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Why it is hard, and what actually helps

Reading Isaiah

Nephi says his people did not delight in Isaiah, and then quotes him for thirteen chapters anyway. This is a practical guide: the four things that make Isaiah difficult, and the four keys that make him readable.

22 min2 sections

1

Why it is hard

  1. It is poetry, and Hebrew poetry works by parallelism rather than by rhyme — a line says something, and the next line says it again differently. Reading the second line as new information is the commonest mistake.
  2. It assumes a political situation eighth-century Judah knew and we do not: Assyria, Ahaz, Hezekiah, the Syro-Ephraimite crisis.
  3. It moves between horizons without warning — Isaiah's own day, the Babylonian exile, the Messiah, the last days — sometimes within a verse.
  4. The King James rendering is beautiful and often obscure, and it flattens Hebrew wordplay that carries the argument.
2 Nephi 25:1, 4–5bofm

1Now I, Nephi, do speak somewhat concerning the words which I have written, which have been spoken by the mouth of Isaiah. For behold, Isaiah spake many things which were hard for many of my people to understand…

4…but I give unto you a prophecy, according to the spirit which is in me; wherefore I shall prophesy according to the plainness which hath been with me from the time that I came out from Jerusalem with my father.

5Yea, and my soul delighteth in the words of Isaiah… for I came out from Jerusalem, and mine eyes hath beheld the things of the Jews, and I know that the Jews do understand the things of the prophets.

2

Four keys

StructureHebrew parallelism
Hebrew poetry works by parallelism, not by rhymeThe commonest mistake is reading the second line as new information. Usually it is the same thought, turned.SynonymousThe second line restates the first“The heavens declare the glory of God;and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” — Ps. 19:1AntitheticThe second line states the opposite“A wise son maketh a glad father:but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.” — Prov. 10:1SyntheticThe second line completes or advances the first“The law of the Lord is perfect,converting the soul.” — Ps. 19:7EmblematicThe second line supplies the image the first compares to“As the hart panteth after the water brooks,so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” — Ps. 42:1

Four kinds, with examples. Reading the second line as new information is the commonest mistake made with the Psalms, Proverbs and Isaiah.

Psalm 19:1 · Proverbs 10:1 · Psalm 42:1

KeyWhat it doesSource
Know the manner of prophesying among the JewsLearn the conventions: parallelism, personification, dual fulfilment, the use of place names as types2 Nephi 25:1, 5
The spirit of prophecy'The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy' — read looking for Christ, because that is what the prophet was doingRevelation 19:10; 2 Nephi 25:4
Liken itRead it as addressed to you, on top of its original address1 Nephi 19:23
Search itUse the Book of Mormon's own commentary — Nephi, Jacob and Abinadi all expound Isaiah passages at length3 Nephi 23:1; Mosiah 14–15

Principle

Isaiah becomes readable when you learn the conventions of Hebrew poetry and read looking for Christ, which is what the prophet was doing.

2 Nephi 25:1–5 · Revelation 19:10 · 3 Nephi 23:1

What this topic holds

  1. Hebrew poetry works by parallelism; the second line restates the first rather than adding to it.

    Isaiah 1:18 · Isaiah 55:8–9

  2. The Savior commanded that Isaiah's words be searched, and said they are great.

    3 Nephi 23:1

Check your reading

3 questions

  1. 01What is the commonest mistake in reading Hebrew poetry?

  2. 02What does Nephi give as the key to understanding Isaiah?

  3. 03What is the scholarly question about Isaiah 40–66?

Where to go next

Chains

Lessons

Topics

Sources

  1. 2 Nephi 25; 3 Nephi 23 — The Book of Mormon's own instructions for reading Isaiah.
  2. Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi