Comfort Ye My People

On Christ and Covenants: An LDS Reading of Isaiah’s Prophetic Call

David E. Bokovoy

Studies in the Bible and Antiquity 3 (2011)

Bokovoy compares Isaiah’s prophetic call and heavenly vision to Lehi’s in 1 Nephi 1. Through this comparison he suggests that the deity in Isaiah’s heavenly vision is God the Father, while the angel that purifies Isaiah’s lips is an allusion to Jesus Christ.

Jesus Is Jehovah (YHWH): A Study in the Gospels

Roger R. Keller

Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior (2002)

Keller examines the identification of Jesus as Jehovah (YHWH) in the Gospel of John, particularly focusing on Jesus as the light and its Old Testament connections.

The Exiles Return (Ezra)

Church Educational System

Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi, (1981) (2003)

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah were originally part of a compilation that included 1 and 2 Chronicles. Ezra 1:1–3 and 2 Chronicles 36:22–23 are almost identical. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are actually the last two historical books of the Old Testament. The book of Ezra recounts the joys and struggles of the rebuilding of the temple.

The Persian Empire, the Return of the Jews, and the Diaspora

Church Educational System

Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi, (1981) (2003)

A review of the history of Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus, the return of the Jews under Ezra and Nehemiah, and the reconstruction of the temple. “Despite Cyrus’s edict, most of the exiles chose to stay in Babylon because of favorable economic and agricultural conditions. Gradually, in the centuries from 400 B.C. to A.D. 200 and even later, the Jews dispersed themselves to all parts of the known world and set up enduring colonies.”

No Other Gods before Me

S. Michael Wilcox

Ensign 24, no. 1 (Jan. 1994)

There is no other god like our Father. In truly worshipping him, we will strive to be worthy of all that we are and can become.

Chart 96: Isaiah Passages Listed by Book of Mormon Reference

John W. Welch, J. Gregory Welch

Charting the Book of Mormon (1999)

This chart lists Book of Mormon passages that quote or paraphrase the words of Isaiah. The main Nephite prophets who quoted Isaiah were Nephi, Jacob, and Abinadi.

Chart 97: Isaiah Passages Listed by Isaiah Reference

John W. Welch, J. Gregory Welch

Charting the Book of Mormon (1999)

This chart shows where Isaiah is quoted or paraphrased in the Book of Mormon. A companion chart, “Isaiah Passages Listed by Book of Mormon Reference,” shows these quotations, organized in Book of Mormon order.

Isaiah Variants in the Book of Mormon

John A. Tvedtnes

Isaiah and the Prophets: Inspired Voices from the Old Testament

Of the 478 verses in the Book of Mormon quoted from the book of Isaiah, 201 agree with the King James reading while 207 show variations. Some 58 are paraphrased, and 11 others are variants and/or paraphrases. It is to the variants that we will give our attention here.

“I Will Contend with Them That Contendeth with Thee”: The Divine Warrior of Jacob’s Speech in 2 Nephi 6–10

Daniel Belnap

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 17, no. 1 (2008)

Even though the Nephites were broken off from the rest of Israel, Jacob sees hope in the covenantal relationship they have with God, for he is the Divine Warrior.

Chart 96: Isaiah Passages Listed by Book of Mormon Reference

John W. Welch, J. Gregory Welch

Charting the Book of Mormon (1999)

This chart lists Book of Mormon passages that quote or paraphrase the words of Isaiah. The main Nephite prophets who quoted Isaiah were Nephi, Jacob, and Abinadi.

God Will Fulfill His Covenants with the House of Israel

Leland Gentry

The Book of Mormon: Second Nephi, the Doctrinal Structure (1989)

A careful reading of the commentary of Jacob (2 Nephi 6–10) helps to illustrate how useful the Book of Mormon is in interpreting Isaiah.

Isaiah and the Restoration of Israel

Terry B. Ball

A Witness for the Restoration: Essays in Honor or Robert J. Matthews (2012)

The restoration of Israel is foretold throughout Isaiah, including Isaiah 14, which prophesies that the “strangers,” or Gentiles and the house of Israel will together serve the Lord in the promised lands. Isaiah 29 foretells that the marvelous work and wonder of restoration would happen in a day when many are spiritually asleep.

Parable of the Lost Coin (Luke 15:8–10)

S. Kent Brown

The Testimony of Luke, BYU New Testament Commentary, excerpted on the BYU New Testament Commentary website (May. 2019)

Jesus’s story about the lost coin fits within a now-established pattern of emphasizing the rescue, mainly his mission to rescue.

View of the Hebrews: Substitute for Inspiration?

Spencer J. Palmer, William L. Knecht

BYU Studies 5, no. 2 (1964)

Some critics have tried to explain the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon as the result of an idea that Joseph Smith supposedly got from a book written in 1825 called View of the Hebrews. This BYU Studies article from 1964 not only succeeded in putting this dubious notion completely to rest, but it also presents data that still today attests to the importance of certain Isaiah chapters in the Nephite prophetic worldview.