Isaiah 29 or 2 Nephi 26:15-2 Nephi 27:35
By
Jeffrey Bushman Aug. 2017
Chapter 27
Darkness
and apostasy will cover the earth in the last days—The Book of Mormon will come
forth—Three witnesses will testify of the book—The learned man will say he
cannot read the sealed book—The Lord will do a marvelous work and a
wonder—Compare Isaiah 29.
About 559–545 B.C.
Isaiah will present 5 major themes in the Bible
version.
warning to Ariel
(Zion) v 1-4
Judgments upon
wicked v 5-10
words of a
sealed book v 11-14
A MARVELOUS WORK TO COME V 13-21
BLESSINGS TO ISRAEL V 22-24
Ariel
refers to Jerusalem or altar of God, but more precisely means altar hearth
The
total verses in Isaiah 29 consist of 24, but Nephi’s commentary and quotes of
Isaiah make up 54 verses covering 2 Nephi 26:15 through 2 Nephi 27:35 and if we
use the prophets Joseph Smith’s commentary it will be even longer. Nephi states in 2 Nephi 11:8 And now I write
some of the words of Isaiah, that whoso of my people shall see these words may
lift up their hearts and rejoice for all men.
Now these are the words, and ye may liken them unto you and unto all
men.
Isaiah 29:1 aWoe
to
bAriel,
to Ariel, the city
cwhere
David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.
2 Yet I will distress Ariel, and
there shall be heaviness and
asorrow:
and it shall be unto me as Ariel.
These two verses are not in the Book of Mormon account, which
starts with verse 3 below in verse 15.
2
Nephi 26:15-33
15 After my seed and the seed of
my brethren shall have
adwindled
in unbelief, and shall have been smitten by the Gentiles; yea, after the Lord
God shall have
bcamped
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
cprayers
of the faithful shall be heard, and all those who have
ddwindled
in unbelief shall not be forgotten.
JST Isaiah 29:3 That
I the Lord will camp against her round about, and will lay
siege against her with a mount, and I will raise forts against her.
Isaiah V3
16 For those who shall be
destroyed shall
aspeak
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
JST Isaiah 29:4 And
she shall be brought down, and shall
speak out of the ground, and her speech shall be low out of the dust;
and her voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of
the ground, and her speech shall whisper out of the dust. V4
Verses that are shaded in are Nephi’s
additions to Isaiah’s writtings
17 For thus saith the Lord God: They shall awrite the things which shall be
done among them, and they shall be written and bsealed up in a book, and those
who have dwindled in cunbelief shall not have them, for
they dseek to destroy the things of
God.
18 Wherefore, as those who have
been destroyed have been destroyed speedily; and the multitude of their
aterrible
ones shall be as
bchaff
that passeth away—yea, thus saith the Lord God: It shall be at an instant,
suddenly—
JST Isaiah 29:5 Moreover the multitude
of her strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the
terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away; yea, it shall be at an
instant suddenly. Terrible ones are the wicked V5
19 And it shall come to pass, that those who have
dwindled in unbelief shall be asmitten by the hand of the
Gentiles.
20 And the Gentiles are lifted up in the apride of their eyes, and have bstumbled, because of the greatness
of their cstumbling block, that they have built up
many dchurches; nevertheless, they eput down the power and miracles of
God, and preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and their own flearning, that they may get gain
and ggrind upon the face of the
poor.
22 And there are also secret acombinations, even as in times of old,
according to the combinations of the bdevil, for he is the founder of
all these things; yea, the founder of murder, and cworks of darkness; yea, and he
leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his
strong cords forever.
23 For behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you that
the Lord God worketh not in adarkness.
24 He doeth not aanything save it be for the
benefit of the world; for he bloveth the world, even that he
layeth down his own life that he may draw call men unto him. Wherefore,
he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.
25 Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me?
Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: aCome unto me all ye bends of the earth, cbuy milk and honey, without
money and without price.
26 Behold, hath he commanded any that they should adepart out of the synagogues, or
out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.
27 Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of
his asalvation? Behold I say unto you,
Nay; but he hath bgiven it free for all men; and
he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to crepentance.
28 Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should
not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but aall men are privileged the
one blike unto the other, and none
are forbidden.
29 He commandeth that there shall be no apriestcrafts; for, behold,
priestcrafts are that men preach and set bthemselves up for a light unto the
world, that they may get cgain and dpraise of the world; but they
seek not the ewelfare of Zion.
30 Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing; wherefore,
the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have acharity, which bcharity is clove. And except they should
have charity they were nothing. Wherefore, if they should have charity they
would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish.
31 But the alaborer in bZion shall labor for Zion; for
if they labor for cmoney they shall perish.
32 And again, the Lord God hath acommanded that men should not
murder; that they should not lie; that they should not bsteal; that they should not
take the name of the Lord their God in cvain; that they should not denvy; that they should not
have emalice; that they should not
contend one with another; that they should not commit fwhoredoms; and that they should do
none of these things; for whoso doeth them shall perish.
33 For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he
doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save
it be plain unto the children of men; and he ainviteth them ball to ccome unto him and partake of
his goodness; and he ddenieth none that come unto him,
black and white, ebond and free, male and
female; and he remembereth the fheathen; and all are alike unto
God, both Jew and Gentile.
2
Nephi 27
1 But, behold, in the alast days, or in the
days of the Gentiles—yea, behold all the nations of the Gentiles and also the
Jews, both those who shall come upon this land and those who shall be upon
other lands, yea, even upon all the lands of the earth, behold, they will be bdrunken with iniquity
and all manner of abominations—
2 And when that day shall come they
shall be avisited of the Lord of Hosts, with thunder and with earthquake, and
with a great noise, and with storm, and with tempest, and with the bflame of devouring fire Isaiah V6
3 And all the anations that bfight against Zion, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of
a night vision; yea, it shall be unto them, even as unto a hungry man which
dreameth, and behold he eateth but he awaketh and his soul is empty; or like
unto a thirsty man which dreameth, and behold he drinketh but he awaketh and
behold he is faint, and his soul hath appetite; yea, even so shall the
multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion. Here Nephi is referring
to Ariel as Zion JST Isaiah 29:7-8 And the multitude of all
the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her
munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision. 8 Yea, it shall be unto them even
as unto a hungry man who dreameth, and behold, he eateth, but
he awaketh and his soul is empty; or like unto a thirsty man who
dreameth, and behold, he drinketh, but he awaketh, and behold, he is faint, and
his soul hath appetite. Yea, even so shall the multitude of all the
nations be that fight against mount Zion. Their expectations of power
over Zion will be frustrated, it will be like a dream but they will awaken to
reality. V7-8
4 For behold, all ye that doeth
iniquity, stay yourselves and wonder, for ye shall cry out, and cry; yea, ye
shall be adrunken but not with wine, ye shall stagger but not with strong
drink. This starts Isa.
29:9 The wicked will see that their plans will
come to naught for they will not have the power to carry out their plans.
5 For behold, the Lord hath poured
out upon you the spirit of deep sleep (Spiritual
blindness). For behold, ye have closed your aeyes, and ye have brejected the prophets; and your rulers, and the seers hath he
covered because of your iniquity. Because they have
rejected their prophets and seers and their rulers they will live in a time of
spiritual darkness and apostasy. V10
6 And it shall come to pass that the
Lord God shall bring forth unto ayou the words of a bbook, and they shall be the words of them which have slumbered. Coming forth of the Book of Mormon and maybe the dead sea
scrolls and other ancient records may still come forth, especially from other
of the lost 10 tribes.
7 And behold the book shall be asealed; and in the book shall be a brevelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the cending thereof.
8 Wherefore, because of the things
which are asealed up, the things which are sealed shall not be delivered in
the day of the wickedness and abominations of the people. Wherefore the book
shall be kept from them.
9 But the book shall be delivered
unto a man, and he shall deliver the words of the book, which are the words of
those who have slumbered in the dust, and he shall deliver these words unto aanother;
10 But the words which are asealed he shall not deliver, neither shall he deliver the book.
For the book shall be sealed by the power of God, and the revelation which was
sealed shall be kept in the book until the own due time of the Lord, that they
may come forth; for behold, they breveal all things from the foundation of the world unto the end
thereof.
11 And the day cometh that the words
of the book which were sealed shall be read upon the house tops; and they shall
be read by the power of Christ; and all things shall be arevealed unto the children of men which ever have been among the
children of men, and which ever will be even unto the end of the earth.
12 Wherefore, at that day when the
book shall be delivered unto the man of whom I have spoken, the book shall be
hid from the eyes of the world, that the eyes of none shall behold it save it
be that athree bwitnesses shall behold it, by the power of God, besides him to whom
the book shall be delivered; and they shall testify to the truth of the book
and the things therein.
13 And there is anone other which shall view it, save it be a few according to
the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men; for
the Lord God hath said that the words of the faithful should speak as if it
were bfrom the
dead.
14 Wherefore, the Lord God will
proceed to bring forth the words of the book; and in the mouth of as many
witnesses as seemeth him good will he establish his word; and wo be unto him
that arejecteth the word of God!
15 But behold, it shall come to pass
that the Lord God shall say unto him to whom he shall deliver the book: Take
these words which are not sealed and deliver them to another, that he may show
them unto the learned, saying: aRead this, I pray thee. And the learned shall say: Bring hither
the book, and I will read them. V11
16 And now, because of the glory of
the world and to get again will they say this, and not for the glory of God.
17 And the man shall say: I cannot
bring the book, for it is sealed. V 11 also
18 Then shall the learned say: I
cannot read it. V
11 also
19 Wherefore it shall come to pass,
that the Lord God will adeliver again the book and the words thereof to him that is not
learned; and the man that is not learned shall say: I am not learned. V.12 four verses
added here
20 Then shall the Lord God say unto
him: The learned shall not read them, for they have rejected them, and I am aable to do mine own work; wherefore thou shalt read the words
which I shall give unto thee.
21 aTouch not the things which are sealed, for I will bring them forth in
mine own due time; for I will show unto the children of men that I am able to
do mine own work.
22 Wherefore, when thou hast read
the words which I have commanded thee, and obtained the awitnesses which I have promised unto thee, then shalt thou seal up
the book again, and hide it up unto me, that I may preserve the words which
thou hast not read, until I shall see fit in mine own bwisdom to creveal all things unto the children of men.
23 For behold, I am God; and I am a
God of amiracles; and I will show unto the bworld that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I cwork not among the children of men save it be daccording to their faith.
24 And again it shall come to pass
that the Lord shall say unto him that shall read the words that shall be
delivered him: V. 12
25 aForasmuch as this people draw near unto me with their mouth, and with
their lips do bhonor me, but have removed their chearts far from me, and their fear (or
regard, reverence for me) towards me is taught by the dprecepts of men— V. 13
26 Therefore, I will proceed to do a
amarvelous
work among this people, yea, a bmarvelous
work and a wonder, for the cwisdom of their wise and dlearned shall perish, and the eunderstanding of their fprudent shall be hid. V. 14 Where LeGrande
Richards got the name for his book. D&C 4,6,11,12,14 in each chapter verse
1 Starts: a Great and marvelous work is about to come forth among the children
of men.
27 And awo unto them that seek deep to hide their bcounsel from the Lord! And their works are in the cdark; and they say: Who seeth us, and who knoweth us? And they
also say: Surely, your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the dpotter’s clay. But behold, I will show unto them, saith the Lord of
Hosts, that I eknow all their works. For shall the work say of him that made
it, he made me not? Or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, he had
no understanding? V.15-16 This verse the
Lord warns the earth’s inhabitants against ignoring the omniscience of the
creator. Also may have reference to those who stole the 116 pages of
manuscript.
28 But behold, saith the Lord of
Hosts: I will show unto the children of men that it is yet a very little while
and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field; and the afruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest. V. 17 Verses 17-19 (29-30) These verse promise the spiritual and
physical blessings to those who seek and accept the gospel truths. Footnote a says TG Earth, Renewal of.Lebabon
is part of the land of Canaan given to the house of Israel.
29 aAnd in that day shall the bdeaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall
see out of obscurity and out of darkness. V.18 Those who before could not see or hear what the Lord was
doing.
30 And the ameek also shall increase, and their bjoy shall be in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice
in the Holy One of Israel. V. 19 b. D&C 101:36
Wherefore, fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not
full, but in me your joy is full.
31 For assuredly as the Lord liveth they shall see that the aterrible
one is brought to naught, and the
scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off; V. 20 talking
about the persecuters of those bringing about this marvelous work, or those who
are wicked. The terrible one may refer
to Lucifer who will be brought to naught.
Scorners are those who deliberately lie about others.
32 And they that make a man an aoffender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the bgate (IE the place of public transactions), and cturn aside the just for a thing of naught. V. 21 Those wicked who
listen to the righteous say and try to make their words say something different
than what the person is saying. These who seek to persecute the righteous will
be cut off from the Lord.
33 Therefore, thus saith the Lord,
who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: Jacob shall anot now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. V. 22 (33-35) Isaiah’s prophecy concludes with a warm
positive note from the Lord, promising an intimate relationship between the
Lord and his people. We can receive
these blessings individually as we repent and turn to the Lord. Jacob shall no longer be ashamed of his
descendants nor will his face pale any longer as it did earlier when he
observed their offenses.
34 But when he aseeth his children, the work of my hands, in the midst of him,
they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear
(or stand in awe of ) the God of Israel. V. 23 The purpose of the Book
of Mormon is to bring Jacob’s children back to the Lord. Jacob will see his posterity repenting and
coming to the Lord and following him in righteousness and becoming like the
Lord. What does Jacob think of you as his descendant?
35 They also that aerred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that
murmured shall blearn doctrine. V. 24 Many of Jacob’s
posterity who rejected the Holy Ghost will repent and learn of God and Christ
and come to an understanding of the deeper doctrine through the spirit.