Line upon Line

The Old Testament

Isaiah

“Great are the words of Isaiah.” Jesus Christ, 3 Ne. 23:1

Isaiah is the most quoted prophet in the Book of Mormon, the New Testament, and the Doctrine and Covenants. The Savior Himself told us to search his words diligently. Isaiah is also famously hard to read. His poetry is dense, his world is 2,700 years away, and he moves between his own day, the Savior’s mortal ministry, and the last days, sometimes within a single verse.

This companion goes through all sixty-six chapters and tries to anticipate the questions a careful reader asks: Who is he talking to? What does that image mean? Why does this matter to me? Where is Christ in this?

Mark chapters as studied to track your progress.

Start here

Isaiah gets much easier once you have a few keys. These short guides are worth reading before (or alongside) the chapters.

How to Read Isaiah Nephi’s keys, Hebrew poetry, prophetic time, and a handful of habits that make Isaiah much easier to understand. Isaiah’s World The kings, empires, and places behind the text. A timeline, a map, and a who’s-who of the nations Isaiah names. Isaiah’s Witness of Christ Isaiah’s names for the Savior, the four Servant Songs, and the prophecies the New Testament and Book of Mormon say He fulfilled. Isaiah and the Restoration How the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Prophet Joseph Smith quote, correct, and explain Isaiah, and the latter-day events Isaiah foresaw. Names, Places & Symbols A quick-reference glossary of the people, places, and images that recur throughout Isaiah.

How each chapter works

1

Get your bearings

Where we are sets the scene: who is speaking, to whom, and what was happening in the world.

2

Follow the thread

The thread through the chapter shows the argument that ties the chapter together, so it doesn’t read like a pile of unrelated images.

3

Read with help

Every section starts in plain words. Tap a highlighted phrase to open a note right under its verse.

4

Come unto Christ

Each chapter ends by seeing Christ in the text and likening it to your own life.

The chapters

Isaiah falls into a handful of large movements. Knowing which one you’re in is half the battle.

Isaiah 1–12

The Holy One and His Vineyard

Judgment and hope for Judah and Jerusalem in Isaiah’s own day. The Lord confronts a rebellious people, calls His prophet in the temple, and promises Immanuel, a child-King, and a stem out of Jesse. Nephi copied most of this section into 2 Ne. 12–24.

  1. 1 The Lord Takes His People to Court A rebellious people, a devastated land, a religion full of ritual and empty of mercy, and a Judge who offers to wash them clean.
  2. 2 The Mountain of the Lord’s House All nations streaming uphill to the temple, and a proud people who must first be brought low.
  3. 3 When the Supports Are Pulled Away Judah’s leaders collapse, the poor are ground down, and Jerusalem’s fashionable elite are stripped of their finery.
  4. 4 The Branch, the Cloud, and the Canopy After the burning comes cleansing, and Zion becomes a sanctuary sheltered by the Lord’s own presence.
  5. 5 The Song of the Vineyard A love song that turns into a verdict, six woes against a self-satisfied people, and a banner raised to the nations.
  6. 6 “Here Am I; Send Me” In the year an earthly king died, Isaiah saw the true King. He was undone, cleansed with a coal from the altar, and sent.
  7. 7 A Sign for a Frightened King: Immanuel Two enemy kings, one terrified ruler, a prophet at the water supply, and a sign that pointed seven centuries ahead.
  8. 8 Gentle Waters or a Flood A child whose name is a countdown, a people who reject quiet waters, and a prophet who binds up his testimony and waits.
  9. 9 Unto Us a Child Is Born A great light breaks on Galilee, a child-King receives four throne names, and a proud kingdom refuses to turn.
  10. 10 The Axe That Boasted Assyria is only a tool in the Lord’s hand, a remnant will return, and the proud forest is felled.
  11. 11 The Stem of Jesse and the Second Gathering A shoot from a stump, a King who judges rightly, a world where the wolf lies down with the lamb, and a banner raised to gather Israel home.
  12. 12 A Song for the Day of Salvation The first part of Isaiah ends with a hymn, the song Israel will sing after the second exodus.
Isaiah 13–23

Burdens upon the Nations

Oracles against Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Damascus, Egypt, Edom, Tyre, and even Jerusalem. The lesson is that every empire answers to Israel’s God. Babylon in particular becomes a type of the proud world in every age.

  1. 13 The Burden of Babylon The Lord musters an army against the proudest city on earth, and the day of the Lord darkens sun, moon, and stars.
  2. 14 How Art Thou Fallen, O Lucifer Israel sings a taunt over the fallen tyrant of Babylon, and behind the king stands the one who first said, “I will be like the most High.”
  3. 15 A Prophet Weeps for His Enemy Moab’s cities fall in a single night, and Israel’s prophet cannot help crying for them.
  4. 16 Shelter the Outcasts Moab is invited to seek refuge in Zion, where a throne will be established in mercy, but pride keeps the door closed.
  5. 17 A Few Olives Left at the Top Damascus and Ephraim, allies against Judah, fall together, but a remnant turns to look at its Maker.
  6. 18 Envoys in Papyrus Boats A distant nation sends messengers to form an alliance, and the Lord answers by quietly watching, then promises that people will bring gifts to Zion.
  7. 19 “Blessed Be Egypt My People” The Lord rides into Egypt on a cloud and dismantles its wisdom, its economy, and its gods, and then He heals it, until Egypt and Assyria worship beside Israel.
  8. 20 The Prophet Who Walked Barefoot For three years Isaiah walked stripped and barefoot as a living warning not to trust Egypt and Cush.
  9. 21 Watchman, What of the Night? A watchman sees Babylon fall, a voice from Edom calls out in the dark, and desert caravans hide from the sword.
  10. 22 The Valley of Vision and the Key of David Jerusalem parties on its rooftops and fortifies its walls but never looks to its Maker, and a proud steward is replaced by a servant who holds the key.
  11. 23 Tyre, Merchant of the Nations The world’s greatest trading city is silenced, and then its profits are turned into “holiness to the LORD.”
Isaiah 24–27

The Earth Made New

Isaiah’s “little apocalypse.” The earth is shaken for broken covenants, then comes a feast for all peoples on the Lord’s mountain, death is swallowed up, and the dead arise.

  1. 24 The Earth Turned Upside Down Because the everlasting covenant is broken, the whole earth reels like a drunkard, until the Lord reigns in Zion so gloriously that the sun is ashamed.
  2. 25 A Feast on the Mountain, and Death Swallowed Up The Lord prepares a banquet for all peoples, removes the veil over the nations, swallows up death, and wipes away every tear.
  3. 26 “Thy Dead Men Shall Live” A song of the strong city, perfect peace for those who trust, and one of the clearest promises of resurrection in the Old Testament.
  4. 27 The Dragon Slain and the Vineyard Restored The Lord defeats Leviathan, sings a new song over His vineyard, and gathers His children one by one at the sound of the great trumpet.
Isaiah 28–35

Woe and Wonder

Woes against leaders who trust Egypt instead of God. Out of that darkness come a sealed book, a “marvellous work and a wonder,” a righteous King, and a desert that blossoms as the rose.

  1. 28 Line upon Line Drunken leaders mock the prophet’s teaching as baby talk, trust a covenant with death, and ignore the tried and precious cornerstone.
  2. 29 A Voice from the Dust, a Sealed Book, a Marvelous Work Jerusalem is brought low, a people speak from the dust, a sealed book is delivered, and the Lord begins a marvelous work and a wonder.
  3. 30 “In Returning and Rest Shall Ye Be Saved” Envoys trek to Egypt with treasure, the people tell prophets to prophesy smooth things, and the Lord waits to be gracious.
  4. 31 Flesh, and Not Spirit Egypt’s horses are only flesh, but the Lord defends Jerusalem like a lion over its prey and like birds hovering over their nest.
  5. 32 A King Who Reigns in Righteousness A righteous King becomes a shelter from the storm, true names are restored to things, and the Spirit is poured out until the desert bears fruit.
  6. 33 Who Shall Dwell with the Devouring Fire? The treacherous destroyer is destroyed, sinners in Zion ask who can live with God’s holiness, and the answer is a portrait of the righteous.
  7. 34 The Day of the Lord’s Vengeance on Idumea The Lord summons the nations to judgment, the heavens roll up like a scroll, and Edom, the world, becomes a wilderness for owls.
  8. 35 The Desert Shall Blossom as the Rose The wilderness bursts into bloom, the blind see and the lame leap, and the ransomed walk a highway of holiness home to Zion with songs.
Isaiah 36–39

Hezekiah’s Crisis

A prose interlude. Assyria besieges Jerusalem, Hezekiah prays, the Lord delivers the city, and envoys from Babylon foreshadow the exile to come. These chapters are the hinge of the book.

  1. 36 “What Confidence Is This?” An Assyrian envoy stands outside Jerusalem’s walls and asks the question the whole book has been asking, whom do you trust?
  2. 37 Hezekiah Spreads the Letter Before the Lord A frightened king goes to the temple, lays the enemy’s letter before the Lord, and prays, and the Lord answers through Isaiah.
  3. 38 Fifteen Years and a Song of Thanks King Hezekiah turns his face to the wall and prays, the Lord adds fifteen years to his life, and the king writes a psalm of gratitude.
  4. 39 Envoys from Babylon Hezekiah shows ambassadors from Babylon everything in his treasury, and Isaiah foretells that all of it, and some of his own descendants, will be carried to Babylon.
Isaiah 40–48

Comfort Ye My People

The voice turns to exiles in Babylon. There is no God like Israel’s God. Idols are exposed as helpless, Cyrus is named as the Lord’s instrument, and Israel is called to be His witness. Isaiah 48 opens the Book of Mormon’s Isaiah quotations in 1 Ne. 20.

  1. 40 Comfort Ye My People A voice in the wilderness announces that Israel’s hard service is over, the Lord is coming, and the Creator who numbers the stars gives strength to the weary.
  2. 41 Fear Not, Thou Worm Jacob The Lord summons the nations and their gods to court, raises up a conqueror from the east, and tells frightened Israel, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee.”
  3. 42 Behold My Servant The first Servant Song introduces a gentle chosen one who brings justice to the nations, while Israel, the Lord’s other servant, remains blind and deaf.
  4. 43 I Have Called Thee by Thy Name The Lord who created and redeemed Israel promises to walk with them through water and fire, calls them His witnesses, and announces a new exodus, while still confronting their sins.
  5. 44 Half for the Fire, Half for a God The Lord pours His Spirit on Israel’s children, mocks the man who cooks dinner and carves a god from the same log, blots out sins like a cloud, and names Cyrus as His shepherd.
  6. 45 To His Anointed, to Cyrus The Lord calls a Persian king His anointed, declares that He alone made light and darkness, and invites all the ends of the earth to look to Him and be saved.
  7. 46 Gods Who Must Be Carried Babylon’s gods are loaded onto pack animals and hauled away, while Israel’s God has carried His people from birth and will carry them to old age.
  8. 47 The Fall of the Lady of Kingdoms Proud Babylon, who said “I am, and none else beside me,” is ordered off her throne into the dust, and her astrologers cannot save her.
  9. 48 Refined in the Furnace of Affliction The Lord confronts a stubborn Israel who wear His name without trusting Him, explains why He told them the future in advance, and sends them singing out of Babylon.
Isaiah 49–55

The Servant Who Redeems

The Servant Songs reach their height in Isaiah 53, the clearest Old Testament prophecy of the Atonement. Zion awakes, puts on her beautiful garments, and enlarges her tent. Everyone who thirsts is invited to come.

  1. 49 Graven on the Palms of His Hands The servant, discouraged by apparent failure, is given a larger mission as a light to the Gentiles, and a grieving Zion learns that the Lord could no more forget her than a mother could forget her nursing child.
  2. 50 The Tongue of the Learned The Lord denies that He has divorced His people, and the servant, who learns by listening morning by morning, gives his back to the smiters and sets his face like a flint.
  3. 51 Isaiah 51
  4. 52 Isaiah 52
  5. 53 Isaiah 53
  6. 54 Isaiah 54
  7. 55 Isaiah 55
Isaiah 56–66

Zion, Arise and Shine

True worship, the true fast, and the Anointed One who binds up the brokenhearted. The Lord returns in red apparel, and in the end comes a new heaven and a new earth.

  1. 56 Isaiah 56
  2. 57 Isaiah 57
  3. 58 Isaiah 58
  4. 59 Isaiah 59
  5. 60 Isaiah 60
  6. 61 Isaiah 61
  7. 62 Isaiah 62
  8. 63 Isaiah 63
  9. 64 Isaiah 64
  10. 65 Isaiah 65
  11. 66 Isaiah 66

Beloved passages

Most-used sources

Every note cites its sources. These are the ones this commentary leans on most.