Isaiah 48 or 1 Nephi 20
By
Jeffrey Bushman Aug. 2017
Chapter 20
I
have again used Ludow’s commentary!
The following verse is Nephi’s
introduction to these two Isaiah chapters
1
Nephi 19:24 Wherefore I spake unto them, saying: Hear ye the words of
the prophet, 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. Nephi has told them to
listen and later in verse 1 of 48 Isaiah tells Israel to listen to the Lord.
The
Lord reveals His purposes to Israel—Israel has been chosen in the furnace of
affliction and is to go forth from Babylon—Compare Isaiah 48.
About 588–570 B.C.
Verses
1-2 are Isaiah’s prologue
1 aHearken and hear this, O house of Jacob,
who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of
Judah, or out of the waters of bbaptism, who cswear by the name of the Lord, and make
mention of the God of Israel, yet they swear dnot in truth nor in righteousness. This means that the house
of Jacob or actual descendants of Jacob, the first birth, and then those who
are Israel through covenant, the second birth or baptism, are the Lords people,
hence the terms baptism. These people
claim they’re God’s covenant people but they don’t keep their covenants. Joseph Smith seems to have inserted the words
“out of the waters of baptism” in the 1840 edition, since he was the
translater, according to Hugh Nibley
2 Nevertheless, they call themselves
of the aholy city, but they do bnot stay
(IE pretend to rely upon) themselves upon the God of Israel, who is the
Lord of Hosts; yea, the Lord of Hosts is his name. They are members in name
only, not following the Lord’s instructions. Seems to be the time of early Judah,
or Jerusalem, but can relate to many members of the church today.
Verses 3 -8a Is a historical
prologue
3 Behold, I have declared the aformer things from the beginning; and they
went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them. I did show them suddenly. Anciently
I declared the future, I did it quickly
and it came to pass, so that you know I knew before they happened.
4 And I did it because I knew that
thou (Israel) art obstinate, and thy aneck is an iron sinew, and thy brow
brass; I did
it because of your wickedness, because your neck won’t bend showing your pride
in refusing to submit to my counsel, and your head is so thick you don’t
understand what I am trying to do.
5 And I have even from the beginning
declared to thee; before it came to pass I ashowed them thee; and I showed them for
fear lest thou shouldst say—Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and
my molten image hath commanded them. . I
revealed many things beforehand so you couldn’t claim it came to pass by your
false gods.
6 Thou hast seen and heard all this;
and will ye anot declare them? And
that I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou
didst not know them. You have seen and heard all this, yet would
you admit it? I will now show you new
things that you have never heard before.
Hidden things or “well guarded secrets”, which you have not before
known.
7 They are created now, and not from
the beginning, even before the day when thou heardest them not they were
declared unto thee, lest thou shouldst say—Behold I knew them. I am
now telling you new things, so you won’t say I already knew them because I am just
now revealing them, that had not be recorded earlier!
8 Yea, and thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea,
from that time thine ear was not opened; for I knew that thou wouldst deal very
treacherously, and wast called a atransgressor from the
womb. . New Jewish Version: You had never heard,
you had never known, your ears were not opened of old.
Isaiah might have been delivering new prophecies that were available but the
Israelites did not understand, or had ears that cannot hear or eyes that see
but cannot see what the Lord is doing.
Verses 8b-13a Stipulations of the
Covenant 8b “starts for I knew”
9 Nevertheless, for my aname’s sake will I defer mine anger, and
for my praise will I refrain from thee, that I cut thee not off. You
won’t be totally destroyed, because of covenants made to earlier Israelites who
were righteous, that Israel would not be totally destroyed, but the Lord would
seek after them in the future ages. That
is why I am being patient with you now.
10 For, behold, I have refined thee,
I have chosen thee in the furnace of aaffliction. . You will become a good
people but only as you are refined through suffering and afflictions. The BofM verse has removed the phrase “but
not as silver after I have refined you.” It now is easier to understand.
11 For mine own sake, yea, for mine
own sake will I do this, for I will not suffer my aname to be polluted, and I will bnot give my glory unto another. . I will yet call Israel my
covenant people, meaning the covenant line that my gospel will always come
through. I will choose no other group.
Israel will always be where my authority is housed if I have given it to the
inhabitants of the earth. Not suffer my name to be polluted. We take his name upon us when baptized we
need to keep our commandments.
12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and
Israel my called, for I am he; I am the afirst, and I am also the last. Jacob by birth and
Israel by covenant, Listen to me, I am Jesus
Christ, I am the beginning and the end.
13 Mine hand hath also alaid the foundation of the earth, and my
right hand hath spanned the heavens. I bcall unto them and they stand up
together. He created the earth by
his hand, but the heavens by his right hand or the hand of power and authority,
showing it is a symbol of righteousness and a covenant hand. It is still used
today to show a covenant relationship from heaven or from the Lord.
Verses 13b-15 Perpetuation of the
Covenant starts “I call unto them”
14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and
hear; who among them hath declared these things unto them? The Lord hath loved
him; yea, and he will afulfil his word which he hath declared by
them; and he will do his pleasure (IE Cyrus will do
his desire, or wish see Is 44:28-45:1) on bBabylon, and his arm shall come upon the Chaldeans. The Lord loves his
servants and will fulfill all that they have prophesied in his name, for he has
power over the world, they cannot stop his work. The he in this and the next verse may be
Jesus who is Heavenly Fathers servant.
15 Also, saith the Lord; I the Lord,
yea, I have spoken; yea, I have called ahim to declare, I have brought him, and
he shall make his way prosperous. Here
the Lord may be the servant as he is doing the will of Heavenly Father, and not
his own will. All that he testifies will
come to pass or prosperous. The Lord is
still speaking today, or declaring.
Verse 16 Witness of the Covanant
16 Come ye near unto me; I have not
spoken in asecret; from the beginning, from the time
that it was declared have I spoken; and the Lord God, and his bSpirit, hath sent me. Christ testifying of his
relationship with the Father. He has
been with the Father doing his work from the beginning, and is still
involved. The last part may be Isaiah
adding his testimony to that of the Savior’s.
Verses 17-22 Blessings and Curses
17 And thus saith the Lord, thy aRedeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I have
sent him, the Lord thy God who teacheth thee to profit, who bleadeth thee by the way thou shouldst go,
hath done it. . Jesus may still be
talking in third person about himself. The
Lord has given the gospel to his covenant people to bless them.
The following verses seem
to be the blessing they could enjoy through righteous living or they will
receive the punishment for broken laws instead of blessings (D&C 130:18-19)
18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my
acommandments—then had
thy bpeace been as a river, and thy
righteousness as the waves of the sea. . If you were good you
would enjoy peace and power. I can’t force my blessing upon you. You have to choose by your actions.
19 Thy aseed also had been as the sand; the
offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been
cut off nor destroyed from before me. You
would have enjoyed eternal families in the presence of the Lord, and not have
the names of wicked members cut off before the face of the Lord.
20 aGo ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from
the bChaldeans, with a voice of singing declare
ye, tell this, utter to the end of the earth; say ye: The Lord hath redeemed
his cservant Jacob. Leave the world behind,
but share the joy the Lord has given you of Israel, to those who live around
you. Every member a missionary.
21 And they athirsted not; he led them through the
deserts; he caused the waters to flow out of the brock for them; he clave the rock also
and the waters gushed out. The
Lord has provided all the needs of the righteous, including living water.
22 And notwithstanding he hath done
all this, and greater also, there is no apeace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked. . It is sad that the wicked
refuse these blessings.
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