There are five important texts that assist us in understanding Isaiah’s writings: (1) the New Testament, (2) the Book of Mormon, (3) the Doctrine and Covenants, (4) the Joseph Smith Translation, and (5) the Dead Sea Scrolls. Note that three of these texts—the Book of Mormon, the Joseph Smith Translation, and the Doctrine and Covenants—belong to the Restoration of the gospel and were revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith. In this chapter, I will briefly examine each of these important texts.

Figure 13.1. The New Testament is an important source as we seek to understand Isaiah and his message regarding Jesus Christ. (Title page by Thomas Sternhold. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Isaiah in the New Testament

New Testament writers, including Matthew, Luke, John, Peter, and Paul, quoted or paraphrased Isaiah more than they quoted any other prophet.[1] Although these writers had various reasons for citing Isaiah, it seems that their chief aim was to show that many of Isaiah’s prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus Christ, witnessing to their readers that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. On occasion, Jesus Christ himself cited the book of Isaiah and then declared its fulfillment (see Matthew 13:13–15). Table 13.1 provides a representative (not comprehensive) list of citations and paraphrases of Isaiah in the New Testament.

Table 13.1. Citations and Paraphrases of Isaiah in the New Testament

Isaiah in the Book of Mormon

For grand and eternal purposes, Jesus Christ—as well as many of the Book of Mormon prophets—cited or paraphrased portions of Isaiah (see table 13.2).[2] As Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained, “Isaiah’s writings, in an even more perfect form than found in our Bible, were preserved on the brass plates, and from this source the Nephite prophets quoted 414 verses [from Isaiah] and paraphrased at least another 34. (In a half a dozen or so instances duplicate verses are quoted or paraphrased.) In other words, one-third of the book of Isaiah (32 percent, to be exact) is quoted in the Book of Mormon and about another 3 percent is paraphrased. . . . The Book of Mormon is the world’s greatest commentary on the book of Isaiah.”[3]

Direct quotations:

• Isaiah 2–14 in 2 Nephi 12–24
• Isaiah 48–49 in 1 Nephi 20–21
• Isaiah 52:8–10 in 3 Nephi 16:18–20
• Isaiah 54 in 3 Nephi 22:1–17

Quotations or paraphrases:

• Isaiah 9:12–13 in 2 Nephi 28:32
• Isaiah 11:4–9 in 2 Nephi 30:9, 12–15
• Isaiah 11:11 in 2 Nephi 25:17
• Isaiah 11:11 in 2 Nephi 29:1
• Isaiah 28:10, 13 in 2 Nephi 28:30a
• Isaiah 29:3–5 in 2 Nephi 26:15–16, 18
• Isaiah 29:4, 11 in 2 Nephi 27:6–9
• Isaiah 29:6 in 2 Nephi 6:15
• Isaiah 29:6–10 in 2 Nephi 27:2–5
• Isaiah 29:13b, 15 in 2 Nephi 28:9
• Isaiah 29:13–24 in 2 Nephi 27:25–35
• Isaiah 29:14 in 1 Nephi 14:7
• Isaiah 29:14 in 1 Nephi 22:8
• Isaiah 29:14 in 2 Nephi 25:17
• Isaiah 29:14 in 2 Nephi 29:1; cf. 25:11
• Isaiah 29:21 in 2 Nephi 28:16a
• Isaiah 40:3 in 1 Nephi 10:8
• Isaiah 45:18 in 1 Nephi 17:36
• Isaiah 49:22 in 1 Nephi 22:6
• Isaiah 49:22–23 in 1 Nephi 22:8
• Isaiah 49:22–23 in 2 Nephi 6:6b–7, 16–18
• Isaiah 49:24–52:2 in 2 Nephi 6:16–8:25
• Isaiah 52:1 in Moroni 10:31
• Isaiah 52:1–3, 6–7, 11–15 in 3 Nephi 20:36b–46
• Isaiah 52:7 in 1 Nephi 13:47
• Isaiah 52:7 in Mosiah 15:14–18
• Isaiah 52:7–10 in Mosiah 12:21–24
• Isaiah 52:8–10 in Mosiah 15:29–31
• Isaiah 52:8–10 in 3 Nephi 20:32–35
• Isaiah 52:10 in 1 Nephi 22:10–11
• Isaiah 52:12 in 3 Nephi 21:29
• Isaiah 52:15b in 3 Nephi 21:8b
• Isaiah 53 in Mosiah 14:1–12
• Isaiah 53:10 in Mosiah 15:10
• Isaiah 54:2 in Moroni 10:31
• Isaiah 55:1 in 2 Nephi 26:25
• Isaiah 55:1–2 in 2 Nephi 9:50–51

A number of Isaiah verses that are found in the Book of Mormon are slightly different from the King James Version of Isaiah. These differences may indicate actual textual variants (readings of Isaiah’s original text) or paraphrases (where the Nephite speaker or writer alters Isaiah’s words for teaching or explanatory purposes).[4] Sometimes it is difficult to know whether the Nephite speakers or writers are citing, paraphrasing, or commenting on Isaiah. Table 13.2 displays several representative examples of possible textual variants.[5]

Table 13.2. Textual Variants in Book of Mormon Quotations of Isaiah

Note: Emphasis added; bold font signifies insertions in the Book of Mormon text that are not included in the King James Version.

Why Did Jesus and the Book of Mormon Prophets Cite Isaiah?

There are multiple reasons why Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon prophets cited various passages of Isaiah.[6] I have detailed five such reasons below.

Isaiah Testified of Jesus Christ

First and foremost, in my view, the prophets cited Isaiah because he prophesied, in a powerful manner, concerning the coming of Christ and his Atonement. Isaiah, Nephi, and Jacob are all outstanding witnesses of the Messiah and his divine mission. As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland explained, “These three [are] great prophetic witnesses of the premortal Jesus Christ—Nephi, Jacob, and Isaiah. These three doctrinal and visionary voices make clear at the very outset of the Book of Mormon why it is ‘another testament of Jesus Christ.’”[7] We recall that one of the purposes of the Book of Mormon is “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations” (title page of the Book of Mormon).

Isaiah Prophesied of the Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon[8]

In Isaiah 29, Isaiah prophesies concerning the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. Many mortals would be involved: an unlearned man (Joseph Smith), two men (Martin Harris and Charles Anthon), three witnesses (Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris), and other witnesses. Isaiah 29 refers to a “book,” speaking of the gold plates. Isaiah also speaks of a “marvellous work and a wonder” that would come to pass (v. 14). President Russell M. Nelson explains that this “marvelous work . . . include[d] the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the gospel.”[9]

Nephi cited portions of Isaiah 29 and added to our understanding regarding the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. Nephi made it clear that the coming forth of the Book of Mormon would be in the “last days” (2 Nephi 27:1). He also emphasized that the book would be sealed (see 2 Nephi 27:7–8), and that “three witnesses shall behold it [the book], by the power of God . . . and they shall testify to the truth of the book and the things therein” (2 Nephi 27:12). These words are vital to our understanding regarding the coming forth of the Book of Mormon because they refer to the three witnesses who would testify of the book’s truthfulness.

Isaiah Wrote of God’s Promises to the House of Israel

Isaiah is also cited in the Book of Mormon because he wrote so much regarding the house of Israel. As Nephi stated, “Hear ye the words of the prophet [Isaiah], ye who are a remnant of the house of Israel, a branch who have been broken off; hear ye the words of the prophet, which were written unto all the house of Israel, and liken them unto yourselves, that ye may have hope as well as your brethren from whom ye have been broken off; for after this manner has the prophet written” (1 Nephi 19:24; emphasis added).

Jacob, too, expressed, “And now, the words which I shall read are they which Isaiah spake concerning all the house of Israel; wherefore, they may be likened unto you, for ye are of the house of Israel. And there are many things which have been spoken by Isaiah which may be likened unto you, because ye are of the house of Israel” (2 Nephi 6:5; emphasis added; see also 2 Nephi 9:1).

Jesus Christ also spoke concerning Isaiah and the house of Israel: “Ye remember that I spake unto you, and said that when the words of Isaiah should be fulfilled—behold they are written, ye have them before you, therefore search them—And verily, verily, I say unto you, that when they shall be fulfilled then is the fulfilling of the covenant which the Father hath made unto his people, O house of Israel. . . . Then shall this covenant which the Father hath covenanted with his people be fulfilled” (3 Nephi 20:11–12, 46).

And finally, one of the primary purposes of the Book of Mormon “is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever” (title page of the Book of Mormon).

Isaiah Prophesied of God’s Judgments on the Wicked

After citing a large block of Isaiah—Isaiah chapters 2–12 (see 2 Nephi 12–24)—Nephi wrote about God’s judgments, or in other words, God’s divine punishments: “Wherefore, I write unto my people, unto all those that shall receive hereafter these things which I write, that they may know the judgments of God, that they come upon all nations” (2 Nephi 25:3). A careful study of the scriptures reveals that God’s divine punishments are directed against wicked peoples and nations, not against the true followers of God.

Why did Nephi speak about God’s punishments directly after citing Isaiah 2–12? Because many of the topics in these chapters pertain to God’s judgments against the wicked. The following list includes several examples:

• God’s judgments against Jerusalem and Judah (see 3:1–12, cited in 2 Nephi 13:1–12)
• God’s judgments on the daughters of Zion (see 3:13–4:1, cited in 2 Nephi 13:13–14:1)
• God’s judgments against the wicked (see 5:8–25, cited in 2 Nephi 15:8–25)
• God’s judgments against the Northern Kingdom of Israel (see 9:8–10:4, cited in 2 Nephi 19:8–20:4)
• God’s judgments against Assyria (see 10:12–19, cited in 2 Nephi 20:12–19)

It is well-known that on many occasions the Book of Mormon prophets warned the Nephites and others to repent, or else they would suffer God’s divine punishments. Perhaps Isaiah’s writings inspired these prophets to warn the Nephites and others to repent or to suffer God’s punishments.[10]

Topics of Special Significance to Those of Us in the Last Days

Nephite prophets cited topics from Isaiah’s prophecies that are of special interest to all of us who live in the last days. These topics pertain to Jesus Christ and his Atonement, latter-day temples, the gathering of Israel, the Second Coming, the Millennium, and more. Table 13.4 provides a representative (not comprehensive) list of these topics.

Table 13.3. Topics of Special Significance.

Isaiah in the Doctrine and Covenants

Isaiah is quoted or paraphrased more than a hundred times in the Doctrine and Covenants—more than any other Old Testament prophet.[12] Most of these quotations can be identified by searching the footnote references in the text of the Doctrine of Covenants. Additionally, Doctrine and Covenants 113 provides interpretations of Isaiah chapters 11 and 52, presented in the form of questions and answers.[13] See table 13.5 for a selection of examples of Isaiah quotations and (mostly) paraphrases in the Doctrine and Covenants.

Table 13.4. Examples of Isaiah in the Doctrine and Covenants

Note: Emphasis added; bold font signifies similar wording between the King James Version of Isaiah and verses in the Doctrine and Covenants.

The Joseph Smith Translation

The Joseph Smith Translation[14] of the Bible provides several textual variants in the book of Isaiah, as compared to the King James Version. I have included representative examples in Table 13.5 of such variants.

Table 13:5 sets forth several examples of textual variants in Isaiah, between the King James Version and the Joseph Smith Translation.

Note: Emphasis added; bold text signifies textual variants in the Joseph Smith Translation.

There are dozens of variant readings in the Joseph Smith Translation of Isaiah.

The Isaiah Dead Sea Scrolls

The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered between the years 1947 and 1952, are significant finds, signaling one of the most remarkable archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. The scrolls predate by approximately a thousand years the medieval copies of the Masoretic Text (Old Testament, written in Hebrew), which were used by the translators of the King James Version.

The Qumran (Dead Sea Scrolls) Caves, located near the northwestern area of the Dead Sea, yielded twenty-one copies of the book of Isaiah—two from Cave 1, eighteen from Cave 4, and one from Cave 5. These twenty-one copies date from between the years 175 BC and 74 AD. An additional copy of Isaiah (making a total of twenty-two copies) was discovered south of Qumran in a cave at Wadi Murabba‘at (see table 13.6). All twenty-two copies of Isaiah are written in Hebrew. Most of these scrolls are severely damaged and fragmented, owing to long-term exposure to the elements.

Table 13.6. Identifying Information about the Twenty-Two Copies of Isaiah

The scrolls present expanded understandings of the textual history of the Bible; as such, they are important texts for both academic and popular audiences. In recent decades, Bible-translation committees have incorporated a number of these readings into their translations. See table 13.7 for five examples of textual variants between the King James Version of Isaiah and the Dead Sea Scrolls version of Isaiah.

Table 13.7. Five Textual Variants of Isaiah between King James Version and Dead Sea Scrolls

Note: Emphasis added; bold text signifies textual variant found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, translated by the author.

In this chapter, we have briefly examined five important texts that help us to understand Isaiah’s writings. These are (1) the New Testament, (2) the Book of Mormon, (3) the Doctrine and Covenants, (4) the Joseph Smith Translation, and (5) the Dead Sea Scrolls. The first three of these—the New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants—constitute canonized scriptural texts. This is an important fact—scriptural texts from three different geographical locations and three distinct periods of time contain multiple quotations from Isaiah! The fact that Jesus Christ and his prophets have repeatedly cited Isaiah in these three scriptural texts serves to emphasize the importance of Isaiah for each of us. Additionally, all five of these texts provide numerous insights that all help us to better comprehend Isaiah in the twenty-first century.

Notes

[1] For an important discussion of Isaiah in the New Testament, see Ludlow, “Isaiah as Taught,” 149–59.

[2] Gee, “‘Choose the Things that Please Me,’” 67–91.

[3] McConkie, “Keys to Understanding Isaiah,” 81.

[4] For a study of textual variants, see Skousen, “Textual Variants,” 369–390.

[5] For a complete list of variants, see Madsen and Hopkin, Opening Isaiah: A Harmony.

[6] For a study of Isaiah’s text in the Book of Mormon designed for general readers, see Madsen and Hopkin, Opening Isaiah; and Parry and Welch, eds., Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, including the bibliography in each chapter.

[7] Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 33–35. See also Holland, “‘More Fully Persuaded,’” 1–18.

[8] For a study of Isaiah 29 in the Book of Mormon, see Cloward, “Isaiah 29,” 191–247.

[9] Nelson, “Scriptural Witnesses,” 46n26.

[10] For more information about God’s divine punishments, see chapter 14 in this volume, especially the section “Prophecies of Judgment in Isaiah.”

[11] For a study of Abinadi’s use of Isaiah 53, see Nyman, “Abinadi’s Commentary on Isaiah,” 161–86; Welch, “Isaiah 53, Mosiah 14,” 293–312; and Hopkin, “Isaiah 52–53 and Mosiah 13–14,” 139–66.

[12] McConkie, “Keys to Understanding Isaiah,” 81.

[13] Regarding Isaiah’s text and Doctrine and Covenants 113, see Jackson, “Revelations concerning Isaiah,” 326–34.

[14] “Although not the official Bible of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the JST [Joseph Smith Translation] offers many interesting insights and is an invaluable aid to biblical interpretation and understanding. It is a most fruitful source of useful information for the student of the scriptures. It is likewise a witness for the divine calling and ministry of the Prophet Joseph Smith.” Bible Dictionary, “Joseph Smith Translation (JST).”