah 9:6. "The Prince of Peace"

"Heralded centuries before his birth as the 'Prince of Peace' (Isaiah 9:6), heavenly angels announced his coming ...

"Modern man sometimes vainly thinks that Jesus' mission was to wipe out war; and scoffers have cried that since war still curses the earth, Christ's mission has failed and Christianity is a blight.

"Yet Christ himself sent forth his Twelve, saying:

"'Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.' (Matt. 10:34.)

"Christ did proclaim a peace -- the peace of everlasting righteousness, which is the eternal and mortal enemy of sin. Between righteousness and sin, in whatever form, there can only be unceasing war, whether in one man, among the people, or between nations in armed conflict. This war is the sword of Christ; whatever its form this war cannot end until sin is crushed and Christ brings all flesh under his dominion. Righteousness is peace wherever it abides; sin in itself is war wherever it is found." (In Conference Report, Apr. 1939, pp. 104-5).

Isaiah 9:6-7. What is the burning? (See also v. 5b)

Isaiah 9:18-19. Who will reign on David's throne? (See also v. 6a)

Isaiah 10:1-19, 24-34. The Destruction of Assyria -- the Wicked

Isaiah 10:5-6. What was the destruction by Assyria a type of?

Isaiah 10:19-20. How many will be left on the earth at the Second Coming?

Isaiah 10:21-22. Who will return in that day?

Isaiah 11:1. Who is the stem of Jesus? (See also Isaiah 11:14; D&C 113:1-2)

Isaiah 11:1. Who Was the "Stem of Jesse" and the "Rod out of the Stem of Jesse"?

President Brigham Young affirmed the place of Ephraim and the Prophet Joseph Smith in bringing to pass the purposes of this dispensation: "It is the house of Israel we are after, and we care not whether they come from the east, the west, the north, or the south; from China, Russia, England, California, North or South America, or some other locality; and it is the very lad on whom father Jacob laid his hands, that will save the house of Israel. The Book of Mormon came to Ephraim, for Joseph Smith was a pure Ephraimite, and the Book of Mormon was revealed to him, and while he lived he made it his business to search for those who believed the Gospel." (In Journal of Discourses, 2:268-69)

Isaiah 11:1. Who Is the "Branch"?

"Since it takes a first and a second coming to fulfill many Messianic prophecies, we of necessity must consider them here, and in the case of the Davidic-Messianic utterances show also how they apply to our Lord's Second Coming. Christ is the Son of David, the Seed of David, the inheritor, through Mary his mother, of the blood of the great king. He is also called the Stem of Jesse and the Branch, meaning Branch of David. Messianic prophecies under these headings deal with the power and dominion he shall wield as he sits on David's throne, and have reference almost exclusively to his second sojourn on planet earth.

"Jesse was the father of David. Isaiah speaks of the Stem of Jesse, whom he also designates as a branch growing out of the root of that ancient worthy. He recites how the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him; how he shall be mighty in judgment; how he shall smite the earth and slay the wicked; and how the lamb and the lion shall lie down together in that day -- all of which has reference to the Second Coming and the millennial era thereby ushered in. (Isa. 11) As to the identity of the Stem of Jesse, the revealed words says: 'Verily thus saith the Lord: It is Christ.' (D&C 113:1-2) This also means that the Branch is Christ, as we shall now see from other related scriptures.

"By the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord foretells the ancient scattering and the latter-day gathering of his chosen Israel. After they have been gathered 'out of all countries whither I have driven them,' after the kingdom has been restored to Israel as desired by the ancient apostles in Acts 1:6, then this eventuality, yet future and millennial in nature, shall be fulfilled: 'Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.' (Jer. 23:3-6) That is to say, the King who shall reign personally upon the earth during the Millennium shall be the Branch who grew out of the house of David. He shall execute judgment and justice in all the earth because he is the Lord Jehovah, even him whom we call Christ.

"Through Zechariah the Lord spoke similarly: 'Thus saith the Lord of hosts: ... I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH ... I will remove the iniquity of the land in one day [meaning that the wicked shall be destroyed and the millennial era of peace and righteousness commence]. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.' (Zech. 3:7-10) Of that glorious millennial day the Lord says also: 'Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne.' (Zech. 6:12-13)

"That the Branch of David is Christ is perfectly clear. We shall now see that he is also called David, that he is a new David, an Eternal David, who shall reign forever on the throne of his ancient ancestor. 'It shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, 'that is, in the great millennial day of gathering, that 'they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.' (Jer. 30:8-9)

"'In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness,' which is to say that because the Great King himself reigns in her midst, even the city shall be called after him. 'For thus saith the Lord; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel ... If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne.' (Jer. 33:15-21) David's temporal throne fell long centuries before our Lord was born, and that portion of Israel which had not been scattered to the ends of the earth was in bondage to the iron yoke of Rome. But the promises remain. The eternal throne shall be restored in due course with a new David sitting thereon, and he shall reign forever and ever ...

"Through Ezekiel, the Lord speaks of this One Shepherd in this way: 'I will save my flock ... And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them.' When that day comes, 'I will make with them a covenant of peace,' the Lord says, meaning they shall have again the fulness of the everlasting gospel. Then 'there shall be showers of blessing'; all Israel shall dwell safely and know that the Lord is their God. (Ezek. 34:22-31)

"Through Ezekiel, the Lord also tells of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, which becomes the instrument in his hands to bring to pass the gathering of Israel. Of that day of gathering he says, 'I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all.' In that day he promises to 'cleanse them,' by baptism, 'so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.'

"Then the Lord restates that his gathered people shall have his everlasting gospel with all its blessings; that he will set his sanctuary, meaning his temple, in their midst forevermore (as Zechariah recorded); and all Israel shall know that the Lord is their God. (Ezek. 37:15-28)

"How glorious shall be the coming day when the second David, who is Christ, reigns on the throne of the first David; when all men shall dwell safely; when the earth shall be dotted with temples; and when the gospel covenant shall have full force and validity in all the earth!" (The Promised Messiah, pp. 192-95).

Isaiah 11:3-4. What will he do?

Isaiah 11:9. What will cover the earth in the Millennium?

Isaiah 11:9. "The Earth Shall Be Full of the Knowledge of the Lord"

The promises of revelation for this great era are outlined in the Doctrine and Covenants (see D&C 101:32-34).

Isaiah 11:10, 12. "An Ensign of the People"

"Over 125 years ago, in the little town of Fayette, Seneca County, New York, the Lord set up an ensign to the nations. It was in fulfilment of the prediction made by the Prophet Isaiah, which I have read. That ensign was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which was established for the last time, never again to be destroyed or given to other people. It was the greatest event the world has seen since the day that the Redeemer was lifted upon the cross and worked out the infinite and eternal atonement. It meant more to mankind than anything else that has occurred since that day ...

"Following the raising of this ensign, the Lord sent forth his elders clothed with the priesthood and with power and authority, among the nations of the earth, bearing witness unto all peoples of the restoration of his Church, and calling upon the children of men to repent and receive the gospel; for now it was being preached in all the world as a witness before the end should come, that is, the end of the reign of wickedness and the establishment of the millennial reign of peace. The elders went forth as they were commanded, and are still preaching the gospel and gathering out from the nations the seed of Israel unto whom the promise was made." (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:254-55; see also Isaiah 5:26)

Isaiah 11:10-12. What will the Lord do?

Isaiah 11:10-16. The Gathering of Israel from the World

"Isaiah's soul seemed to be on fire, and his mind wrapt in the visions of the Almighty, while he declared, in the name of the Lord, that it should come to pass in the last days that God should set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, assemble the outcasts of Israel, gather together the dispersed of Judah, destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea and make men go over dry-shod, gather them to Jerusalem on horses, mules, swift beasts, and in chariots, and rebuild Jerusalem upon her own heaps; while, at the same time, the destroyer of the Gentiles will be on his way; and while God was turning the captivity of Israel, he would put all their curses and afflictions upon the heads of the Gentiles, their enemies, who had not sought to recover, but to destroy them, and had trodden them under foot from generation to generation.

"At the same time the standard should be lifted up, that the honest in heart, the meek of the earth among the Gentiles, should seek unto it; and that Zion should be redeemed and be built up a holy city, that the glory and power of God should rest upon her, and be seen upon her; that the watchman upon Mount Ephraim might cry -- 'Arise ye, and let us go up unto Zion, the city of the Lord our God;' that the Gentiles might come to her light, and kings to the brightness of her rising; that the Saints of God may have a place to flee to and stand in holy places while judgment works in the earth; that when the sword of God that is bathed in heaven falls upon Idumea, or the world, -- when the Lord pleads with all flesh by sword and by fire, and the slain of the Lord are many, the Saints may escape these calamities by fleeing to the places of refuge, like Lot and Noah." (History of the Church, 6:26).

Isaiah 11:11. "The Lord Shall Set His Hand Again the Second Time to Recover the Remnant of His People"

"From this scripture we learn that the events described were to be in the future: 'The Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people.' There could not be a 'second time' unless there had been a first. The first time was when the Lord led Israel out of Egyptian bondage and captivity. When did the Lord set his hand the 'second time' to recover the remnant of his people? This we will now consider. From the above scripture we learn that three important events were to transpire: (1) He shall set up an ensign for the nations; (2) he shall assemble the outcasts of Israel; (3) he shall gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

"It is clear there are to be two gathering places -- one for Israel and one for Judah ...

"Since Moses was the prophet the Lord raised up to lead Israel out of the land of Egypt and gave him power to perform such mighty miracles before Pharaoh, even to the leading of the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry land, it seems very appropriate that Moses should hold the keys of the gathering of Israel when the Lord would 'set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people.' These were the keys Moses committed to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.

"When speaking of Israel, most people have the Jews in mind, and when referring to the gathering of Israel, they have in mind the return of the Jews to the land of Jerusalem. It should be remembered that the Jews, the descendants of Judah, represent but one of the twelve branches, or tribes, of the house of Israel -- the family of Jacob." (A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, pp. 207-9).

Isaiah 11:13-14. "Ephraim Shall Not Envy Judah, and Judah Shall Not Vex Ephraim"

Elder LeGrand Richards explained how this prophecy must be fulfilled:

"We are from Ephraim. The Lord expects us, since we are the custodians of his gospel as restored in these latter days, according to my understanding, to extend the hand of friendship to Judah, because after all we are all descendants of the prophets Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and we come under the promises that through their descendants should all the nations of the earth be blessed.

"I do not know how the enmity and the envy between Ephraim and Judah can disappear except that we of the house of Ephraim, who have the custody of the gospel, should lead out in trying to bring to this branch of the house of Israel the blessings of the restored gospel ...

"And it seems to me that the only way that the tribe of Judah can be sanctified to dwell in his presence forever and ever will be when we bring to them the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior promised them it would be brought in the latter days." (In Conference Report, Oct. 1956, pp. 23-24)

Isaiah 11:15-16. "The Lord Shall Utterly Destroy the Tongue of the Egyptian Sea ... and There Shall Be an Highway"

Isaiah 12. A Millennial Hymn

Isaiah 12:2. "God Is My Salvation ... the Lord Jehovah Is My Strength"

"'Behold El is my salvation,

I shall trust and not be afraid;

For my strength and my song is Yah, Yehovah,

And he has become my salvation.'

"'El' is the singular of Elohim. It seldom occurs in the Bible in singular. In the English Bible both singular and plural are rendered by the word 'God.' 'Yah' is a contracted form of Jehovah or Yehovah, which in the Bible is usually rendered in English as 'LORD.' In the King James Version here, to avoid LORD LORD, they have rendered it as LORD JEHOVAH. This is one of the few times the name is written out fully as Jehovah in the King James translation. [See also: Exodus 6:3; Ps. 83:18; Isa. 26:4.] The short form Yah occurs in Hebrew also in Exodus 15:2 and Psalms 118:14." (Ellis T. Rasmussen, An Introduction to the Old Testament and Its Teachings, 2:46)

Isaiah 12:4-6. What will all people do in the Millennium?

Isaiah 12:6. Who will dwell among them?

Isaiah 13. Babylon Is a Term Used by the Lord to Typify Wickedness in the Latter-day World

Though at the time Babylon was only a province in the mighty Assyrian Empire, Isaiah accurately foresaw that Babylon and not Assyria would bring judgments upon the kingdom of Judah. He prophesied that Babylon would eventually come into a judgment of its own. At the same time Isaiah used Babylon as a symbol of the world and its wickedness. So when Isaiah speaks of Babylon he refers to both the empire of that name and spiritual Babylon.

God issued a call for His forces to gather together to overthrow Babylon. In this case, these forces were the Medes (see Isaiah 13:17). The call was answered about 130 years later when an alliance of Medes and Persians under Cyrus the Great dammed the Euphrates River and marched through the riverbed and under the walls of Babylon to capture the city and overthrow the empire. The significance of the incident is more clearly indicated by considering the imagery of the term Babylon in a spiritual sense. The call is for the "sanctified ones" (Isaiah 13:3), the Saints of the latter days, to gather together and join with God in overthrowing wickedness (Babylon) from the world.

In this chapter of Isaiah one can see an excellent example of the Jewish dualism so frequently found in Isaiah and in other Old Testament writings.

Isaiah 13. Notable Changes in the Text of Isaiah Nephi quoted Isaiah 13 in its entirety (see 2 Nephi 23), but it is somewhat different from the King James text. The most significant differences are found in verses 3, 8, and 22. Compare the two versions carefully to see what has been lost from the King James Version.

Isaiah 13:1. What Was the Burden of Babylon? Since Babylon is a scriptural symbol for the peoples and governments that oppose the kingdom of God, the "burden" of Babylon refers to the weighty judgments that inevitably await it. Indeed, the threshing floors of Babylon will be fanned and its chaff burned. (See Jeremiah 51:1-2; Matthew 3:12.)

Isaiah 13:2, 4-5. What Were the Banner, the Mountain, and the Multitude? In a beautiful metaphor Isaiah 13 refers to the gospel standard or ensign being lifted up in the last days as a "banner" (v. 2) to which the world may gather (compare Isaiah 5:26; 62:10; 2 Nephi 15:26).

The "multitude" is "a great people" (Isaiah 13:4) who come together, mustered by the Lord of Hosts, ready to do battle (compare 2 Nephi 23:3-5). These multitudes are the Saints who will be gathered from every nation in the last days and enlisted in the army of the living God to wage war against wickedness. (Compare D&C 10:64-67; 29:7-11; 45:66-71; 76:28-29; 84:2; 103:22-25; Matthew 24:30-31.)

Isaiah 13:9, 11. What was the destruction of Babylon a type of? (See also Isaiah 13:13c)

Isaiah 13:9-10. Many Prophets Have Spoken of the Signs in the Heavens

Isaiah 13:6, 9, 13. What will that day be like?

Isaiah 13:11-12. What Was Implied by a Man Being More Precious Than Gold?

Isaiah 13:13. What Was Meant by the Heavens Being Shaken and the Earth Being Removed?

The prophecy also has a literal fulfillment in the latter days. All things are to be restored. The heavens will flee as the earth is brought back to a condition it once enjoyed. The earth will then receive its paradisiacal glory. Its paradisiacal glory is not to be confused with the celestial state that is the eventual destiny of this sphere; it is, rather, the millennial condition wherein all life will enjoy continual peace. (See Joseph Fielding Smith, The Signs of the Times, pp. 34-38)

Isaiah 13:14-18. What Was Meant by the Medes Destroying Babylon?

Isaiah 13:19. What will fall forever?

Isaiah 13:19-22. Was Babylon's Curse to Extinction?

Spiritual Babylon shall likewise become a waste and desolation when God comes upon the world in judgment and ushers in the millennial reign of Christ. (See Revelation 18.)

Isaiah 14:1-3, 7. What will happen to Israel?

Isaiah 14:2. What Was the Relationship of Israel to the People Spoken of Here?

Isaiah 14:4-21. Isaiah Sang a Song for Babylon

Isaiah 14:12-15. Who Was "Lucifer, Son of the Morning"?

Isaiah again used dualism. Chapters 13 and 14 describe the downfall of Babylon, both of Babylon as an empire and of Babylon as the symbol of the world (see D&C 133:14). Thus, most scholars think "Lucifer, son of the morning" is the king of Babylon, probably Nebuchadnezzar. In the symbolic use of Babylon, (Babylon as spiritual wickedness and the kingdom of Satan), Lucifer is Satan. This interpretation is confirmed in latter-day revelation (see D&C 76:26-8). Satan and Babylon's prince (both represented by Lucifer in this passage) aspire to take kingly glory to themselves, but in fact will be thrust into hell where there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Compare Isaiah 13:13-14 with Moses 4:1-4, where Lucifer's conditions for saving all men are given. What adds to the power of the imagery is the fact that the word congregation (v. 13) is translated by Keil and Delitzsch as the "assembly of gods" (Commentary, 7:1:312).

In still another example of Isaiah's beautiful dualism, even the kings of the world lie in their tombs (house) in respect (see vv. 18-19), but Babylon's king was to be cast aside and trodden under foot. This reward was literally visited upon the city of the Chaldees, and though Nebuchadnezzar was certainly buried in great splendor, there is no grave found for him today in the ruins of Babylon. Think for a moment of Satan's "grave." Never having received a body, he shall never have a tomb or monument of any kind, though he was king and ruler of the great world-wide and history-wide empire of spiritual Babylon. No wonder the kings of the earth, who, though wicked in mortality, could still inherit the telestial kingdom, would marvel at his demise.

Isaiah 14:13-14. Why was Lucifer cast out of heaven? (See also Isaiah 14:12c)

Isaiah 14:22-23. What will Israel triumph over?

Isaiah 14:24-27. Assyria Was Like Babylon

Isaiah 14:28-32. The Burden of Philistia

The King James Version used the Latin form and called it "Palestina," but what is meant is the Philistines, not Palestine, as the terms are used today.

The Assyrian emperor Tiglath-pileser captured the Philistines about the time of the death of Ahaz, king of Judah, who had made an alliance with him. In spite of the hatred of the Philistines and their persecution of Israel, the Lord's people were established in the land. In like manner will Zion be established while all her enemies (Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, and so on) will be powerless to make it otherwise, but they will fall.

Isaiah 15-16. The Lord's Judgment against Moab

Isaiah 15:1. What would happen to Moab?

Isaiah 15:2-3. What Did Baldness Have to Do with the Lord's Judgment against Moab?

Isaiah 15:5. What Was Meant by Moab Being a Heifer of Three Years Old?

Isaiah 15:8-9. Moab's Destruction Was Universal

In the Hebrew text, the word translated "lion" is actually a single lion. Isaiah revealed that the relationship of Judah and Moab would change, for the "lion," Judah, would come upon the remnant of Moab that was spared and make them her vassal.

Isaiah 15:25. What would the people of Moab do?

Isaiah 16:5. What will the Messiah do when he sits upon David's throne?

Isaiah 16:6-11. Calamity of Mourning Would Visit Moab Throughout

Although Moab was Israel's bitter enemy, Isaiah still wept over the great tragedy of her sin and resulting destruction.

Isaiah 16:12-14. Moab's Days Are Numbered

Isaiah 17. Power and Might, As the World Knows It, Are Destined for Destruction

Isaiah 17:10. Why was Isreal scattered?

Isaiah 17:12-14. Who will be destroyed?

Isaiah 18. Isaiah Saw the Gospel Taken to the Nations from America

President Smith went on to say that the vessels are vessels of speed; that the nation scattered and peeled refers to the land of Israel, which was denuded of its forests; that the ensign refers to the restoration of the gospel that is published as a standard before the nations; that the missionaries are going to gather Israel who were scattered; and that only the Latter-day Saints can fully understand this chapter because it deals with the great work of gathering, in which they are engaged (see Signs of the Times, pp. 51-55).

Isaiah 18:3. What will the Lord raise up to the world?

Isaiah 18:7. What Gift Will the Saints Present to the Lord?

The Jerusalem Bible renders the phrase in Isaiah 18, "a people terrible from their beginning," as "the nation always feared"; and it renders the phrase "whose land the rivers have spoiled" as "the country criss-crossed with rivers." These passages seem to refer to America, where the Restoration was to take place.

Isaiah 19:3. What Was a Wizard That Dealt with Familiar Spirits?

"There are no witches, of course, in the sense of old hags flying on broomsticks through October skies; such mythology is a modernistic spoofing of a little understood practice that prevailed in all the apostate kingdoms of the past and which even now is found among many peoples." (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 840.)

Isaiah 19:8-9. What Was the Significance of Fishing, Fine Flax, and Weaving?

Isaiah 19:11-25. Was This Burden More Than a Judgment against Egypt?

Isaiah used a phrase to signal to the reader the parts of his vision that pertained to the last days. "In that day," in verses 16, 18, 19, 23, and 24, suggests future fulfillment. (For other uses of this phrase and its meaning see Isaiah 2-4, 11)

Elder Bruce R. McConkie used a quotation that shows why Isaiah may have used such neighbors as Egypt, Moab, and Babylon to describe the wicked of latter days. Speaking of the world, he said: "'Babylon marks its idolatry, Egypt its tyranny, Sodom its desperate corruption, Jerusalem its pretensions to sanctity on the ground of spiritual privileges, whilst all the while it is the murderer of Christ in the person of his members.' ([Robert Jamieson and others, Commentary on the Whole Bible,] p. 577.)" (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:510)

Isaiah 19:11-25. What Are Some Possible Fulfillments of This Prophecy?

Isaiah 19:22. What will the lord do to Egypt?

Isaiah 19:23-25. Who will be blessed with Israel?

Isaiah 19:23-25. What Might Be Some Spiritual Fulfillments of the Prophecy?

Isaiah 20:1. Who Was Tartan? Tartan was the cupbearer, the most trusted servant of Sargon (see the Jerusalem Bible). Tartan probably became the chief captain of Sennacherib at the siege of Jerusalem (see 2 Kings 18:17; Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 7:1:370).

Isaiah 20:2. What Was Meant by Isaiah Walking "Naked and Barefoot"?

Isaiah 20:4. What will Assyria do to Egypt?

Isaiah 21:1-2. What Was the "Desert of the Sea"?

Spiritually or symbolically, John described Babylon as sitting upon many waters. He then explained that the waters represent the nations and peoples of the earth. (See Revelation 17:1, 15.) If Isaiah used the same concept, then the sea would represent Babylon's dominion and the desert, the coming loss of those dominions.

Isaiah 21:3-10. Why Was Isaiah Made So Sorrowful by His Vision?

The destruction of Babylon was not a pleasant thing to behold. But some commentators believe that here again Isaiah saw another destruction, the destruction of the Babylon of the world before the advent of the Lord Jesus Christ in the last days. Although necessary, this destruction would be a great tragedy.

The description of the many asses and camels and horsemen seems to refer to the physical trappings of the Persian Army. The animals provided useful carriage for food and implements of war but were also effectively used by the Persians "to throw the enemy into confusion" (Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 7:1:381).

Isaiah 21:9. What is fallen?

Isaiah 21:10. What Did the Reference to Threshing Mean?

Isaiah 21:11-17. What Significance Was Attached to the Mention of the Arabians and Edomites?

As Isaiah used the destruction of every major sister nation to Israel as a type of the judgment that is to be administered to the wicked and their organizations in the last day, so he here, almost parenthetically, prophesied the destruction of even the minor nations of the east. Dumah is located in the northern heart of the Arabian Desert; Dedanim identifies the residents of Dedan, which is southeast of the gulf of Aqaba along the coast of the Red Sea; and Kedar is the region eastward from Mount Hermon that includes the area called Bashan.

Isaiah 22:1-2, 5-9. What will happen to Jerusalem?

Isaiah 22:1-7. What Was Meant by the "Valley of Vision"?

Isaiah 22:3. What will happen to her people?

Isaiah 22:8. What Was the House of the Forest?

Isaiah 22:12-13. A Call to Sorrow and Mourning

Isaiah 22:15-25. Types of Christ

"Eliakim signifies The resurrection of the Lord; or, My God, he shall arise." Thus, even the name typified Christ, "for the hope of salvation and eternal life comes only through Eliakim, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." (Adam Clarke, The Holy Bible ... with a Commentary and Critical Notes, 4:107.)

When the patriarch Israel gave his son Judah his blessings, he said, among other things: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be" (Genesis 49:10). Thereafter, the ruling power in Israel was enjoyed by Judah and was particularly evident in the reign of King David. The key of the house of David, the right to rule, was a symbol for the real right to rule, which is only enjoyed through the holy priesthood of God. This power was focused upon and centered in the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom was given power to "shut" and to "open" with no one who could override that power. John and Isaiah both clearly show that the key of David, or the government, was to be upon the shoulders of the Savior of the world (see Isaiah 9:6; Revelation 3:7).

The "nail in a sure place" (Isaiah 22:23) is messianic and symbolizes the terrible reality of the cross, though only a part of the total suffering of the Lord that caused Him to "tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit" (D&C 19:18). Just as the nail of the cross that was driven in the sure place secured the body of the one being crucified, so the Savior Himself is, to all who will, a nail in a sure place, for He has given them power so that none need be lost (see John 17:12). As Christ brings the redeemed to the Father, the glory becomes His own, and the redeemed and their offspring will become part of the family of heaven under the throne of Christ (see D&C 19:2; Matthew 28:18; 1 Corinthians 15:27-28; Philippians 2:5-11; 3:21).

Isaiah 22:20-24. List three the Messiah will do. (See also Isaiah 22:22a)

Isaiah 23. The Lord's Hard Line against Tyre

Isaiah 23:1. What will happen to Tyre?

Isaiah 23:1. Where Were Tarshish and the Land of Chittim?

Isaiah 23:2-3. Zidon, a City-State

Isaiah 23:14-18. Why Was Tyre Called a Harlot?

Isaiah 24:1-6. Of What Period or People Was the Lord Speaking?

Isaiah 24:2. "As with the People, So with the Priest"

"The term priest is here used to denote all religious leaders of any faith. Isaiah said: 'The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.' (Isa. 24:5) From among the discordant voices we are shocked at those of many priests who encourage the defilement of men and wink at the eroding trends and who deny the omniscience of God. Certainly these men should be holding firm, yet some yield to popular clamor.

"I give some quotes from the press:

"'Many churchmen are reluctant to give a definite yes or no to marijuana.' 'It depends upon circumstances.' (Time, August 16, 1968)

"They have developed 'situation ethics,' which seem to cover all sins.

"Other religious leaders are saying: '... precise rules of Christian conduct should not necessarily apply to problems of sexuality.' (London --British Council of Churches)

"In contrast hear the strong voice of a prophet. Peter prophesied:

"'But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them ...

"'And many shall follow their pernicious ways ...' (2 Pet. 2:1-2)." (In Conference Report, Apr. 1971, p. 9)

Isaiah 24:5. What will men do?

Isaiah 24:5. Why Was Changing the Ordinances So Serious?

Isaiah 24:6, 20, 23. List three things that will happen at the Second Coming.

Isaiah 24:6-12. The Result of Apostasy

Isaiah 24:19-23. Great Physical Changes Will Attend the Second Coming of the Lord

Isaiah 24:23. Where will the Lord reign when he comes?

Isaiah 25:1-11. The Second Coming Will Be a Time of Great Rejoicing for the Righteous

The Second Coming will be a time of great rejoicing that follows "much tribulation" (D&C 58:3-4). A great "feast of fat things" (Isaiah 25:6) will also attend the Lord's return, meaning that men will feast upon the fruits of the gospel until they are full (compare D&C 58:8). The Lord's coming will help to dispel "the vail that is spread over all nations" (Isaiah 25:7). This veil may be the "dark veil of unbelief" (Alma 19:6; see also Ether 4:15) which characterizes those of the latter days who reject the gospel. Or, it could be a more literal "veil of darkness," such as that described in Moses 7:61 when the heavens shall be darkened and "shall shake, and also the earth." But great joy will also follow, for the time will come when "the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces" (Isaiah 25:8). This figure is used twice in the book of Revelation (Revelation 7:17; 21:4) and obviously represents a millennial condition.

Isaiah 25:6. What will the Lord prepare in Mount Zion?

Isaiah 25:9. What will be said of the Lord?

Isaiah 26. "In the Way of Thy Judgments, O Lord, Have We Waited for Thee"

C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch said of the song of Isaiah: "The prophet, whom we already know as a psalmist from [Isaiah 12], now acts as choral leader of the church of the future, and praises Jehovah for having destroyed the mighty imperial city, and proved Himself a defence and shield against its tyranny towards His oppressed church" (Commentary on the Old Testament, 7:1:436-37).

Isaiah 26:3-4. In whom are we to trust?

Isaiah 26:19. What will Jehovah do?

Isaiah 26:19. Who will rise in the resurrection?

Isaiah 27:1-6. What Are the Meanings of Leviathan, Dragon, and Serpent?

Isaiah 27:6, 12-13. What will Israel do?

Isaiah 27:7-13. What Did Isaiah See in Store for Jerusalem?

The allegory of Zenos in Jacob 5 contains similar imagery and may be studied profitably in connection with this chapter.

Isaiah 28:1-8. "Woe to the Crown of Pride, to the Drunkards of Ephraim"

Isaiah 28:5a. What day is referred to in verse 5? (See Isaiah 28:5a)

Isaiah 28:14-15. In What Way Had Judah "Made a Covenant with Death, and with Hell"?

Of course, the phrase may have a spiritual meaning as well. Israel made a covenant with death because that is what "the wages of sin" are -- death (Romans 6:23).

For other references to the overflowing scourge in modern times, see Doctrine and Covenants 29:17-19; 45:31; 84:96-97; 97:22-26; 105:15.

Isaiah 28:16. Who is promised as "a sure foundation"? (V. 16)

Isaiah 28:16. What Is the Tried and "Precious Corner Stone"?

Jacob referred to this figure when he said that "by the stumbling of the Jews they will reject the stone upon which they might build and have safe foundation" (Jacob 4:15).

Paul also used the same imagery when he said the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ was Apostles and prophets, with Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone (see Ephesians 2:19-20).

Isaiah 28:17-22. What Was Meant by "Righteousness to the Plummet" and a "Bed ... Shorter Than That a Man Can Stretch Himself" Upon?

"Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet" alludes to the building trades and continues the imagery. Christ is the cornerstone from which all other stones are laid. When something plummets, it drops straight down. A builder uses a plumb bob to find a straight vertical line. The plumb bob is a weight attached to a cord that, when extended, hangs perpendicular to its beginning point. Thus the builder knows he has a straight line. With righteousness and justice as His measuring tools, the Savior starts with the chief cornerstone (Himself) and lays out a perfect and firmly built house, one which can resist any storm that would sweep away a house reared through other means, especially one reared through the "covenant with death" (Isaiah 28:18).

The imagery of the bed and the inadequate covers is more easily understood than the imagery of the plummet. Obviously, if we are not covered by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, we will find ourself like a man in a bed too short for him with a blanket that is too small to cover him. No matter how appealing sin may look at first, it can never satisfy our inner needs. The sinful person will be ever like the man in a short bed with inadequate covers. He will twist and turn and constantly seek comfort, but he cannot find it. The Atonement of Christ for sin covers, or is efficacious for, only those who trust in God with all their hearts and keep His holy commandments.

Isaiah 28:23-29. What Was the Significance of the Parable of Sowing and Threshing?

"The ploughing ... which opens the soil, i.e. turns it up in furrows, and the harrowing ... which breaks the clods, take place to prepare for the sowing, and therefore not interminably, but only so long as is necessary to prepare the soil to receive the seed. When the seedfurrows have been drawn in the levelled surface of the ground ... , then the sowing and planting begin; and this also takes place in various ways, according to the different kinds of fruit ... The wheat he sows carefully in rows ..., i.e., he does not scatter it about carelessly, like the other two, but lays the grains carefully in the furrows, because otherwise when they sprang up they would get massed together, and choke one another ... the barley is sown in a piece of the field specially marked off for it, or specially furnished with signs ...; and ..., the spelt [rye] ..., along the edge of it, so that spelt forms the rim of the barley field. It is by a divine instinct that the husbandman acts in this manner; for God, who established agriculture at the creation ..., has also given men understanding ...

"... (For) [v. 27] introduces another proof that the husbandman is instructed by God, from what he still further does. He does not use the threshing machine ... which would entirely destroy the more tender kinds of fruit, but knocks them out with a staff ... Is bread corn crushed? Oh no, he does not crush it. This would be the case if he were to cause the wheel ... of the threshing cart with the horses harnessed in front to rattle over it with all their might ... The wise, divinely inspired course adopted by the husbandman in the treatment of the field and fruit, is a type of the wise course adopted by the divine Teacher Himself in the treatment of His nation. Israel is Jehovah's field. The punishments and chastisements of Jehovah are the ploughshare and harrow, with which He forcibly breaks up, turns over, and furrows this field. But this does not last for ever. When the field has been thus loosened, smoothed, and rendered fertile once more, the painful process of ploughing is followed by a beneficent sowing and planting in a multi-form and wisely ordered fulness of grace. Again, Israel is Jehovah's child of the threshing-floor [see Isaiah 21:10]. He threshes it; but He does not thresh it only: He also knocks; and when He threshes, He does not continue threshing for ever, i.e., as Caspari has well explained it, He does not punish all the members of the nation with the same severity; and those whom He punishes with greater severity than others He does not punish incessantly, but as soon as His end is attained, and the husks of sin are separated from those that have been punished, the punishment ceases, and only the worst in the nation, who are nothing but husks, and the husks on the nation itself, are swept away by the punishments' [compare Isaiah 1:25; 29:20-21]. This is the solemn lesson and affectionate consolation hidden behind the veil of the parable. Jehovah punishes, but it is in order that He may be able to bless. He sifts, but He does not destroy. He does not thresh His own people, but He knocks them; and even when He threshes, they may console themselves in the face of the approaching period of judgment, that they are never crushed or injured." (Commentary, 7:2:14-17)

Isaiah 29:1-4. What Does the Phrase "It Shall Be unto Me As Ariel" Mean?

"If you will read [Isaiah 29:1-2] thoughtfully, you will know that [Isaiah] not only saw the destruction of Jerusalem, but he saw the destruction of another great center like unto Jerusalem. Then he adds:

"'And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.' [Isaiah 29:4]

"Nobody in this world could explain that intelligently or know what people Isaiah saw like unto Jerusalem without the Book of Mormon. Here is the explanation in the Book of Mormon. 'After my seed and the seed of my brethren shall have dwindled in unbelief, and shall have been smitten by the Gentiles; yea, after the Lord God shall have camped against them round about, and shall have laid siege against them with a mount, and raised forts against them; and after they shall have been brought down low in the dust, even that they are not, yet the words of the righteous shall be written, and the prayers of the faithful shall be heard, and all those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten.

"'For those who shall be destroyed shall speak unto them out of the ground, and their speech shall be low out of the dust, and their voice shall be as one that hath a familiar spirit; for the Lord God will give unto him power that he may whisper concerning them, even as it were out of the ground, and their speech shall whisper out of the dust.

"'For thus saith the Lord God: They shall write the things which shall be done among them, and they shall be written and sealed up in a book, and those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not have them, for they seek to destroy the things of God.' (2 Nephi 26:15-17)

"How could Joseph Smith have known these things when the Book of Mormon was published even before this Church was organized, except for the fact that the Book of Mormon is the promised record that God said he would bring forth and join to the record of Judah. How could anyone understand this prophecy of Isaiah without the explanation contained in the Book of Mormon." (In Conference Report, Apr. 1963, p. 118) The Book of Mormon is truly the voice of a people brought low, speaking from the dust, for the book was in fact taken from the ground, just as Isaiah prophesied.

Isaiah 29:4. Who will speak as a voice from the dust? (See also Isaiah 29:1a)

Isaiah 29:10-14. List three things that are foretold.

Isaiah 29:18-19. What Do the Allusions to the Deaf and Blind Mean?

Isaiah 29:24. To Whom Does the Phrase "They Also That Erred in Spirit Shall Come to Understanding" Refer?

"Oh, how my heart has been pained within me when I have seen the blindness of the Christian world, and I knew that many of them were sincere! I knew they desired to know the truth, but they scarcely knew whether to turn to the right or to the left, so great were the errors that were taught in their midst, and so strong the traditions which they had imbibed, the fear of the Lord being taught them by the precepts of men instead of by inspiration and the power of the Holy Ghost. 'They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding' when this book comes forth, and 'they that murmur shall learn doctrine.'

"... But those who have read this book will bear me record that their minds have been forever set at rest in regard to doctrine, so far as the ordinances of the kingdom of God are concerned. Those who erred, and did not know whether sprinkling, pouring or immersion was the true method of baptism, now know? Why? Because the Book of Mormon reveals the mode as it was given to the ancient Nephites on this continent. So in regard to every other principle of the doctrine of Christ -- it is set forth in such great plainness that it is impossible for any two persons to form different ideas in relation to it, after reading the Book of Mormon." (In Journal of Discourses, 15:188-89)

Isaiah 30. "Woe to the Rebellious Children"

But God will be gracious to Israel. Although He feeds them for a time with "the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction" (v. 20), yet in the last days their teachers shall once again teach the true gospel and show them how to walk in it (see v. 21). Not only will prophets return, but great temporal blessings will be restored. The earth "shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures" (v. 23). In the end the Lord will redeem Israel. Even "the Assyrians" who carried away the ten tribes into captivity shall eventually "be beaten down" (v. 31).

The theme of Isaiah 30 is that men trust in the wisdom of other men instead of looking to God for counsel (see vv. 1-2) or to His prophets for instruction (see vv. 9-11). The Lord stated that this rejection of God's word is the direct cause of their destruction (see vv. 12-14).

Monte S. Nyman wrote: "The warning in verses 1 through 7 is here extended to our day by the Lord's commanding Isaiah to record it as a witness for the latter days (verse 8); a marginal note in the KJV identifies the 'latter day'" ("Great Are the Words of Isaiah," p. 121).

Isaiah 30:10-11. What happened to Israel? Why?

Isaiah 30:23-26, 29. What will happen to Israel?

Isaiah 30:27-28, 30. When and why will the Lord come?

Isaiah 31. Trust in the Lord Instead of in the "Arm of Flesh"

Isaiah 31:1. Why was Israel reproved?

Isaiah 31:4-5. What will the Lord do when he comes?

Isaiah 32. Israel Will Be a Desolation until the Messiah Begins the Preparation for His Return

"Did you see it, Isaiah, as well as the people that live in our day? Did you see a people go into the desert and offer up thanksgiving and the voice of melody? Did you see that desert and wilderness redeemed from its sterile condition and become like the garden of Eden? 'O yes,' says Isaiah, 'I saw it all, and I left it on record for the benefit of the generation that should live some two or three thousand years after my day.' But Isaiah, are we to understand that the people are to be gathered together in that desert, and that the gathered people are to be instrumental in the hands of God, in redeeming that desert? Yes, Isaiah has told us all this. We will go back to what we read in his thirty-second chapter -- 'Until the spirit be poured out upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.' What fruitful field? Why, the wilderness that will be converted into a fruitful field. 'The work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness, and assurance forever; and my people shall dwell in peaceable habitations, and in sure dwellings and in quiet resting places.'

"Was that the way we dwelt in Missouri or Illinois? Did we live in quietness and with assurance continually in those States? Oh, no, we were tossed about; as Isaiah says -- 'tossed to and fro and not comforted.' That was the case with Zion while down in the States, and that was in accordance with a modern revelation, in which, speaking of Zion, the Lord says -- 'You shall be persecuted from city to city and from synagogue to synagogue, and but few shall stand to receive their inheritance' [D&C 63:31]. But when the time should come for Zion to go up into the wilderness things would be changed; then my people shall dwell in peaceable habitations, in sure dwelling places, and in quietness and assurance.

"Will they have any capital city when they get up into the mountain desert? O, yes. Isaiah says here -- 'When it shall hail, coming down on the forest, the city shall be low in a low place.' How often have I thought of this since we laid out this great city, twenty-eight years ago! How often have this people reflected in their meditations upon the fulfillment of this prophecy! they have seen, on this eastern range of mountains and on the range of mountains to the west of this valley, snow and storms pelting down with great fury, as though winter in all its rigor and ferocity had overtaken the mountain territory, and at the same time, here, 'low in a low place,' was a city, organized at the very base of these mountains, enjoying all the blessings of a spring temperature, the blessings of a temperature not sufficient to cut off our vegetation. What a contrast! 'When it shall hail, coming down on the forest, the city shall be low in a low place.' That could not be Jerusalem, no such contrast in the land of Palestine round about Jerusalem! It had reference to the latter-day Zion, the Zion of the mountains." (In Journal of Discourses, 18:148-49)

Isaiah 32:1. What will the Messiah do when he comes?

Isaiah 32:13-20. How long will the land of Israel be a wilderness?

Isaiah 33:1, 11, 14. What will precede the Second Coming?

Isaiah 33:10-14. What will come with the Lord?

Isaiah 33:14-15. "Who ... Shall Dwell with Everlasting Burnings?"

Elder Bruce R. McConkie discussed Isaiah's question of "who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" (v. 14):

"That is, who in the Church shall gain an inheritance in the celestial kingdom? Who will go where God and Christ and holy beings are? Who will overcome the world, work the works of righteousness, and enduring in faith and devotion to the end hear the blessed benediction, 'Come, and inherit the kingdom of my Father.'

"Isaiah answers: [Isaiah 33:15-16.]" (In Conference Report, Oct. 1973, p. 55)

"Now if I may, I shall take these words of Isaiah, spoken by the power of the Holy Ghost in the first instance, and give some indication as to how they apply to us and our circumstances.

"First, 'He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly.' That is, building on the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must keep the commandments. We must speak the truth, and work the works of righteousness. We shall be judged by our thoughts, our words and our deeds.

"Second, '... he that despiseth the gain of oppressions.' That is, we must act with equity and justice toward our fellowmen. It is the Lord himself who said that he, at the day of his coming, will be a swift witness against those that oppress the hireling in his wages.

"Third, '... he that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes.' That is, we must reject every effort to buy influence, and instead deal fairly and impartially with our fellowmen. God is no respecter of persons. He esteemeth all flesh alike; and those only who keep his commandments find special favor with him. Salvation is free; it cannot be purchased with money; and those only are saved who abide the law upon which its receipt is predicated. Bribery is of the world.

"Fourth, he '... that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil.' That is, we must not center our attention on evil and wickedness. We must cease to find fault and look for good in government and in the world. We must take an affirmative, wholesome approach to all things." (In Conference Report, Oct. 1973, pp. 55-56)

Isaiah 33:20, 24. Who will be perfected?

Isaiah 33:20-24. What Is Known of Zion's Future?

Elder Bruce R. McConkie said of the word stakes:

"In prophetic imagery, Zion is pictured as a great tent upheld by cords fastened securely to stakes. Thus Isaiah, envisioning the latter-day glory of Israel, gathered to her restored Zion, proclaimed: 'Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left ... For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.' (Isa. 54:2-7) And of the millennial Zion, Isaiah exulted: 'Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.' (Isa. 33:20)

"In keeping with this symbolism, the great areas of church population and strength, which sustain and uphold the restored Zion, are called stakes. They are the rallying points and the gathering centers for the remnants of scattered Israel. (D&C 68:25-26; 82:13-14; 101:17-21; 115:6, 18; 124:134; 133:9)" (Mormon Doctrine, p. 764)

Isaiah 33:22. What will the Lord be?

Isaiah 34:1-2, 8. What will happen at the Second Coming?

Isaiah 34:1-10. What Does the Term Idumea Mean and Why Is It Used?

President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote: "Now, some Bible commentators, because of the name of Idumea, a little country east of the Jordan, is mentioned, have an idea that this had reference to that little country; but the term Idumea is one that the Lord uses to mean the world. You will find it so recorded in Section 1 of the Doctrine and Covenants. He is speaking of the world." (The Signs of the Times, p. 150)

Blood is a biblical symbol of wickedness. The whole earth, stained with blood, will experience a "great slaughter" at the time of the Second Coming, for "it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion" (Isaiah 34:6, 8).

President Joseph Fielding Smith again: "That is to take place in the dispensation of the Fulness of Times, and this prophecy had nothing to do with that little country called Idumea but to the nations of the earth" (Signs of the Times, p. 151).

Isaiah seems to parallel passages in Ezekiel, Joel, and Jeremiah where the great battle of Armageddon is foretold. This parallelism explains the reference to the "armies" (Isaiah 34:2) and the vast slaughter that will take place (see vv. 3, 5-7). The "pitch" and "brimstone" and "smoke" of verses 9 and 10 suggest the results of nuclear warfare, which could logically accompany the last great wars.

Isaiah 34:2. What will be upon all nations?

Isaiah 34:5. Upon whom will the Lord's sword fall?

Isaiah 34:16-17. What Is the "Book of the Lord"?

Isaiah 35:1-4, 8-10. List four things that will happen in the day of restoration.

Isaiah 35:1-7. "The Desert Shall Rejoice, and Blossom as the Rose"

After quoting Isaiah 35:3-4, Elder Orson Pratt reasoned:

"That has never been fulfilled; but preparatory to the time when God will come with vengeance to sweep away wickedness from the face of the earth, the house of Israel will be gathered back to their own lands, and the people of God will be permitted to dwell in the wilderness, and that wilderness will become a fruitful field. It is even said that the desert should rejoice because of those who are gathered, and should blossom as the rose.

"Now that is something that has been fulfilled during the last quarter of a century, here in this wilderness, barren, desert country. The great latter-day work has commenced, the kingdom of God has been reorganized on the earth; in other words, the Christian Church in all its purity and with all its ordinances, has been reorganized upon the face of the earth, and the time has at length come when the Spirit of God has been poured out from on high. Until that period arrived, there was no hope for Israel, no hope for the land of Palestine, no hope for the redemption of the tribes scattered in the four quarters of the earth; but when the wilderness should become as a fruitful field, when the spirit should again be poured out from on high, through the everlasting Gospel of the Son of God, then the people should be gathered together by the commandment of the Lord ... Then we may look out for a change upon the face of the land where this gathering takes place; we may look for the deserts to become like the garden of Eden, to blossom as the rose that blossoms in rich and fertile gardens, to blossom abundantly, and the desert to rejoice with joy and singing ...

"The Prophet says that, when Jesus comes with vengeance and destroys the wicked, redeems the desert, and causes the wilderness to become a fruitful field, then the lame man shall leap as a hart, the tongue of the dumb shall speak, the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert, and the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water." (In Journal of Discourses, 18:145-46)

Isaiah 35:8-10. Who Are the "Ransomed of the Lord" and What Does the Future Hold for Them?

Isaiah 36:1, 18-20. What did the Assyrians do?

Isaiah 37:1-5, 14-20. What two things did Hezekiah do?

Isaiah 37:6-7, 31-34. List three things that Isaiah prophesies.

Isaiah 37:36. Who slayed the Assyrians?

Isaiah 37:38. Who slayed Sennacherib?

Isaiah 38:7-8. What sign was Hezekiah given that his life would be lengthened fifteen years?

Isaiah 38:19-20. What did Hezekiah do?

Isaiah 39:1-2. What did Hezekiah reveal to the Babylonians?

Isaiah 39:5-7. What did Isaiah prophesy would happen?

Isaiah 40-47. Isaiah Changed His Style of Writing to Prophetic Poetry

Isaiah 40:1-3. Why Did Isaiah Say Jerusalem's Warfare Was Over?

Isaiah 40:3. "The Voice of Him That Crieth in the Wilderness"

Only with the Second Coming of the Lord will Jerusalem find forgiveness and peace. Therefore, the reference to the voice in the wilderness (John the Baptist) making a straight way in the desert applies to his ministry as a forerunner for both the former and the latter days. Luke quoted Isaiah 40:3-5 (see Luke 3:4-6) -- not only verse 3 but also verses 4 and 5, which are clearly millennial in application. When Joseph Smith revised Luke's passage, he added five verses that also apply to the Second Coming and clearly identify the Savior as Him for whom the forerunner would prepare the way.

Since the five verses the Prophet Joseph added were put in the middle of Luke's quotation of Isaiah, it can be assumed they were part of Isaiah's original text. They are therefore cited here (they were inserted between verses 3 and 4 of Luke).

"For behold, and lo, he shall come, as it is written in the book of the prophets, to take away the sins of the world, and to bring salvation unto the heathen nations, to gather together those who are lost, who are of the sheepfold of Israel;

"Yea, even the dispersed and afflicted; and also to prepare the way, and make possible the preaching of the gospel unto the Gentiles;

"And to be a light unto all who sit in darkness, unto the uttermost parts of the earth; to bring to pass the resurrection from the dead, and to ascend up on high, to dwell on the right hand of the Father,

"Until the fulness of time, and the law and the testimony shall be sealed, and the keys of the kingdom shall be delivered up again unto the Father;

"To administer justice unto all; to come down in judgment upon all, and to convince all the ungodly of their ungodly deeds, which they have committed; and all this in the day that he shall come." (JST, Luke 3:5-9)

Clearly John the Baptist fulfilled this prophecy twice. But there was to be yet another fulfillment of the prophecy.

Another forerunner who prepared for Christ's coming was the Prophet Joseph Smith. President Joseph Fielding Smith observed that "Malachi [as does Isaiah] speaks of the Lord sending his messenger to prepare the way before him, and while that does have reference to the coming of John the Baptist, it is one of those prophecies in the scriptures that has a double fulfilment. It has reference also to the coming of the Prophet Joseph Smith, because that messenger which was to come and prepare the way before him, was to come in this day. I am going to take just a moment for that because it is important, and I will show you when this messenger was to deliver his message ...

"The Lord declared, through one of his prophets, that before his second coming a messenger should be sent to prepare the way and make it straight. You may apply this to John if you will, and it is true. John, the messenger who came to prepare the way before the Lord in the former dispensation, also came in this dispensation as a messenger to Joseph Smith; so it applies, if you wish to apply it so, to John who came as a messenger to prepare the way before the Lord.

"But I go farther and maintain that Joseph Smith was the messenger whom the Lord sent to prepare the way before him. He came, and under direction of holy messengers laid the foundation for the kingdom of God and of this marvelous work and a wonder that the world might be prepared for the coming of the Lord." (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:193-95)

Isaiah 40:3-4. What was to be prepared?

Isaiah 40:4. Earthquakes Will Change the Face of the Land

Isaiah 40:6-8. What Does "All Flesh Is Grass" Mean?

Isaiah 40:9. Who Was Called "Zion" in the High Mountain?

Isaiah 40:10-11. Work Preparatory to His Coming

"I sincerely believe that these days are bringing us closer and closer to God ...

"May we become the pure in heart and see God," which is the happy lot of those who are "wise and have received the truth, and have taken the holy Spirit for their guide," for they are the ones who shall not be deceived and shall "abide the day." (In Conference Report, Apr. 1933, p. 121)

Isaiah 40:12-31. What Is the Significance of "Measured" Waters and "Comprehended" Dust?

The other verses emphasize through the impressive use of contrasts the greatness of God and the nothingness of mortal nations and the gods they worship.

Isaiah 40:13-18, 25-26. How great is Israel's God?

Isaiah 40:28. Isaiah Identified One of the Names of God

Isaiah 40:31. What Did Isaiah See as the Reward of Those Who "Wait upon the Lord"?

The greater promise reserved for those who have been true and faithful in keeping the commandments by waiting upon the Lord is found in their being able to "run and not be weary" and to "walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31; compare D&C 89:18-21)

Since everyone who runs far enough experiences some weariness, and anyone who walks long enough feels at least somewhat faint, it is evident that these promises apply also to the things of the Spirit, for the Lord "fainteth not, neither is weary" (Isaiah 40:28).

While there are those who "run" without being sent (see Jeremiah 23:21), the Lord's servants are commissioned to run His errand. One called by the Lord to serve is engaged in a contest in which "the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong" (Ecclesiastes 9:11); but the reward is to those who "endure to the end" (Matthew 24:13; Mark 13:13). To have the strength to run the race of life without becoming weary is a valuable promise; to be able to journey with safety and not faint or fall away from the truth is a great blessing. What consolation and encouragement it is to those who wait upon the Lord to be able to serve mightily and not weary of it, to walk with certainty and not fall away.

Isaiah 41-44. A Key to Understanding

Isaiah 41:1, 5. What Are the "Isles" Seen by Isaiah?

Isaiah 41:2. Who Is the Righteous Man from the East?

Of this "angel," Elder Bruce R. McConkie said: "Who has restored all things? Was it one man? Certainly not. Many angelic ministrants have been sent from the courts of glory to confer keys and powers, to commit their dispensations and glories again to men on earth. At least the following have come: Moroni, John the Baptist, Peter, James and John, Moses, Elijah, Elias, Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael. (D&C 13; 110; 128:19-21) Since it is apparent that no one messenger has carried the whole burden of the restoration, but rather that each has come with a specific endowment from on high, it becomes clear that Elias is a composite personage. The expression must be understood to be a name and a title for those whose mission it was to commit keys and powers to men in this final dispensation. (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, pp. 170-174)" (Mormon Doctrine, p. 221)

Thus the "man from the east" seems to mean angels of the Restoration, who are grouped together under the composite title of Elias.

Isaiah 41:8-9. What did the Lord say to Israel?

Isaiah 41:21-29. The Wisdom of the Wicked Is Futil

Isaiah 41:23-24. What are idols?

Isaiah 42:1-4. Who Is the Servant?

The imagery of the bruised reed and smoking flax (see v. 3) means that even though He comes in judgment, it is not to destroy souls but to save them. The phrase "smoking flax" was translated by C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch as a "glimmering wick." They explained its use as follows: "In the statement that in such a case as this He does not completely break or extinguish, there is more implied than is really expressed. Not only will He not destroy the life that is dying out, but He will actually save it; His course is not to destroy, but to save." (Commentary on the Old Testament, 7:2:176)

The phrase "he shall bring forth judgment unto truth" that immediately follows the reference to the reed and the flax was interpreted by Keil and Delitzsch "as denoting such a knowledge, and acknowledgment of the true facts in the complicated affairs of men, as will promote both equity and kindness" (Commentary, 7:2:176).

Isaiah 42:5-16. Who Is the Light That Opens the Eyes of the Blind?

The Prophet Joseph Smith was speaking of the crucified Christ when he said: "Here then we have an account of our Savior preaching to the spirits in prison, to spirits that had been imprisoned from the days of Noah; and what did He preach to them? That they were to stay there? Certainly not! Let His own declaration testify. [Luke 4:18; Isaiah 42:7] It is very evident from this that He not only went to preach to them, but to deliver, or bring them out of the prison house ... Thus we find that God will deal with all the human family equally, and that as the antediluvians [those who lived before the Flood] had their day of visitation, so will those characters referred to by Isaiah, have their time of visitation and deliverance, after having been many days in prison." (History of the Church, 4:596-97)

Everything centers in the Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the light of the world and "of the gentiles" (Isaiah 42:6). His hand is extended to strengthen, support, and protect covenant Israel; but that is not all. Every covenant person becomes a light to the world by holding up the light of the Savior through faithfully living His commandments (see 3 Nephi 18:24; see also Acts 26:17-18).

Isaiah 42:3-7. List three things the Lord will do. (See also Isaiah 42:7c)

Isaiah 42:9-16. The Restoration of the Gospel in the Latter Days Foretold

Isaiah 42:10. What Is the "New Song"?

Isaiah 43-47. The Lord Will Save Israel and Destroy Babylon

Chapter 45 reveals how and by whom the Lord will redeem Judah, a remnant of Israel. Chapter 46 deplores idols and states that the idol gods themselves are in captivity. Chapter 47 reveals the dramatic final destruction of temporal and spiritual Babylon.

Isaiah 43:1-7. A Shadow and a Type for One

Isaiah 43:3, 5-6, 11-13. List four things the lord said to Israel.

Isaiah 43:4-10. The Gathering of Israel Is a Universal Event

Isaiah 43:14-17. For Her Own Good, Israel Was Delivered into Bondage

Isaiah 44:1-2. What Was Meant by the Term Jesurun?

Isaiah 44:3. What will be poured out upon the seed of Israel?

Isaiah 44:5-20. "Is There Not a Lie in My Right Hand?"

Isaiah 44:21-28; 45:1-14. The Lord Prophesied of Cyrus, King of Persia

"Numerous commentators deny that Isaiah could foresee Cyrus so clearly as to be able to call him by name. They commonly claim, therefore, that this part of Isaiah was written by someone during the Exile and after Cyrus had given Israel help ... -- in other words, after the event. Nevertheless, it is of great interest to find that the Jewish historian Josephus accepted Isaiah's words and even quotes letters from Cyrus confirming the prophet's predictions. Part of the account of Josephus is quoted herewith:

"'... he (God) stirred up the mind of Cyrus, and made him write this throughout all Asia: --

"'"Thus saith Cyrus the king. -- Since God Almighty hath appointed me to be king of the habitable earth, I believe that he is that God which the nation of the Israelites worship; for indeed he foretold my name by the prophets, and that I should build him a house at Jerusalem, in the country of Judæa."

"'This was known to Cyrus by his reading the book which Isaiah left behind him of prophecies; for this prophet said that God had spoken thus to him in a secret vision: --

"'"My will is, that Cyrus, whom I have appointed to be king over many and great nations, send back my people to their own land, and build my temple." "'This was foretold by Isaiah one hundred and forty years before the temple was demolished. Accordingly, when Cyrus read this, and admired the divine power, an earnest desire and ambition seized upon him to fulfill what was so written; so he called for the most eminent Jews that were in Babylon, and said to them, that he gave them leave to go back to their own country, and to rebuild their city Jerusalem, and the temple of God, for that he would be their assistant and that he would write to the rulers and governors that were in the neighborhood of their country of Judæa, that they should contribute to them gold and silver for the building of the temple, and, besides that, beasts for their sacrifices.' (Antiq. XI, 1, 2)" (Sidney B. Sperry, The Voice of Israel's Prophets, pp. 107-8)

Isaiah 44:22-23, 26-28. List two things the Lord will do.

Isaiah 45:1-4. How Could Cyrus, a Persian King, Be Called the Lord's "Anointed"?

Isaiah 45:3. Did Cyrus Gain Riches from Conquering Babylon?

Isaiah 45:7. Does the Lord Create Evil?

"I form the light, and create darkness"

"I make peace, and create evil"

Since the opposite of peace is sorrow or trouble, the translation from the New American Catholic Bible makes better sense: "I form the light, and create the darkness, I make well-being and create woe." The idea is that the Lord is the author of peace, but that He also sends judgments upon the wicked who are ripe in iniquity. Therefore, even when the wicked are punished by the wicked (see Mormon 4:5), it is under the direction of the Lord.

Isaiah 45:8. How Do the Heavens "Drop Down" and the Skies "Pour Down Righteousness"?

This latter-day event illustrates that the day truly cannot say to its maker, "What makest thou?" (v. 9). The many men who conspired against Joseph Smith were not reviling merely a man but were reviling their own maker, whose servant that man was.

Isaiah 45:12. What Is the Lord's and What Is Man's Own?

Elder Spencer W. Kimball asked some pointed questions concerning this subject:

"'Do you feel generous when you pay your tithes? Boastful when the amount is large? Has the child been generous to his parents when he washes the car, makes his bed? Are you liberal when you pay your rent, or pay off notes at banks? You are not generous, liberal, but merely honest when you pay your tithes.' [Isaiah 45:12.]

"Perhaps your attitudes are the product of your misconceptions.

"Would you steal a dollar from your friend? A tire from your neighbor's car? Would you borrow a widow's insurance money with no intent to pay? Do you rob banks? You are shocked at such suggestions. Then, would you rob your God, your Lord, who has made such generous arrangements with you?

"Do you have a right to appropriate the funds of your employer with which to pay your debts, to buy a car, to clothe your family, to feed your children, to build your home?

"Would you take from your neighbor's funds to send your children to college, or on a mission? Would you help relatives or friends with funds not your own? Some people get their standards mixed, their ideals out of line ... Would you supply gifts to the poor with someone else's money? The Lord's money?" (In Conference Report, Apr. 1968, p. 77)

Honestly answering these questions may reveal to modern Saints how dangerously close they are to walking the same foolish path chosen by ancient Israel.

Isaiah 45:13. What will Cyrus do?

Isaiah 45:15-25. The God of Israel Is the Lord, the Savior Jesus Christ

In this chapter the identity of the God of the Old Testament is clearly revealed. Consider the witnesses here given:

1. He is the Messiah, the Savior of the world (see v. 15).

2. He shall save Israel with an everlasting salvation (see v. 17).

3. He is the Creator (see v. 18).

4. He is just and is mighty to save (see v. 21).

5. There is no other name given by which we may be saved (see vv. 21-22).

6. His words are truth and righteousness (see v. 23).

7. Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ (see v. 23; compare Romans 14:11; see also Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:20).

8. He is the Mediator for all the seed of Israel (see v. 24).

Isaiah 45:23. What will every tongue do? (See also Isaiah 45:23b)

Isaiah 45:23. What Does It Mean to Say "Every Knee Shall Bow, Every Tongue Swear"?

"I want to call attention to something that is stated frequently in the scriptures, and I think very often misunderstood, and that is the statement that, 'every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess.' [Isaiah 45:23; Romans 14:10-11; Philippians 2:9-11] I wonder how many of us have an idea that if a knee bows and a tongue confesses, that is a sign of forgiveness of sin and freedom from sin, and that the candidate is prepared for exaltation? If you do, you make a mistake. It does not mean that at all.

"The time will come when 'every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess,' and yet the vast majority of mankind will go into the telestial kingdom eternally. Let me read these verses: 'The time shall come when all shall see the salvation of the Lord; when every nation, kindred, tongue, and people shall see eye to eye and shall confess before God that his judgments are just.' [Mosiah 16:1-4.]

"It is a wonderful thing when men reach the stage when they will be willing to confess that the judgments against them are just, and they will bow the knee and will understand 'eye to eye.'" (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:30)

Isaiah's intent was to assure all the world, both the wicked and the righteous, that Jesus Christ is the God of Israel and that one day all will be constrained to recognize that fact, whether or not they are or have been His disciples.

Isaiah 46. Idols Are Idols, but Christ Is God

Isaiah 46:1-5. What are not to be compared to the Lord?

Isaiah 46:9, 13. Who will save Israel?

Isaiah 46:11. What Was the "Ravenous Bird from the East"?

Isaiah 47. Spiritual Babylon Is the Perverted Counterfeit of Jehovah

Isaiah 47:10-11. What will happen to Babylon and Chaldea? Why?

Isaiah 48:1-8. Judah's Apostasy

He is truly God, for no mute idol could possibly duplicate such a feat.

Isaiah 48:1-11. "Hear Ye This, O House of Jacob"

Isaiah 48:6. What did the Lord reveal to Israel?

Isaiah 48:10. Who have been chosen?

Isaiah 49. Israel Scattered on the Isles of the Sea

Isaiah 49:1-3. "Thou Art My Servant, O Israel, in Whom I Will Be Glorified"

But ancient Israel did not spread the word of God as they might have done. Commissioned by the Lord and placed under covenant to bless all nations with the gospel and its priesthood power (see Abraham 2:11), most of Israel refused even to live the teachings of the Lord. Isaiah 49:2-3 may refer, therefore, to latter-day Israel. Nyman's explanation of why this may be so is important:

"The Lord's hiding Israel in 'the shadow of his hand' is clarified in the Doctrine and Covenants, where the Lord declares that the priesthood holders of this last dispensation are 'lawful heirs, according to the flesh, and have been hid from the world with Christ in God' (D&C 86:8-9). This description of priesthood bearers as 'lawful heirs according to the flesh' is a reference to the covenant which the Lord made with Abraham that all nations of the earth would be blessed through the literal seed of his body, who would bear the ministry and the priesthood (see Abraham 2:9-11). The Doctrine and Covenants also identifies latter-day Israel as the 'seed of Abraham' (D&C 103:17). The world did not know where scattered Israel was, but the Lord knew and had concealed them in his protective hand.

"The 'polished shaft' hidden in the Lord's quiver may be a direct reference to Joseph Smith. As the 'choice seer' of the latter day, he was to be the Lord's servant in a special sense (see 2 Nephi 3:6; 3 Nephi 21:10). The Prophet Joseph's description of himself is interesting in this light:

"'I am like a huge, rough stone rolling down from a high mountain; and the only polishing I get is when some corner gets rubbed off by coming in contact with something else, striking with accelerated force against religious bigotry, priestcraft, lawyer-craft, doctor-craft, lying editors, suborned judges and jurors, and the authority of perjured executives, backed by mobs, blasphemers, licentious and corrupt men and women -- all hell knocking off a corner here and a corner there. Thus I will become a smooth and polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty, who will give me dominion over all and every one of them, when their refuge of lies shall fail, and their hiding place shall be destroyed, while these smooth-polished stones with which I come in contact become marred.' (TPJS, p. 304)

"The arrow shaft is polished that it might fly truer and faster, and the shaft that is polished is generally reserved for one's most important shot. The last dispensation, when all things are gathered in one, is the Lord's most important 'shot,' so he saved his 'polished shaft' for this latter-day work. Joseph was called to give this generation the word of God, which recalls also the sharp sword analogy mentioned in verse 2." (Great Are the Words of Isaiah, pp. 176-77)

Isaiah 49:4-12. Did the Lord Forget Israel, His Chosen People?

Nephi interpreted the foregoing verses in 1 Nephi 22. His brothers had asked if Isaiah's words were to be interpreted spiritually or temporally, and Nephi replied that they were to be interpreted both ways (see 1 Nephi 22:1-3). He then described Israel's scattering and gathering by the Gentiles. First Nephi 22:8-12 gives a very clear interpretation of Isaiah 49.

Isaiah 49:5-6. How will Israel be gathered in the last days?

Isaiah 49:9. What will happen to the prisoners?

Isaiah 49:18-21. Israel's Latter-day Gathering Shall Be Rapid and Sustained

So many people will come, both to Zion and the Old Jerusalem, that they will complain that the land is "too strait [narrow] for me: give place to me that I may dwell" (Isaiah 49:20). This overcrowding has occurred wherever the modern gathering has taken place. The Church has a difficult time keeping up with needs for chapels and leadership because of its many converts. Modern Israel has received so many ingatherers that the land is literally "too narrow by reason of the inhabitants" (v. 19). Thus the reaction voiced in verse 21 is quite real: "Who hath begotten me these ...; where had they been?" In other words, where in the world did all these people (Israelites) come from?

Isaiah 49:22-23. Who will help them?

Isaiah 49:22-26. How Will the Gentiles Be Nursing Fathers and Mothers to Israel?

Following the end of World War I, Great Britain was given the mandate over Palestine and began to facilitate the ingathering of the Jews scattered throughout the earth. Other gentile nations, such as the United States, also rallied to assist. President Joseph Fielding Smith spoke of the role Great Britain played in the establishment of the nation of Israel:

"From the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus until the year 1917, Jerusalem was trodden down of the Gentiles. After General Allenby, at the head of the British forces, captured Palestine, that country became free from the tyranny and oppression of the Turkish empire, and after peace was declared, England sent to Palestine Dr. Herbert Samuel, a Jew, to be governor of the land, and that is the first time in all those years that a Jew has ruled in Palestine ...

"We see today a miracle being performed before our eyes. Following the war, which we are pleased to call the first world war, the British Premier issued a proclamation to the Jews telling them they could gather and they could have in Palestine a Jewish Home, or state. They began to gather in great numbers. At the beginning of [the 20th] century things in Palestine were in a deplorable condition. They were using wooden plows, water wheel irrigation; they had infested wells and streams. They carried water in skins as of old. Sanitation was deplorable.

"The British government changed all of this, when they obtained the mandate. You see, the mandate of Palestine was given to Great Britain. That nation and other nations spent millions of pounds in rehabilitating that land. The Sea of Galilee is now a great reservoir, and the flood waters from the various streams are being diverted into it.

"Canals have been built for irrigation, and the Jordan has been changed from its natural channel into channels or into canals on each side of the original stream. These irrigate some seven million acres, which could not be under cultivation otherwise. Hydro-electric stations have been built on these streams." (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:259-60)

In 1947 the United Nations voted to partition Palestine and create a Jewish state in the land for the first time in nearly two thousand years. Thus, the Gentiles participated in the fulfillment of this prophecy, although there may yet be future fulfillment. The "prey" mentioned in Isaiah 49:24 is the house of Israel in her scattered condition. She is "prey" or "captive" because she has been unable throughout the centuries to return to her promised home or to claim her gospel blessings. Until recently many gentile countries would not permit Jewish residents to emigrate, and many still do not permit the gospel to be preached freely in their borders. All of that will change, for "even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered" (v. 25). When Jacob quoted this verse in the Book of Mormon, he added these significant words:

"For the Mighty God shall deliver his covenant people" (2 Nephi 6:17), and thus, "all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob" (v. 18). First the Lord predicts it, then He brings it to pass; only a "mighty one" could perform such a task. Nephi made it very clear that all who seek to thwart the Lord in bringing this great thing to pass shall be destroyed, for "they shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord" (1 Nephi 22:14).

Isaiah 50. "Where Is the Bill of Your Mother's Divorcement?"

Under Mosaic law a man who divorced his wife was required to give her a written bill of divorce. She was then free to marry again (see Deuteronomy 24:1-4). Likewise, under the ancient laws, a man could sell himself or his children into slavery to satisfy his creditors. But the Lord had no creditors; neither had He divorced His "wife," Israel. Instead, Israel had separated herself from the Lord by her sins and was in debt to her evil creditors. "For your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away" (Isaiah 50:1).

But the Lord has power both to redeem Israel from their creditors and to forgive their transgressions against Him. This He assured them He will do. Speaking of the future as if it were already past, He reminded them that He tried to do so once before when He, Jehovah, came to earth as Jesus Christ. This statement is a messianic passage, since Jesus is both Redeemer from sin and Deliverer from evil ways. Yet when He appeared on earth, there was no man ready to receive Him; when He called upon men to repent, there was none to answer (see v. 2). He gave His "back to the smiters" (He was scourged) and hid not His face "from shame and spitting" (v. 6; compare Matthew 26:67; 27:26). But in spite of such rejection and treatment, He still did not divorce Israel or sell her as a slave. The covenant was still in effect, and Israel would be restored to the status of a free and faithful wife of Jehovah.

The foregoing imagery may also refer to scattered Israel, for Israel, too, has been smitten and spat upon and scourged through the centuries. Still, Israel is represented as saying that "the Lord will help me; ... I know I shall not be ashamed" (Isaiah 50:7). Israel's confidence and trust in God appears unbounded. "He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me?" (v. 8). The "he" in this verse is clearly "the Lord" in a parallel verse in 2 Nephi 7:8. "Behold, the Lord God will help me; who is he that shall condemn me?" (Isaiah 50:9). Israel then asks a question, as if they have learned something by their past experiences. "Who is among you ... that walketh in darkness, and hath no light?" (v. 10). People trust in themselves; they do not trust in God. Instead, they "walk in the light of [their own] fire, and in the sparks that [they themselves] have kindled" (v. 11). They who refuse God's revelations and put their trust in their own reason "shall lie down in sorrow" (v. 11).

Isaiah 50:4-7. Who will have the tongue of the learned and not be confounded?

Isaiah 51:1-3. What Is Meant By the "Hole ... Whence Ye Are Digged"?

Isaiah 51:3, 11. What will the Lord do in the last days?

Isaiah 51:4. What Law Will Proceed from God?

Isaiah 51:4-16. Who Is Speaking in These Verses?