THE SECOND BOOK OF NEPHI
Lehi dies. Nephi’s brothers rebel against him. The Lord warns Nephi to depart into the wilderness. His journeyings in the wilderness, and so forth.
CHAPTER 1
Lehi prophesies of a land of liberty—His seed will be scattered and smitten if they reject the Holy One of Israel—He exhorts his sons to put on the armor of righteousness. About 588–570 B.C.
1 After I, Nephi, finished teaching my brothers, our father, Lehi, spoke many things to them, and recited how great things the Lord had done for them in bringing them out of Jerusalem.
2 He spoke to them about their rebellions on the sea, and the mercies of God in sparing their lives, that they were not swallowed up in the sea.
3 He spoke about the land of promise that was theirs—how merciful the Lord had been to warn us to flee out of Jerusalem.
4 He said, I have seen a vision confirming that Jerusalem is destroyed; and had we remained in Jerusalem we also would have died.
5 But despite our afflictions, he said, we have obtained a land of promise, choice above all other lands, which the Lord God has covenanted with me would be a land for the inheritance of my seed. The Lord has covenanted this land to me and my children forever, and also all those who will be led from other countries by the hand of the Lord.
6 So I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit that is in me, that no one will come to this land except they are brought by the hand of the Lord.
7 This land is dedicated as a holy place for those he will bring here, and if they serve him according to the commandments he has given, it will be a land of liberty to them, so they will never be made captive. If they are, it will be because of iniquity, because if iniquity abounds, the land will be cursed to them, but it will be blessed forever for the righteous.
8 It is wisdom that this land should be kept secret from other nations because they would overrun the land so there would be no place for an inheritance.
9 I, Lehi, have been promised that if those God will bring out of Jerusalem will keep his commandments, they will prosper in this land, and they will be kept safe from all other nations so they can possess this land for themselves. If they keep his commandments they will be blessed, and no one will molest them or take away the land of their inheritance, where they will live safely forever.
10 But the time comes when they will weaken in unbelief after they have received such great blessings from the hand of the Lord—having a knowledge of the creation of the earth and all men, knowing the great and marvelous works of the Lord from the creation of the world, having power given them to do all things by faith, having all the commandments from the beginning, and having been brought by his infinite goodness to this precious land of promise. When the day comes that they will reject the Holy One of Israel, the true Messiah, their Redeemer and their God, the judgments of him who is righteous will rest on them.
11 Then he will bring other nations to them, and will give them power to take away their lands; and he will cause them to be scattered and afflicted.
12 As one generation passes to another, there will be bloodshed and great visitations among them, so, my sons, I want you to remember and listen to my words.
13 O that you would awake from the deep sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains that bind you and carry you captive to the eternal pit of misery and sorrow.
14 Awake and arise from the dust, and hear the words of a trembling parent, whose body you will bury in a few more days.
15 But the Lord has redeemed my soul from hell; I have seen his glory, and I am embraced eternally in the arms of his love.
16 I desire that you would remember to keep the commandments of the Lord. This has been the worry of my soul from the beginning.
17 My heart has been weighed down with sorrow from time to time, because I have feared that because of the hardness of your hearts the Lord your God would come in the fulness of his anger upon you, so you would be cut off and destroyed forever;
18 Or that a cursing would come on you for many generations, that you would be visited by sword and famine, and be hated and led according to the will and captivity of the devil.
19 O that these things might not come upon you, my sons, but that you might be a choice and favored people of the Lord. But his will be done because his ways are righteousness forever.
20 He has said, If you keep my commandments, you will prosper in the land, but if you won’t keep my commandments, you will be cut off from my presence.
21 Now arise from the dust, my sons, and be men, and be determined with single purpose not to be made slaves, so my soul can have joy in you, so my heart can leave this world with gladness because of you, so I will not go to the grave with grief and sorrow.
22 Be determined that you are not sorely cursed, so you will not receive the displeasure of a righteous God upon you, to the eternal destruction of both soul and body.
23 Awake, my sons, and put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains that bind you, and arise from the dust, out of darkness.
24 Rebel no more against your brother, whose views have been glorious, who has kept the commandments from the time we left Jerusalem, who has been an instrument in the hands of God to bring us to the land of promise, because if not for him, we would have died from hunger in the wilderness. But you tried to kill him, and he has suffered much sorrow because of you.
25 Because of you I fear and tremble that he will suffer again because you have accused him of looking for power and authority over you. But I know he has not. He has only asked for the glory of God and your own eternal well-being.
26 You have complained because he has been plain to you. You say that he has used sharpness and anger with you, but it was the sharpness of the power of the word of God that was in him, and what you call anger was the truth according to God, which he could not restrain, boldly showing your sins.
27 The power of God had to be with him, commanding you to obey. But it was not he but the Spirit of the Lord that opened his mouth to speak so he could not shut it.
28 My sons, Laman and Lemuel and Sam, and my sons who are the sons of Ishmael, if you will listen to Nephi you will not be lost. And if you listen to him, I will leave you my first blessing.
29 But if you will not listen to him, I take away my first blessing, your inheritance, and give it to him.
30 Zoram, you are the servant of Laban, but you have been brought out of Jerusalem, and I know you are a true friend to my son, Nephi, forever.
31 So because you have been faithful, your seed will be blessed with his, so they will dwell in prosperity long in this land, and nothing will harm their prosperity except iniquity among them.
32 So if you keep the commandments of the Lord, he has blessed this land for the safety of your seed with the seed of my son.
CHAPTER 2
Redemption comes through the Holy Messiah—Freedom of choice (agency) is essential to existence and progression—Adam fell that men might be—Men are free to choose liberty and eternal life. About 588–570 B.C.
1 Jacob, you are my firstborn in the days of my affliction in the wilderness, and in your childhood you have suffered afflictions and much sorrow because of the rudeness of your brothers.
2 But you know the greatness of God, and he will make your afflictions sacred for your benefit.
3 Your soul will be blessed, you will live safely with your brother, Nephi, and your days will be spent in the service of your God. I know that you are redeemed because of the righteousness of your Redeemer, because you have seen that in God’s chosen time he comes to bring salvation to men.
4 In your youth you have seen his glory, so you are blessed just like those to whom he will minister in the flesh because the Spirit is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. And the way is prepared from the fall of man, and salvation is free.
5 Men are instructed sufficiently to know good from evil. The law is given to men, and by the law of Moses no flesh is justified. By the physical law, they were cut off, and by the spiritual law they fall from what is good and become miserable forever.
6 So redemption comes in and through the Holy Messiah because he is full of grace and truth.
7 He offers himself as a sacrifice for sin, to answer the demands of the law for all those who have a broken heart and a humble spirit. And the demands of the law can be answered for no one else.
8 It is of great importance to teach these things to people, so they may know that no one can live in the presence of God in the flesh except through the virtue, mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who lays down his life according to the flesh and takes it again by the power of the Spirit so he can cause the resurrection of the dead, being the first who would rise.
9 He is the firstfruits of God because he makes intercession for all men, and they who believe in him will be saved.
10 Because of the intercession for all, all men come to God so they stand in his presence to be judged of him according to the truth and holiness that is in him. The purpose of the law of the Holy One is to create the possibility of eternal happiness, which requires the inflicting of punishment tied in opposition to happiness, which answers the purposes of the atonement.
11 There must be an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be accomplished, nor wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. All things must be combined in one. If there were only one choice, the plan would be dead, with no life or death, no perfection or imperfection, happiness or misery, neither awareness or unconsciousness.
12 It would have been created for nothing, with no purpose. Having no choice would destroy the wisdom of God and his eternal purposes, and also the power, mercy, and justice of God.
13 If you say there is no law, you are saying there is no sin. If you say there is no sin, you are saying there is no righteousness. And if there is no righteousness, there is no happiness. And if there is no righteousness or happiness, there is no punishment or misery. And if these things are not, there is no God. And if there is no God, we are not, nor the earth because there could have been no creation of things, either to act or be acted on, so all things would be gone.
14 My sons, I tell you these things for your learning and benefit, because there is a God, and he has created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things in them, both things to act and things to be acted on.
15 And to accomplish his eternal purposes with man, after he had created our first parents—and the beasts of the field, fowls of the air, and all things—there had to be an opposition, even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life, the one being sweet and the other bitter.
16 The Lord God gave to man that he should act for himself, and man could not act for himself unless he was tempted by one choice or the other.
17 I, Lehi, according to the things I have read, must believe that an angel of God fell from heaven and became a devil because he wanted what was evil in God’s eyes.
18 Because he had fallen from heaven and become miserable forever, he worked for the misery of all mankind, and he is that old serpent, the devil and father of all lies. He said to Eve, Eat the forbidden fruit, and you will not die, but you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
19 After Adam and Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit, they were driven out of the Garden of Eden to till the earth.
20 And they have made children, even the family of all the earth.
21 So the days of men were prolonged by God so they could repent while in the flesh, so their condition became one of probation, and their time was lengthened according to the commandments the Lord God gave to men. He commanded that all men must repent because he showed to all men that they were lost because of the transgression of their parents.
22 If Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen but would have remained in the Garden of Eden. Then all things which were created must have remained in the same state they were in after they were created, and they must have remained forever without purpose.
23 They would have had no children, so they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy because they knew no misery, doing no good because they knew no sin.
24 But all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knows all things.
25 Adam fell so men could be, and men are so they can have joy.
26 And the Messiah comes in the time appointed by God so he can redeem men from the fall. And because they are redeemed from the fall, they have become free forever, knowing good from evil, to act for themselves and not to be acted on, except by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments of God.
27 So men are free in the flesh, and all things are given them which are needed by man. They are free to choose liberty and eternal life through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil, because he tries to make all men miserable like himself.
28 My sons, I want you to look to the great Mediator, and listen to his great commandments, and be faithful to his words, and choose eternal life according to the will of his Holy Spirit;
29 And don’t choose eternal death according to the will of the flesh and its evil, which gives the spirit of the devil power to captivate and bring you down to hell so he can reign over you in his own kingdom.
30 My sons, I have spoken these few words to you in the last days of my probation, and I have chosen the good part according to the words of the prophet. And I have no purpose except the everlasting benefit of your souls. Amen.
CHAPTER 3
Joseph in Egypt saw the Nephites in vision—He prophesied of Joseph Smith, the latter-day seer; of Moses, who would deliver Israel; and of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. About 588–570 B.C.
1 Joseph, my last-born, you were born in the wilderness of my afflictions; in the days of my greatest sorrow your mother bore you.
2 May the Lord make this land sacred to you, which is a most precious land for the inheritance of you and your seed with your brothers, and for your safety forever, if you keep the commandments of the Holy One of Israel.
3 Joseph, whom I have brought out of the wilderness of my afflictions, may the Lord bless you forever, because your seed will not utterly be destroyed.
4 You are the fruit of my loins, and I am a descendant of Joseph, who was carried captive into Egypt. And the covenants the Lord made with Joseph were great.
5 Joseph saw our day and was promised by the Lord that from the fruit of his loins the Lord God would raise up a righteous branch to the house of Israel—not the Messiah but a branch that would be broken off and remembered in the covenants of the Lord, so the Messiah would be shown to them in the latter days, in the spirit of power, to bring them out of darkness to light and out of captivity to freedom.
6 Joseph testified, The Lord my God will raise up a choice seer to the fruit of my loins, and God said, This seer will be valued highly among the fruit of your loins. And I will command him do a work for the fruit of your loins, his brethren, which will be of great worth to them, bringing them to the knowledge of the covenants I have made with your fathers.
8 I will give him a commandment that he will do no other work except the work I will command him. And I will make him great in my eyes because he will do my work.
9 He will be great like Moses, whom I have said I would raise up to deliver you, my people, O house of Israel.
10 And I will raise up Moses to deliver thy people out of the land of Egypt.
11 But a seer I will raise up from the fruit of your loins, and I will give him power to bring my word to your seed—and not only bringing my word but convincing them of my word, which will already have gone forth among them.
12 So the fruit of your loins will write, and the fruit of the loins of Judah will write, and the two writings will grow together to overthrow false doctrines and put down contentions, and establish peace among the fruit of your loins, and bring them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and also to the knowledge of my covenants, says the Lord.
13 He will be made strong out of weakness in that day when my work will begin among all my people to restore you, O house of Israel, says the Lord.
14 Joseph prophesied, saying, See that the Lord will bless that seer; and they who try to destroy him will be thrown down, because I am sure that this promise I have obtained from the Lord about the fruit of my loins will be fulfilled.
15 His name will be the same as mine, and the same as his father. And he will be like me because the thing the Lord will bring forth by his power will bring my people to salvation.
16 Joseph prophesied, I am sure of this thing, even as I am sure of the promise of Moses because the Lord has said to me, I will preserve your seed forever.
17 The Lord has said, I will raise up a Moses, and I will give him power and authority, and I will give him judgment in writing. But I will not make him mighty in speaking so he will speak much. But I will write to him my law, by the finger of my own hand; and I will make a spokesman for him.
18 And the Lord said, I will raise up a Moses to the fruit of your loins, and I will make a spokesman for him. And I will enable him to write the record of the fruit of your loins, to be given to the fruit of your loins; and the spokesman of your loins will declare it.
19 And the words he writes will be the words that are needed in my wisdom to go to the fruit of your loins. It will be like the fruit of your loins had cried to them from the dust, because I know their faith.
20 From the dust they will cry repentance to their brothers, even after many generations have gone by. Their cry will go even according to the simpleness of their words.
21 Because of their faith, their words will go out of my mouth to their brethren who are the fruit of your loins, and I will make the weakness of their words strong by their faith, so my covenant to your fathers will be remembered.
22 My son Joseph, this is how my father of old prophesied.
23 So because of this covenant, you are blessed because your seed will not be destroyed, because they will listen to the words of the book.
24 One who is mighty among them will rise up, who will do much good, both in word and deed, being an instrument in the hands of God, with exceeding faith to work mighty wonders, and will do that which is great in the sight of God, to bring to pass much restoration to the house of Israel, and to the seed of your brethren.
25 Joseph, you are blessed. You are little, so listen to the words of your brother, Nephi, and it will be done to you according to the words I have spoken. Remember the words of your dying father. Amen.
CHAPTER 4
Lehi counsels and blesses his posterity—He dies and is buried—Nephi glories in the goodness of God—Nephi puts his trust in the Lord forever. About 588–570 B.C.
1 I, Nephi, speak about the prophecies my father spoke of, about Joseph of Egypt.
2 Joseph prophesied concerning all his seed. And not many prophecies are greater than those he wrote. He prophesied about us and our future generations, and they are written on the plates of brass.
3 After my father had finished speaking about the prophecies of Joseph, he called the children of Laman and said to them, My sons and daughters, who are the sons and daughters of my firstborn, I want you to listen to me.
4 The Lord God has said, If you keep my commandments you will prosper in the land, but if you don’t keep my commandments you will be cut off from my presence.
5 I cannot go to my grave without leaving you a blessing because I know that if you are taught the right way, you will not leave it.
6 So if you are cursed, I leave my blessing on you that the cursing may be taken from you and be answered on the heads of your parents.
7 Because of my blessing the Lord God will not allow you to be destroyed. He will be merciful to you and your seed forever.
8 After my father had finished speaking to the children of Laman, he asked for the children of Lemuel.
9 He said to them, My sons and daughters, who are the sons and daughters of my second son, I leave you the same blessing I left the children of Laman, so you will not be utterly destroyed, but in the end your seed will be blessed.
10 When my father had finished speaking to them, he spoke to the sons of Ishmael and all his household.
11 After he had finished speaking to them, he spoke to Sam, saying, You and your seed are blessed because you will inherit the land like your brother Nephi. Your seed will be numbered with his seed, and you will be like your brother, and your seed like his seed; and you will be blessed all your life.
12 After my father had spoken to all his household according to the feelings of his heart and the Spirit of the Lord that was in him, he grew old, died, and was buried.
13 Not many days after his death, Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael were angry with me because of the harsh words of the Lord.
14 I was compelled by God’s word to speak to them. I had spoken many things to them, and also my father before his death, many of which sayings are written on my other plates because more history is written on my other plates.
15 On these plates I write the things of my soul and many scriptures engraved on the plates of brass. My soul delights in the scriptures, and my heart ponders them and writes them for the learning and benefit of my children.
16 My soul delights in the things of the Lord, and my heart ponders continually on the things I have seen and heard.
17 But despite the great goodness of the Lord in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart cries out, I am a miserable man! My heart sorrows because of my flesh; my soul grieves because of my sins.
18 I am surrounded by the temptations and sins that so easily press on me.
19 When I want to rejoice, my heart groans because of my sins, but I know who I have trusted.
20 My God has been my support; he led me through my afflictions in the wilderness, and he saved me on the great waters.
21 He has filled me with his love, which has transformed my flesh.
22 He has confused my enemies, causing them to shake before me.
23 He has heard my cry by day and given me knowledge by visions at night.
24 By day I have grown bold in mighty prayer before him. I have sent my voice up on high, and angels came down and ministered to me.
25 And on the wings of his Spirit my body has been carried away on exceedingly high mountains. My eyes have seen great things, even too great for man, so I was commanded not to write them.
26 So if I have seen such great things, and if the Lord in his humble compassion has visited men in such mercy, why should my heart weep, and my soul stay in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength weaken because of my afflictions?
27 Why should I give in to sin because of my flesh? Why should I give power to temptations so the evil one has place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of my enemy?
28 Awake, my soul! Don’t droop in sin anymore. Rejoice, O my heart, and don’t give place anymore for the enemy of my soul.
29 Do not anger again because of my enemies. Do not lose my strength because of my afflictions.
30 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry to the Lord and say, O Lord, I will praise you forever. My soul will rejoice in you, my God and the rock of my salvation.
31 O Lord, will you redeem my soul? Will you deliver me from my enemies? Will you make me shake at the appearance of sin?
32 May the gates of hell be shut continually before me because my heart is broken and my spirit is humble! O Lord, will you not shut the gates of your righteousness before me, so I may walk in the path of the low valley, so I may be diligent in the plain road!
33 O Lord, will you encircle me in the robe of your righteousness! Will you make a way for my escape before my enemies! Will you make my path straight before me! Will you not place a stumbling block in my way but clear my way before me, and not obstruct my way but the ways of mine enemy.
34 O Lord, I have trusted in you, and I will trust you forever. I will not put my trust in the ways of the world because I know he is cursed who does this. Cursed is he who puts his trust in man or makes flesh his power.
35 I know that God will give liberally to him who asks. My God will give to me if I don’t ask wrongly, so I will lift up my voice to you; I will cry to you, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Forever my voice will ascend to you, my rock and my everlasting God. Amen.
CHAPTER 5
The Nephites separate themselves from the Lamanites, keep the law of Moses, and build a temple—Because of their unbelief, the Lamanites are cut off from the presence of the Lord, are cursed, and become a scourge to the Nephites. About 588–559 B.C.
1 I, Nephi, cried much to the Lord my God because of the anger of my brethren.
2 But their anger increased against me, and they tried to kill me.
3 They complained against me, saying, Our younger brother thinks to rule over us; and we have had much trial because of him, so now let us kill him so we will not be bothered anymore because of his words. We will not let him be our ruler because it belongs to us, the older brothers, to rule over this people.
4 I do not write on these plates all the words they said against me. It is enough to say that they tried to kill me.
5 The Lord warned me that I should leave them and flee into the wilderness, along with those who wanted to go with me.
6 So I took my family, Zoram and his family, Sam and his family, Jacob, Joseph, my sisters, and all those who wanted to go with me. All these believed in the warnings and revelations of God, so they listened to my words.
7 We took our tents and whatever things we could, and journeyed in the wilderness for many days before pitching our tents.
8 My people wanted to call the name of the place Nephi, so we did.
9 All those who were with me called themselves the people of Nephi.
10 We kept the commandments of the Lord in all things according to the law of Moses.
11 We prospered exceedingly because the Lord was with us and because we sowed seed and reaped in abundance. And we began to raise flocks, herds, and animals of every kind.
12 I brought the records engraved on the plates of brass, and the ball or compass that was prepared for my father by the hand of the Lord.
13 We began to prosper exceedingly and to multiply in the land.
14 I took the sword of Laban and made many swords like it, for fear that the people now called Lamanites would come and destroy us, because I knew their hatred toward me and my people.
15 I taught my people to build buildings and to work in all manner of wood, iron, copper, brass, steel, gold, silver, and precious metals, which were in great abundance.
16 I built a temple, constructing it like the temple of Solomon, except with not so many precious things that were not found in the land. And the workmanship was exceedingly fine.
17 I led my people to be industrious and to labor with their hands.
18 They wanted me to be their king, but I didn’t want them to have a king. But I did what I could for them.
19 The words of the Lord had been fulfilled to my brothers, that I would be their ruler and teacher, because I had been their ruler and teacher until they tried to kill me.
20 So the word of the Lord was fulfilled that he spoke to me: If they will not listen to your words they will be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And they were cut off from his presence.
21 He caused a sore curse to come on them because of their iniquity. They had hardened their hearts against him like stone, so although they were white and beautiful before, the Lord God caused a skin of blackness to come upon them, so they would not be attractive to my people.
22 The Lord God says, I will cause them to be disgusting to your people unless they repent of their sins.
23 The seed of anyone who mixes with their seed will be cursed with the same curse. The Lord said it, and it was done.
24 And because of their cursing they became an idle people, full of mischief and cunning, and they were hunters in the wilderness.
25 The Lord God said to me, They will be an affliction to your seed, to stir them up to remember me; and if they will not remember me, and listen to my words, they will afflict them to destruction.
26 I ordained Jacob and Joseph to be priests and teachers over the land of my people.
27 And we lived happily.
28 Thirty years had passed from the time we left Jerusalem.
29 I had kept the records of my people thus far on my first plates.
30 And the Lord God said to me, Make other plates and engrave many things on them that are good in my sight for the benefit of your people.
31 I obeyed, made these plates, and engraved on them that which is pleasing to God. And if my people are pleased with the things of God they will be pleased with these plates.
33 And if my people want to know more of the history of my people they must search my other plates.
34 Forty years had passed, and already we’d had wars and contentions with our brethren.
CHAPTER 6
Jacob recounts Jewish history: The Babylonian captivity and return; the ministry and crucifixion of the Holy One of Israel; the help received from the Gentiles; and the Jews’ latter-day restoration when they believe in the Messiah. About 559–545 B.C.
1 The words of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, which he spoke to the people of Nephi:
2 I, Jacob, ordained after the holy order of God by Nephi, to whom you look as a king or protector, have spoken many things to you.
3 But I speak to you again because I care about you, and I worry about you, as you know. I have taught you with all diligence, including the words of my father and about all things written from the creation of the world.
4 I will read you the words of Isaiah because I want to teach you about things that are and are yet to come. My brother desires that I speak these words to you, and I do it for your benefit, so you may learn and glorify the name of your God.
5 I read the words that Isaiah spoke concerning all the house of Israel, so they may be compared to you, because you are of the house of Israel. And there are many such words from Isaiah.
6 These are the words: The Lord God says, I will give my power to the Gentiles, and raise my banner to the people, and they will bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
7 Kings will be your nursing fathers, and queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down to you with their face on the ground and lick the dust of your feet, and you will know that I am the Lord, and those who wait for me will not be ashamed.
8 I, Jacob, speak about these words. The Lord has shown me that those at Jerusalem, from whence we came, have been killed and carried away captive.
9 But the Lord has shown me that they will return, and that the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, will show himself to them in the flesh, and then they will whip him and crucify him, as told me by the angel.
10 After they have hardened their hearts and stiffened their necks against the Holy One of Israel, his judgments will come upon them. And the day comes when they will be beaten and afflicted.
11 The angel says, After they are driven to and fro, many will be afflicted in the flesh but will not be allowed to die because of the prayers of the faithful. They will be scattered, afflicted, and hated, but the Lord will be merciful to them, so when they will come to the knowledge of their Redeemer, they will be gathered again to the lands of their inheritance.
12 The prophet has written that the Gentiles are blessed and will be saved if they will repent, not fight against Zion, and not unite with that great and abominable church, because the Lord God will fulfil the covenants he has made with his children; and for this reason the prophet has written these things.
13 They who fight against Zion and the covenant people of the Lord will lick up the dust of their feet, and the people of the Lord will not be ashamed. The people of the Lord are those who wait for him.
14 According to the prophet, the Messiah will recover them the second time. When the day comes that they believe in him, he will show himself to them in power and great glory, to the destruction of their enemies. And he will destroy none who believe in him.
15 Those who do not believe in him will be destroyed by fire, tempest, earthquakes, bloodshed, disease, and famine. And they will know that the Lord is God, the Holy One of Israel.
16 Will the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives delivered?
17 The Lord says, Yes, the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the prey of the terrible will be delivered, because I will fight with him who fights with you, and I will save your children. The Mighty God will deliver his covenant people.
18 And I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh; they will be drunk with their own blood like with sweet wine; and all mankind will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.
CHAPTER 7
Jacob continues reading from Isaiah: Isaiah speaks messianically—The Messiah will have the tongue of the learned—He will give His back to the smiters—He will not be confounded—Compare Isaiah 50. About 559–545 B.C.
1 The Lord says, Have I put you away or cast you off forever? Where is the contract of your mother’s divorce? To whom have I put you away, or to whom have I sold you? No, you have sold yourselves because of your iniquities, and your mother is put away because of your sins.
2 When I came, why was there no man? When I called, why did no one answer? O house of Israel, is my hand too short to save you? Or do I have no power to deliver? At my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make rivers a desert, the fish stink because the waters are dried up, and people die of thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with blackness and cover them with mourning cloth.
4 The Lord God has given me the tongue of the wise, so I would know the right word to you, O house of Israel. He wakes my ear in the morning to hear with understanding.
5 The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, nor turned from the right way.
6 I offered my back to those who beat me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out my hair. I did not hide my face from spitting and shaming.
7 Because the Lord God helps me, I will not be disgraced. I set my face like stone, and I know I will not be ashamed.
8 The God who accepts me is nearby, so who will argue against me? Let us stand and face each other. Who is my accuser? Let him come near me, and I will strike him with the power of my words.
9 Because the Lord God will help me, all those who condemn me will grow old like clothing, and moths will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant, but still walks in darkness and has no light?
11 All of you who start your own fires and surround yourselves with sparks, walk in the light of your little fire and the sparks you have made. This is your reward from me: You will lie down in sorrow.
CHAPTER 8
Jacob continues reading from Isaiah: In the last days, the Lord will comfort Zion and gather Israel—The redeemed will come to Zion amid great joy—Compare Isaiah 51 and 52:1–2. About 559–545 B.C.
1 Listen to me, you who follow righteousness. Look to the rock from whom you are cut, and to the quarry from which you are dug.
2 Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who bore you, because he was just one when I called, but I blessed him to be many.
3 The Lord will comfort Zion, he will bless her wastelands and make her deserts like Eden, the garden of the Lord. There will be joy and gladness in her, and thanksgiving and the voice of singing.
4 Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation, because teaching will go out from me, and my justice will be a light for the people.
5 My righteousness is near, my salvation is spread, and my power will bring justice to the people. All distant lands will look to me, and they will trust my power.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look on the earth beneath, because the heavens will vanish like smoke, and the earth will decay like old clothing, and the people will die. But my salvation will last forever, and my righteousness will never end.
7 Listen to me, you who know righteousness, you who have taken my law into your hearts. Do not fear the contempt of men, nor be afraid of their insults.
8 Moths will eat them up like a piece of clothing, and worms will eat them like wool. But my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation will continue from generation to generation.
9 Awake, awake! Put on strength, O arm of the Lord. Awake as in the ancient days. Are you not he that cut the sea monster and wounded the dragon?
10 Are you not he who dried the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made the depths of the sea a road for the redeemed to pass over?
11 The redeemed of the Lord will return and come with singing to Zion, and everlasting joy and holiness will be on their heads, and they will find gladness and joy. Sorrow and mourning will flee away.
12 I am the one who comforts you. Who are you, that you would be afraid of man, who will die, and of the sons of men, who will be made like grass?
13 But you forget the Lord your maker, who stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. But you have feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? And where is the fury of your oppressor?
14 The captive exile will soon be released, so he will not die in the pit, nor starve for lack of bread.
15 I am the Lord thy God, whose waves roared. The Lord of Hosts is my name.
16 I have put my words in your mouth, and have protected you with my hand, so I may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, You are my people.
17 Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, who have drunk the cup of the fury of the Lord from his hand. You have drunk what has been squeezed out of the sediment at the bottom of the cup of fear and trembling.
18 There is none to guide her among all the sons she has borne, nor any to take her by the hand among all the sons she has raised.
19 But two sons will come to you, who will be sorry for you—for your desolation, destruction, famine, and the sword—and by whom will I comfort you?
20 Your sons have fainted, except these two. They lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net. They are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of your God.
21 Hear this, you who are afflicted and drunk but not with wine.
22 I, your Lord and God, plead the cause of my people. I have taken from your hand the cup of trembling, the sediment of the cup of my fury, and you will not drink it again.
23 But I will put the cup in the hand of those who afflict you, who have said to you, Bow down, so we can walk on you; and you laid your body down like the ground and like the street to those who walked on you.
24 Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion. Put on your beautiful clothing, O Jerusalem, the holy city, because from this time the uncircumcised and unclean will come into you no more.
25 Shake yourself from the dust. Get up and sit with me, O Jerusalem; release yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
CHAPTER 9
Jacob explains that the Jews will be gathered in all their lands of promise—The Atonement ransoms man from the Fall—The bodies of the dead will come forth from the grave, and their spirits from hell and from paradise—They will be judged—The Atonement saves from death, hell, the devil, and endless torment—The righteous are to be saved in the kingdom of God—Penalties for sins are set forth—The Holy One of Israel is the keeper of the gate. About 559–545 B.C.
1 My beloved brethren, I have read these things so you could know about the covenants the Lord has made with all the house of Israel, and that he has spoken to the Jews by the mouth of his holy prophets from the beginning, from generation to generation, until the time comes that they will be restored to the true church and fold of God, when they will be gathered home to the lands of their inheritance and will be established in all their lands of promise.
3 I say these things so you can rejoice and lift up your heads forever because of the blessings the Lord God will freely give to your children.
4 I know that many of you have searched much to know of things to come, so you know that our flesh must waste away and die, but in our bodies we will see God.
5 You know that he will show himself in the body to those at Jerusalem, from whence we came, because it is necessary that the great Creator allows himself to become subject to men in the flesh and die for all men, so all men would become subject to him.
6 Because death has come on all men to fulfill the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must come to man because of the fall, and the fall came because of transgression, and because man became fallen, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.
7 So it must be an infinite atonement. Unless it were an infinite atonement, this mortality could not put on immortality. So the first judgment that came upon man would have remained for an endless duration. And if so, this flesh would have laid down to rot and crumble to its mother earth, never to rise.
8 O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! Because if the flesh would rise no more, our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from the presence of the Eternal God and became the devil, to rise no more.
9 And our spirits must have become like him, and we would have become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God and to remain with the father of lies in misery, like him; angels to that being who deceived our first parents, who transformed himself close to an angel of light and stirred up the children of men to secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.
10 O how great the goodness of our God, who prepares a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also from the death of the spirit.
11 Because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this physical death—the grave—will deliver up its dead.
12 The spiritual death—which is hell—will deliver up its dead, so death and hell must deliver up their dead. Hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and spirits of men will be restored to each other; and it happens by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.
13 O how great the plan of our God! The paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous, and the spirit and the body are restored to one again, and all men become incorruptible and immortal. They are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like us in the flesh, except that our knowledge will be perfect.
14 We will have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, uncleanness, and nakedness, and the righteous will have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment and righteousness, being clothed with purity and the robe of righteousness.
15 When all men have passed from this first death to life, so they are immortal, they must appear before the judgment-seat of the Holy One of Israel, and then comes the judgment, where they are judged according to the holy judgment of God.
16 As the Lord God has spoken in his eternal word, they who are righteous will be righteous still, and they who are filthy will be filthy still, being the devil and his angels, and they will go away into the everlasting fire prepared for them; and their torment is like a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascends forever and ever.
17 O the greatness and justice of our God! All his words and his law must be fulfilled.
18 The righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel who have believed in him, who endured the persecutions of the world and ignored the shaming of others, they will inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy will be full forever.
19 O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! He delivers his saints from that awful monster the devil, and death, and hell, and that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.
20 O how great the holiness of our God! He knows all things.
21 And he comes to the world so he may save all men if they will listen to him. He suffers the pains of all men, women, and children who belong to the family of Adam.
22 He suffers this so the resurrection will come for all men, so all will stand before him at the great judgment day.
23 He commands all men to repent and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.
24 If they will not repent, believe in his name, be baptized in his name, and continue to the end, they must be damned, because the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it.
25 He has given a law, but where there is no law given there is no punishment, and where there is no punishment there is no condemnation, and where there is no condemnation, the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim on them because of the atonement, because they are delivered by his power.
26 The atonement satisfies the demands of his justice on all those who have no law given to them, so they are delivered from that awful monster, death and hell, and the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of Israel.
27 But curses to him who has all the commandments of God, like us, and who breaks them and wastes the days of his probation, because his condition is awful!
28 O that clever plan of the evil one! O, the vainness and frailties and foolishness of men! When they are educated they think they are wise, and they don’t listen to the advice of God, supposing they know things by themselves, so their wisdom is foolishness and does not benefit them. And they are lost.
29 But to be educated is good if they listen to the directions of God.
30 But curses to those who are rich in the things of the world. Because they are rich they despise the poor and persecute the meek, and their hearts focus on their treasures, so their treasure is their god, and it will perish with them.
31 Curses to the deaf who will not hear, because they will perish.
32 Curses to the blind who will not see, because they will perish.
33 Curses to the proud of heart, because a knowledge of their iniquities will afflict them at the last day.
34 Curses to the liar, because he will be thrust down to hell.
35 Curses to the murderer who deliberately kills, because he will die.
36 Curses to them who commit whoredoms, because they will be thrust down to hell.
37 Curses to those who worship idols, because the devil of all devils delights in them.
38 In summary, curses to all those who die in their sins, because they will return to God and behold his face and remain in their sins.
39 Remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and the awfulness of yielding to the temptations of that cunning one. Remember, to be focused on the flesh is death, but to be spiritually-minded is life eternal.
40 My beloved brethren, listen to my words. Remember the greatness of the Holy One of Israel. Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you, because if you do, you speak evil against the truth because I have spoken the words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness, but the righteous do not fear them because they love the truth and are not shaken.
41 Come to the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. The way for man is narrow, and it lies in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel. He employs no servant there, and there is no other way except by the gate because he cannot be deceived because the Lord God is his name.
42 Whoever knocks, to him will he open. But he will not open to the wise, the educated, and the rich who are puffed up because of their education, wisdom, and riches. He despises these, and unless they cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open to them.
43 The things of the wise and cautious will be hidden from them forever, including that happiness prepared for the saints.
44 I take off my clothing and shake your blood and sins from my soul as I testify of these truths and stand clean before God. And you will know the truth of this at the last day, when all men will be judged for their works.
45 Turn away from your sins, shake off the chains of him who would bind you tightly, and come to that God who is the rock of your salvation.
46 Prepare your souls for that glorious day of judgment when justice will be administered to the righteous, so you will not shrink with awful fear, so you will not perfectly remember your awful guilt and be compelled to exclaim, O Lord God Almighty, Holy, holy are your judgments, but I know my guilt, I broke your law, and my transgressions are mine, and the devil has taken me, so I am a prey to his awful misery.
47 Do I have to awaken you to the awful reality of these things? Would I torment your souls if your minds were pure? Would I speak the plainness of the truth if you were freed from sin?
48 If you were holy, I would speak to you about holiness, but since you are not holy, and you look to me as a teacher, I must teach you the consequences of sin.
49 My soul hates sin, and my heart delights in righteousness; and I will praise the holy name of my God.
50 Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; those without money, come and eat; buy wine and milk without money.
51 Do not spend money for what is worthless, nor give your labor for what cannot satisfy. Listen diligently to me, remember my words, come to the Holy One of Israel, and feast on what does not perish, nor can be spoiled, and let your soul delight in the best.
52 Remember the words of your God, pray to him continually by day, and give thanks to his holy name by night. Let your hearts rejoice.
53 How great are the covenants of the Lord, and how great his humble mercies to men; and because of his greatness, grace, and mercy, he has promised us that our seed will not utterly be destroyed in the flesh but that he would preserve them, and in future generations they will become a righteous branch to the house of Israel.
54 I would speak more to you, but tomorrow I will declare the remainder of my words. Amen.
CHAPTER 10
Jacob explains that the Jews will crucify their God—They will be scattered until they begin to believe in Him—America will be a land of liberty where no king will rule—Reconcile yourselves to God and gain salvation through His grace. About 559–545 B.C.
1 I, Jacob, speak to you again, my beloved brethren, about this righteous branch.
2 The promises given us are according to the flesh. It has been shown to me that many of our children will perish in the flesh because of unbelief, but God will be merciful to many, and our children will be restored so they can come to a true knowledge of their Redeemer.
3 The angel told me that his name would be Christ, and it is necessary for him to come among the Jews, who are the more wicked part of the world, and they will crucify him. There is no other nation on earth that would crucify their God.
4 If he did his many miracles among other nations, they would repent and know him as their God.
5 But because of false priests and iniquities, those at Jerusalem will stiffen their necks against him so he is crucified.
6 Because of their iniquities, destructions, famines, plagues, and bloodshed will come to them, and whoever is not destroyed will be scattered among all nations.
7 But the Lord God says, When the day comes that they will believe that I am Christ, then I have covenanted with their fathers that they will be restored in the flesh to the lands of their inheritance.
8 They will be gathered in from their long scattering from all parts of the earth, and the nations of the Gentiles will be great in my eyes, God says, in carrying them to the lands of their inheritance.
9 The kings of the Gentiles will be nursing fathers to them, and their queens will be nursing mothers, so the promises of the Lord are great to the Gentiles. He has said it, so who can dispute?
10 God said, This land will be yours for inheritance, and the Gentiles will be blessed on the land.
11 This will be a land of liberty to the Gentiles, and there will be no kings on the land.
12 I will fortify this land against all other nations.
13 And God says, He who fights against Zion will perish.
14 He who raises up a king against me will perish because I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light to them who hear me forever.
15 I must destroy the secret works of darkness, murders, and abominations so that my covenants can be fulfilled that I have made with men.
16 He who fights against Zion will perish, both Jew and Gentile, bond and free, male and female, because they are the whore of all the earth. Our God says, Those not for me are against me.
17 I will fulfil the promises I have made to men, which I will do while they are in the flesh.
18 God says, I will afflict your seed by the hand of the Gentiles, but I will soften the hearts of the Gentiles so they will be like a father to them, so the Gentiles will be blessed and numbered among the house of Israel.
19 God says to me, I will make this land sacred to your seed and those numbered among your seed for the land of their inheritance forever. It is a choice land above all other lands, so I will require all men who live here to worship me.
20 Seeing that our merciful God has given us such great knowledge about these things, let us remember him and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, because we are not cast off. We have been driven out of the land of our inheritance, but we have been led to a better land, and the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are on an island of the sea, or a far place on the earth.
21 Great are the promises of the Lord to them who are on the islands of the sea, and there are more islands than this, where our brethren live.
22 From time to time the Lord God has led people away from the house of Israel according to his will and pleasure. And now he remembers all them who have been broken off, including us.
23 So cheer up your hearts and remember that you are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.
24 Reconcile yourselves to the will of God and not to the will of the devil and the flesh, and remember after you are reconciled to God that only in and through the grace of God are you saved.
25 May God raise you from death by the power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting death by the power of the atonement, so you may be received into the eternal kingdom of God so you can praise him through divine grace. Amen.
CHAPTER 11
Jacob saw his Redeemer—The law of Moses typifies Christ and proves He will come. About 559–545 B.C.
1 Jacob spoke many more things to my people, but I have written only these, which are enough.
2 I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, because my soul delights in his words. I will compare his words to my people, and I will send them forth to all my children, because he saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him. My brother, Jacob, has seen him also.
3 I will send their words out to my children to prove that my words are true, because God has said, By the words of three I will establish my word. And God sends more witnesses and proves all his words.
4 My soul delights in proving to my people the truth of the coming of Christ. For this reason the law of Moses has been given, and all things given by God to man from the beginning of the world are symbols of him.
5 My soul delights in the covenants of the Lord that he made with our fathers. My soul delights in his grace, justice, power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death.
6 My soul delights in proving to my people that all men must perish unless Christ comes.
7 If there is no Christ there is no God, and if there is no God we are not, for there could have been no creation. But there is a God, and he is Christ, and he comes in his chosen time.
8 Now I write some of the words of Isaiah, that whoever of my people sees these words may lift up their hearts and rejoice for all men. You may compare these words to you and to all men.
CHAPTER 12
Isaiah sees the latter-day temple, gathering of Israel, and millennial judgment and peace—The proud and wicked will be brought low at the Second Coming—Compare Isaiah 2. About 559–545 B.C.
1 The word that Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw about Judah and Jerusalem:
2 In the last days, when the mountain of the Lord’s house is established in the top of the mountains, and is exalted above the hills, all nations will flow to it.
3 Many people will say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths, because the law will go out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge among the nations and will settle many disputes, and they will beat their swords into plows, and their spears into gardening tools. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, nor will they learn war any more.
5 O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord. Come because you have all gone astray, every one to his wicked ways.
6 O Lord, you have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob, because they absorb superstitions from the east, and listen to magicians like the Philistines, and please themselves with the customs of strangers.
7 Their land is full of silver and gold, with no end to their treasures; their land is full of horses and chariots.
8 Their land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, made by their own fingers.
9 The ordinary man does not bow down, and the great man does not humble himself, so forgive him not.
10 O you wicked ones, go into the rocks, and hide in the dust, because the fear of the Lord and the glory of his majesty will destroy you.
11 The proud looks of man will be humbled, and the arrogance of men will be bowed down, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
12 The day of the Lord of Hosts soon comes on all nations, on the proud and high, and every one who is lifted up will be brought low.
13 The day of the Lord will come on all the cedars of Lebanon, because they are high and lifted up, and on all the oaks of Bashan;
14 And on all the high mountains and high hills, and on all the nations and every people who are lifted up;
15 And on every high tower, and on every fenced wall;
16 And on all the trading vessels and luxury ships, and on all pleasant scenes.
17 And the pride of man will be bowed down, and the arrogance of men will be humbled; and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
18 He will utterly destroy the idols.
19 People will flee to caves in the rocks, and holes in the ground, because the fear of the Lord will come on them, and the glory of his majesty will afflict them when he arises to shake terribly the earth.
20 In that day a man will cast his idols of silver and gold, which he has made for himself to worship, to the rodents and bats.
21 They will flee to cracks in the rocks, and to the tops of the jagged rocks, fearing that the Lord will come upon them and the majesty of his glory will punish them when he arises to shake terribly the earth.
22 Don’t trust men, who have only breath in their nostrils. What good are they?
CHAPTER 13
Judah and Jerusalem will be punished for their disobedience—The Lord pleads for and judges His people—The daughters of Zion are cursed and tormented for their worldliness—Compare Isaiah 3. About 559–545 B.C.
1 The Lord of Hosts takes from Jerusalem and Judah their supplies and support of food and water;
2 And their mighty men and soldiers, the judge and the prophet, the wise and the old;
3 The military leader and the good soldier, the counselor, the skilled craftsman, and the eloquent speaker.
4 And I will give them children to be their leaders, and infants will rule over them.
5 The people will be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor. The child will behave proudly against their elders, and the ordinary against the honorable.
6 A man will grab his brother and say, You have clothing, so you be our ruler and fix this mess.
7 And that man will cry out, I am no healer; in my house there is no bread or clothing; don’t make me a ruler of anyone.
8 Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen, because their words and deeds have been against the Lord, provoking him to his face.
9 The look on their faces testifies against them and proves their sins to be like Sodom, and they cannot hide it. Misery be to their souls because they have brought disaster on themselves!
10 Say to the righteous that it is well with them because they will eat the fruit of their deeds.
11 Misery be to the wicked because they perish, being rewarded for the deeds of their hands!
12 Children oppress my people, and women rule over them. My people, your leaders make you stumble and destroy the road you walk.
13 The Lord takes his place in court and rises to judge the people.
14 The Lord makes judgment against the elders and leaders of his people, saying, You have eaten the harvest, and the plunder from the poor is in your houses.
15 The Lord of Hosts says, What do you mean by beating my people to pieces and grinding the faces of the poor into the dust?
16 And the Lord says, Because the daughters of Zion are proud, and walk with heads held high and flirting eyes, prancing as they go, and making sounds with their ankle bracelets—
17 So the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the daughters of Zion, and he will uncover their secret parts.
18 In that day the Lord will take away their ornaments, headbands, and crescent necklaces;
19 The earrings, bracelets, and veils;
20 The headdresses, ankle bracelets, sashes, perfume boxes, and ear-rings;
21 The rings and nose rings;
22 The fine robes, capes, cloaks, pendants, and purses;
23 The mirrors, fine clothing, head ornaments, and shawls.
24 Instead of sweet smell there will be stink; instead of a sash, a tear; instead of well-dressed hair, baldness; instead of fine clothing, burlap; shame instead of beauty.
25 Your men will fall by the sword and your warriors in war.
26 Her gates will weep and mourn; she will be wasted and sit on the ground.
CHAPTER 14
Zion and her daughters will be redeemed and cleansed in the millennial day—Compare Isaiah 4. About 559–545 B.C.
1 In that day, seven women will take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own clothes; only let us be called by your name to take away our disgrace.
2 In that day the branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious; the fruit of the land will be excellent and attractive to the survivors in Israel.
3 Those who are left in Zion and who remain in Jerusalem will be called holy, every one who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem.
4 The Lord will wash away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and will cleanse the blood of Jerusalem by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of fire.
5 Then the Lord will create on every dwelling-place of mount Zion, and on her people, a cloud of smoke by day and a flaming fire by night. All the glory of Zion will be defended.
6 There will be a shelter from the heat of the day, and a safe place from storm and rain.
CHAPTER 15
The Lord’s vineyard (Israel) will become desolate, and His people will be scattered—Woes will come on them in their apostate and scattered state—The Lord will lift an ensign and gather Israel—Compare Isaiah 5. About 559–545 B.C.
1 I will sing to my loved one a song about his vineyard. My well-beloved has a vineyard in a very fruitful hill.
2 He fenced it, cleared the stones, and planted it with the best vines. He built a watchtower in it, and made a wine-press. He looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
3 O people of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more could I have done for my vineyard? But when I looked for it to yield grapes, it yielded wild grapes.
5 Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will tear down the hedge, and it will be destroyed. I will break down the wall, and it will be trampled.
6 I will make it a wasteland. It will not be pruned or cultivated. Briars and thorns will grow, and I will command the clouds not to rain on it.
7 The vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his prized plant; he looked for justice but found oppression; looked for righteousness but found cries of distress.
8 Misery to you who join house to house until there is no more room, and then you are alone in the world!
9 The Lord of Hosts has said to me, many houses will be desolate, and great cities without people.
10 Ten acres of vineyard will yield only a single barrel of wine, and a bushel of seed yields only a handful of grain.
11 Misery to those who rise up early in the morning to begin strong drink, and continue until night, inflamed by wine!
12 They have feasts with the harp, other musical instruments, and wine, but they don’t care about the works of the Lord.
13 My people will go into exile because they lack knowledge; and their leaders will starve, and the people are dying of thirst.
14 Hell expands and opens her mouth, and they will be swallowed up with their glory, pride, merry-making, and their numbers.
15 The ordinary man will be brought down, the mighty man humbled, and the proud laid low.
16 But the Lord of Hosts will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will be sanctified in righteousness.
17 Then the lambs will graze, and the sheep eat in the wastelands of the prosperous people.
18 Misery to those who pull iniquity along with cords of vanity, and sin with a cart rope;
19 Who say, Let God hurry his work, so we can see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel come close, so we may know it.
20 Curses to those who call evil good and good evil, who say darkness is light and light darkness, who say bitter is sweet and sweet bitter!
21 Misery to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!
22 Misery to those mighty in drinking wine, and men who seem strong in making strong drink;
23 Who justify the wicked to be rewarded, and take away the blessed reward of the righteous!
24 As fire devours the straw, and flame consumes the wheat dust, their root will be rotten, and their blossoms will blow away like dust because they have cast away the law of the Lord of Hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 So the anger of the Lord burns against his people, and he raises his hand against them and strikes them; and the hills tremble, and their bodies are torn in the middle of the streets. And yet his anger remains, and his hand is still raised.
26 He will lift up a banner for the nations far away, and will call to those at the ends of the earth; and they will come swiftly; none will be weary or stumble.
27 None will sleep, no clothing will come loose, no shoe fastening will be broken;
28 Their arrows are sharp, all their bows strung for battle, their horses’ hoofs like flint, their wheels like a whirlwind, their roaring like a lion.
29 They will roar like young lions, they will roar and grasp their prey to carry away so no one can rescue them.
30 In that day they will roar against their prey like the roaring of the sea, and if they look to the land they will see darkness and sorrow, with the sun darkened in the heavens.
CHAPTER 16
Isaiah sees the Lord—Isaiah’s sins are forgiven—He is called to prophesy—He prophesies of the rejection by the Jews of Christ’s teachings—A remnant will return—Compare Isaiah 6. About 559–545 B.C.
1 In the year king Uzziah died I, Isaiah, saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and his clothing filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the angels, each with six wings. With two he covered his face, with two his feet, and with two he flew.
3 One cried to another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts; His glory fills the whole earth.
4 At the voice of him who cried, the door frames shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 I said, I am miserable! I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live with people of unclean lips; and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.
6 One of the angels flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar;
7 He touched my mouth with it and said, This has touched your lips, and your sins are taken away.
8 The voice of the Lord said, Who will I send, and who will go for us? I said: Here I am, send me.
9 He said, Go and tell this people, You hear but do not understand, you see but do not perceive.
10 See how the hearts of this people are hard, and their ears heavy, and their eyes shut, all for fear that they will see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted and healed.
11 I said, Lord, how long? And he said: Until the cities are wasted without people, and the houses without man, and the land is utterly deserted;
12 And until the Lord has removed men far away, and the land is abandoned.
13 A tenth will return but will be eaten, like a tree still having life after being cut down. The holy seed will be the life of it.
CHAPTER 17
Ephraim and Syria wage war against Judah—Christ will be born of a virgin—Compare Isaiah 7. About 559–545 B.C.
1 Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, king of Israel and son of Remaliah, went to war against Ahaz, king of Judah and Jerusalem, but they could not conquer.
2 The house of David (Judah) was told, Syria is working with Ephraim (Israel). And Ahaz and his people were afraid, like trees are moved with the wind.
3 The Lord said to Isaiah: Go with Shearjashub your son to meet Ahaz at a place you know.
4 Say to him, Pay attention and be quiet. Do not fear these two burning sticks, the fierce anger of Rezin and Pekah.
5 Syria and Ephraim have conspired against you, saying,
6 Let us go against Judah and trouble them, and let us make an opening there for us, and set a king in the midst of it, the son of Tabeal.
7 The Lord God says, This will not happen.
8 The head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within seventy-five years Ephraim will be broken and no longer be a people.
9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Pekah. If you do not believe me, you will not stand.
10 The Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying,
11 You can ask the Lord your God for a sign.
12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask nor tempt the Lord.
13 And Isaiah said, Listen, O house of David. It is not a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?
14 So the Lord will give you a sign: a virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and will call his name Immanuel.
15 He will eat butter and honey when he knows how to choose between good and evil.
16 Before your son knows how to choose between good and evil, the lands you hate will be abandoned by both her kings.
17 The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father’s house days that have not been since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah. He will bring the king of Assyria.
18 In that day the Lord will whistle for flies from Egypt and the bee in the land of Assyria.
19 And they will come and rest in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and on all thorns and bushes.
20 In the same day the Lord will use a razor hired beyond the Euphrates River, the king of Assyria, to shave your head, and the hair of your feet, and your beard.
21 In that day, a man will keep only a young cow and two sheep;
22 And instead of an abundance of milk he will eat butter; for butter and honey are all that is left to eat in the land.
23 In that day, in places where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver pieces, there will be only briars and thorns.
24 Men will come only to hunt, because all the land will be briars and thorns.
25 Where once there were hills cultivated with the hoe, no one will come for fear of briars and thorns; but they will send oxen and other cattle to graze.
CHAPTER 18
Christ will be as a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense—Seek the Lord, not peeping wizards—Turn to the law and to the testimony for guidance—Compare Isaiah 8. About 559–545 B.C.
1 The Lord said to me, Isaiah, Take a great tablet, and write on it with a pen, about Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
2 I found faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
3 And I went to my wife, the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said, Call his name, Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
4 Before the child is old enough to say, My father and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be taken away by the king of Assyria.
5 The Lord spoke to me again, saying, Because this people refuse the waters of Shiloah, and rejoice in Rezin and Pekah, the Lord will bring upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria and all his glory, and he will overflow his channels and go over all his banks.
8 He will sweep through Judah, he will overflow and reach their neck, and he will stretch out his wings to fill your land, O Immanuel.
9 If you people from far countries combine yourselves, you will be broken in pieces. Prepare for battle, and you will be shattered.
10 If you make plans together, it will be useless; speak the word, and it will not stand because God is with us.
11 The Lord spoke to me, Isaiah, with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people.
12 The Lord said, Do not follow this people in fearing what they call a conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear.
13 Sanctify the Lord of Hosts himself, and let him be your fear.
14 He will be a safe place, but for Israel and Judah he will be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and a trap and a snare to the people of Jerusalem.
15 Many among them will stumble and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
16 Bind up this testimony of warning, and seal these instructions among my disciples.
17 I will wait for the Lord, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18 I and my children are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of Hosts, who lives in Mount Zion.
19 When people tell you to talk to mediums and wizards, who whisper and mumble, say, Should a not people look to their God? And not ask the dead to guide the living?
20 Look to God’s instructions and teaching, and if people don’t speak according to these words, there is no light in them.
21 When they are hungry, they will roam the land angry and cursing their king and their God.
22 And they will look to the earth and see trouble and darkness and pain, and they will be driven to darkness.
CHAPTER 19
Isaiah speaks messianically—The people in darkness will see a great light—Unto us a child is born—He will be the Prince of Peace and will reign on David’s throne—Compare Isaiah 9. About 559–545 B.C.
1 But the gloom will not be like when he first afflicted the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali.
2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; they who live in the land of the shadow of death, upon them the light has shined.
3 You have multiplied the nation and increased the joy. They joy before you like the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoils.
4 You have broken the yoke of his burden, and the bar across his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor.
5 Every battle of the warrior is with confused noise and garments stained with blood; but this coming will be with burning and fuel of fire.
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulder; and his name will be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 There is no end of the increase of government and peace. He will reign on the throne of David, and will establish it with justice from now and forever. The passion of the Lord of Hosts will do this.
8 The Lord sent his word to settle upon Israel.
9 And all the people will know—even Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—who say in pride and boldness of heart:
10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with cut stones; the fig trees are cut down, but we will replace them with cedars.
11 The Lord will set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together;
12 With the Syrians in front and the Philistines behind, they will devour Israel with open mouth. And his anger is not turned away, but his hand is still raised in threat.
13 Because the people do not turn to him who strikes them, neither do they seek the Lord of Hosts.
14 So the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush in one day.
15 The elders, they are the head; and the prophet that teaches lies, he is the tail.
16 The leaders of this people lead them to be in error; and they who are led by them are destroyed.
17 So the Lord will have no compassion on their young men, nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows because every one of them is a hypocrite and evildoer, and every mouth speaks lies. For all this wickedness his anger is not turned away, but his hand is raised against them.
18 Wickedness burns like a fire. It will devour the briars and thorns, and will burn the forests, and the fires will rise up like smoke.
19 The land is darkened by the anger of the Lord of Hosts, and the people will be like the fuel of the fire. No man will spare his brother.
20 They will devour on the right and be hungry; and they will eat on the left hand and not be satisfied. Every man will eat the flesh of his own arm.
21 Manasseh and Ephraim will be against Judah together. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is raised against them.
CHAPTER 20
The destruction of Assyria is a type of the destruction of the wicked at the Second Coming—Few people will be left after the Lord comes again—The remnant of Jacob will return in that day—Compare Isaiah 10. About 559–545 B.C.
1 Curses to those who make unrighteous laws, who order bad deeds;
2 To take justice from the needy, so they can prey on widows and rob the fatherless!
3 What will you do in the day of judgment, when disaster comes from a far land? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you hide your riches?
4 Without me they will bow down with the captives, and they will fall with the dead. But still his anger is not turned away, and his hand is still raised up.
5 Curses to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger. The club in their hand is my righteous fury.
6 I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and I will give him a command to take the spoils from the people of my anger, and to take the prey and trample them down like the mud of the streets.
7 But he does not try to do my will, only to destroy many nations.
8 The Assyrian says, Are not my commanders all kings?
9 Have not all the cities in Israel fallen before me, one after another the same?
10 We have taken many kingdoms of idols, whose gods were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria.
11 He, Assyria, says, Will I not do to Jerusalem and her idols as I have done to Samaria and her idols?
12 But when the Lord has done his whole work on Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, I will punish the king of Assyria for his proud heart and the arrogant look of his eyes.
13 Because the king says, By the strength of my hand and by my own wisdom I have done these things, because I am clever, and I have removed the borders of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the people like a mighty man;
14 And my hand has found the riches of the people like in a nest, and I have gathered all the earth like gathering eggs, and no one dared to oppose me.
15 But God says, Will the ax boast of itself to him who swings it? Will the saw glorify itself to him who moves it? Would the rod shake itself against the one holding it, or the staff lift up the holder as though the staff were not wood?
16 So the Lord of Hosts will send a wasting plague among his strong ones, and by his glory they will be consumed by a burning fire.
17 And the light of Israel will become a fire, and their Holy One the flame, and he will devour his thorns and briars by fire in one day;
18 And will consume the glory of his forest and fruitful field; and they will fall like a fainting flag bearer.
19 And the trees left in his forest will be so few that a child can count them.
20 In that day, the remnant of Israel will no more rely on him that struck them, but will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
21 The remnant of Israel will return to the mighty God.
22 Although your people are like the sand of the sea, Israel, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction has been sentenced, and will overflow with righteousness.
23 The Lord God of Hosts will make a great destruction.
24 Thus says the Lord God, My people in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian, even though he will strike you with a rod, and will lift up his stick against you, as Egypt did.
25 Soon my anger against you will stop and will turn to their destruction.
26 The Lord of Hosts will whip the Assyrian as he has with others, like he used his power on the sea with Egypt.
27 In that day that his burden will be taken from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of his anointing.
28 The Assyrian goes from place to place, ever closer to Jerusalem, destroying cities and spreading fear everywhere.
32 He will shake his hand against the mount of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
33 The Lord of Hosts will cut off the branch with power, and the high ones will be cut down, and the arrogant will be humbled.
34 And he will cut down the thick forests with iron, and Lebanon will fall by a mighty one.
CHAPTER 21
The stem of Jesse (Christ) will judge in righteousness—The knowledge of God will cover the earth in the Millennium—The Lord will raise an ensign and gather Israel—Compare Isaiah 11. About 559–545 B.C.
1 A shoot will come out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch will grow out of his roots.
2 And the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
3 And will make him quick of understanding, and he will not judge after the sight of his eyes, nor rebuke after the hearing of his ears.
4 But with righteousness he will judge the poor, and correct with fairness for the meek of the earth; and he will afflict the earth with the power of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.
5 And righteousness will be his belt, and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and yearling together, and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child will play on the hole of the poisonous snake, and the weaned child will put his hand in the viper’s den.
9 In all my holy mountain they will not hurt or destroy because the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, like the waters cover the sea.
10 In that day there will be a root of Jesse, who will stand for a banner to the people. The Gentiles will look to it, and his resting place will be glorious.
11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand the second time to recover the remnant of his people which will be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the far lands of the earth.
12 He will raise a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the scattered of Judah from everywhere on the earth.
13 The jealousy of Ephraim will depart, and the enemies of Judah will be cut off; Ephraim will not envy Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim.
14 They will fly together over the shoulders of the Philistines towards the west; they will plunder the people of the east together, they will subdue Edom and Moab; and the Ammonites will obey them.
15 The Lord will dry up the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind he will sweep his hand over the Euphrates river, and will strike it into seven streams, so a man can walk over each.
16 And there will be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came out of Egypt.
CHAPTER 22
In the millennial day all men will praise the Lord—He will dwell among them—Compare Isaiah 12. About 559–545 B.C.
1 In that day you will say, O Lord, I will praise you. Though you were angry with me, your anger is turned away, and now you comfort me.
2 God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid because the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.
3 So with joy you will draw water out of the wells of salvation.
4 And in that day you will say, Praise the Lord, call on his name, declare his works among the people, share that his name is exalted.
5 Sing to the Lord because he has done excellent things, which is known in all the world.
6 Cry out and shout, you people of Zion because great is the Holy One of Israel among you.
CHAPTER 23
The destruction of Babylon is a type of the destruction at the Second Coming—It will be a day of anger and vengeance—Babylon (the world) will fall forever—Compare Isaiah 13. About 559–545 B.C.
1 A prophecy of Babylon, seen by Isaiah, son of Amoz.
2 Lift up a signal on a high mountain, shout and gesture to them to raise an army to go through the gates of the mighty ones of Babylon.
3 I have commanded my holy and mighty warriors because I am not angry with those who rejoice in my glory.
4 There is a great and violent noise of great numbers and kingdoms who are gathered as the Lord of Hosts calls together an army to battle.
5 They come from far lands, from the end of heaven, with the Lord and the weapons of his anger, to destroy the whole land.
6 Wail, because the day of the Lord is near; it will come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 So all hands will be weak, every man’s heart will melt with fear;
8 They will be afraid; pain and sorrows will grip them; they will look at each other shocked, their faces like flames of fear.
9 The day of the Lord comes cruel with fierce anger to make the land desolate, and he will destroy the sinners out of it.
10 The stars of heaven will not give their light, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not allow her light to shine.
11 I will punish the world for evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will cause the arrogance of the proud to stop, and will crush the self-importance of the mighty.
12 I will make people more scarce than fine gold.
13 I will shake the heavens and move the earth from her place, in the anger of the Lord of Hosts and in the day of his fierce anger.
14 In Babylon, every man will find his own people and run to his own land, like a hunted gazelle or a lost sheep.
15 Every proud one will be pierced through, and every one joined to the wicked will fall by the sword.
16 Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be spoiled and their wives violated.
17 I will stir up the Medes against them, who do not care about silver and gold.
18 Their bows will strike down the young men, and they will have no pity on the babies, nor spare the children.
19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 She will never be inhabited again, but will be empty from generation to generation. Arabians will not pitch their tents there, nor will shepherds rest their flocks.
21 Wild beasts of the desert will lie there; jackals will fill their houses. Owls will live there, and wild goats will dance.
22 The wild beasts of distant lands will howl in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces; her end time is near, and her days will not be prolonged. I will destroy her speedily; because I will be merciful to my people, but the wicked will perish.
CHAPTER 24
Israel will be gathered and will enjoy millennial rest—Lucifer was cast out of heaven for rebellion—Israel will triumph over Babylon (the world)—Compare Isaiah 14. About 559–545 B.C.
1 The Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel and put them in their own land; and strangers will be joined with them and unite with the house of Jacob.
2 From the ends of the earth nations will take Israel home to their own places, returning to their lands of promise. And the house of Israel will possess them and rule over their oppressors.
3 In that day the Lord will give you rest from your sorrow and fear and from the hard bondage you have served.
4 In that day speak this against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has been stopped, and the golden city has ended!
5 The Lord has broken the power of the wicked and the rule of the leaders.
6 He who afflicted the people in anger continually, who ruled the nations in anger, is now persecuted, and none can stop it.
7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet; they break forth into singing.
8 The fir trees rejoice in your face, and also the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since you are struck down no axeman comes to harm us.
9 Hell from beneath is excited to meet you. It stirs up the dead to see you who were the leaders of the world. Past kings rise from their thrones.
10 All these will say to you, Now are you as weak as we? Have you become like us?
11 Your arrogance is brought down to the grave; the noise of your music is not heard; the worms take you and cover you.
12 How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!
13 You have said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit enthroned on the mountain of the congregation in the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.
15 But you will be brought down to hell, to the depths of the pit.
16 Whoever sees you will stare and say, Is this the man who made the earth to tremble and shook kingdoms?
17 And made the world like a wilderness, and destroyed the cities, and closed the gates of his prisoners?
18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb.
19 But you are cast out of your grave like a rejected branch. Like a corpse tramped under foot, you are covered with those who were killed by the sword and cast down to the pit.
20 You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land and killed your people. Your wicked offspring will be unknown to you.
21 Prepare a slaughter for his children because of the iniquities of their fathers, so they do not rise or possess the land, nor fill the world with cities.
22 I will rise up against them, says the Lord of Hosts, and will cut off Babylon’s name, survivors, and descendants.
23 I will also make it a swamp for water birds, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction.
24 The Lord of Hosts has sworn, Surely as I have thought, it will happen; and as I have proposed, it will stand;
25 That I will bring the Assyrian in my land, and trample him under foot on my mountains; then his yoke will be taken from my people, and his burden depart from their shoulders.
26 This is my plan for the whole earth, and this is my hand that is stretched out upon all nations.
27 For the Lord of Hosts has spoken, so who can stop him? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it away?
28 This prophecy came in the year King Ahaz died.
29 Do not rejoice, you Philistines, because the rod of him that afflicted you is broken, because out of the serpent’s root will come a viper, and his fruit will be a fiery flying serpent.
30 The poorest will have food, and the needy will lie down in safety; and I will kill your root with famine, and he will kill your remnant.
31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; all you Philistines are melted away; there will come from the north a smoke, and there will be no stragglers among them.
32 What will be the answer to the pleadings of the nations? That the Lord has founded Zion, and the poor of his people will trust in him.
CHAPTER 25
Nephi glories in plainness—Isaiah’s prophecies will be understood in the last days—The Jews will return from Babylon, crucify the Messiah, and be scattered and scourged—They will be restored when they believe in the Messiah—He will first come six hundred years after Lehi left Jerusalem—The Nephites keep the law of Moses and believe in Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel. About 559–545 B.C.
1 I, Nephi, speak about the words of Isaiah I have written. Isaiah spoke many things that were hard for many of my people to understand, because they don’t know about the manner of prophesying among the Jews.
2 I have not taught them much about the manner of the Jews because their works were darkness and abominations.
3 I write to all who will receive these things, so they may know the judgments of God, that they come upon all nations according to the word he has spoken.
4 Listen, my people of the house of Israel. Even though the words of Isaiah are not plain to you, they are plain to those filled with the spirit of prophecy. But I prophesy according to the Spirit and according to the plainness which has been with me from the time I came out from Jerusalem because my soul delights in plainness to my people, so they may learn.
5 My soul delights in the words of Isaiah because I came from Jerusalem, and I know the ways of the Jews, and I know that the Jews understand the prophets, and no one understands the things spoken to the Jews like they do, unless they are taught the ways of the Jews.
6 I have not taught my children the ways of the Jews, but I have taught them about the judgments of God that have happened among the Jews.
7 I will give my own prophecy in plainness so people are not confused. In the days when the prophecies of Isaiah will be fulfilled men will know it at the times when they will happen.
8 These words of Isaiah are worthwhile to men, which is why I have written them. I speak especially to my own people, because I know these words will be valuable to them in the last days, when they will understand them.
9 Because of iniquity, the Jews have been destroyed from generation to generation, and always it was prophesied to them by the prophets of the Lord.
10 They were told about the destruction that would come upon them immediately after my father left Jerusalem, but they hardened their hearts, and according to my prophecy they have been destroyed, except those who are carried away into Babylon.
11 I say this because of the spirit that is in me. Even though they have been carried away, they will return again and possess the land of Jerusalem, so they will be restored again to the land of their inheritance.
12 But they will have wars and rumors of wars, and the day comes when the Only Begotten of the Father—the Father of heaven and of earth—will show himself to them in the flesh. But they will reject him because of their iniquities, the hardness of their hearts, and the stiffness of their necks.
13 They will crucify him, and after he is laid in a tomb for three days he will rise from the dead with healing in his wings, and all those who believe on his name will be saved in the kingdom of God. My soul delights to prophesy about him, because I have seen his day, and my heart glorifies his holy name.
14 After the Messiah has risen from the dead and shown himself to his people, all those who believe on his name, Jerusalem will be destroyed again, because curses be to those who fight against God and the people of his church.
15 The Jews will be scattered among all nations, and Babylon will be destroyed, so the Jews will be scattered by other nations.
16 After they have been scattered, the Lord God will afflict them by other nations for many generations until they will be persuaded to believe in Christ, the Son of God, and the atonement, which is infinite for all mankind. And they will worship the Father in his name, with pure hearts and clean hands, not looking anymore for another Messiah.
17 Then the Lord will restore his people from their lost and fallen state a second time. He will do a marvelous work and a wonder among men.
18 He will bring his words to them, words that will judge them at the last day. His words are intended to convince them of the true Messiah, who was rejected by them, and to convince them not to look forward any more for another Messiah because there cannot be another, except a false Messiah to deceive the people.
19 The prophets say that the Messiah comes in six hundred years from the time my father left Jerusalem; and the prophets say, along with the word of the angel of God, that his name will be Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
20 I have spoken plainly so you cannot be mistaken. As the Lord God lives, there is no other name under heaven by which man can be saved, except it be this Jesus Christ. So says the Lord, who brought Israel out of the land of Egypt and gave Moses power to heal the nations after they had been bitten by the poisonous serpents, if they would look to the serpent he raised before them. God also gave him power to strike the rock so the water would come forth.
21 The Lord God promised me that these things I write will be kept, preserved, and handed down to my seed, from generation to generation, so that the promise may be fulfilled to Joseph that his seed would never perish as long as the earth would stand.
22 By the will of God, these things will go from generation to generation as long as the earth will stand, and the nations who possess them will be judged according to the words that are written.
23 We labor diligently to write in order to persuade our children and our brethren to believe in Christ, and to be reunited with God; and we know that it is by grace we are saved after all we can do.
24 Even though we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses and look forward steadily to Christ until the law will be fulfilled.
25 For this purpose the law was given, so the law has become dead to us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith, but we keep the law because of the command to do so.
26 We talk about Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies so our children may know where to look for a remission of their sins.
27 We speak about the law of Moses so our children may know the deadness of the law, and then they can look forward to the life that is in Christ, and know the purpose of the law being given; and so after the law is fulfilled in Christ, that they will not harden their hearts against him when the law needs to be done away.
28 My people, you are stubbornly proud, so I have spoken plainly to you so you cannot misunderstand. The words I have spoken will stand as a testimony against you because they are sufficient to teach any man the right way, which is to believe in Christ and not deny him, because by denying him you also deny the prophets and the law.
29 The right way is to believe in Christ and not deny him, and Christ is the Holy One of Israel, so you must bow down before him and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul, and if you do this you cannot be cast out.
30 It is necessary that you keep the performances and ordinances of God until the law given to Moses will be fulfilled.
CHAPTER 26
Christ will minister to the Nephites—Nephi foresees the destruction of his people—They will speak from the dust—The Gentiles will build up false churches and secret combinations—The Lord forbids men to practice priestcrafts. About 559–545 B.C.
1 After Christ rises from the dead he will show himself to you, my children and beloved brethren, and the words he speaks to you will be the law you will do.
2 I have seen that many generations will pass away, and there will be great wars and contentions among my people.
3 After the Messiah comes there will be signs given to my people of his birth, and also of his death and resurrection; and that day will be great and terrible to the wicked. They will perish because they cast out the prophets and the saints, and stone them and kill them, so the cry of the blood of the saints against them will ascend to God from the ground.
4 The Lord of Hosts says, The day comes when all those who are proud and do wickedly will be burned like straw.
5 The Lord of Hosts says, The depths of the earth will swallow those who kill the prophets and saints, and mountains will cover them, and whirlwinds will carry them away, and buildings will fall on them, crush them to pieces, and grind them to powder.
6 The Lord of Hosts says, They will be visited with thunder, lightning, earthquakes, and all manner of destruction, because the fire of the Lord’s anger will be brought against them, and the day comes that the fire will consume them like straw.
7 O the pain and anguish of my soul for the loss of my people who are killed! I have seen it, and it nearly consumes me before the presence of the Lord. But I must cry to my God, Thy ways are righteous.
8 The righteous will not perish, those who listen to the words of the prophets, who don’t destroy them, but who look forward to Christ with steady faith for the signs that are given, regardless of all persecution.
9 The Son of Righteousness will appear to them and heal them, and they will have peace with him, until three generations—and many of the fourth generation—will pass away in righteousness.
10 When these things happen, a speedy destruction comes to my people, because I have seen it, despite the pains of my soul, so I know that it will happen; and they sell themselves for nothing because they reap destruction as a reward for their pride and foolishness. Because they yield to the devil and choose works of darkness rather than light, they must go down to hell.
11 The Spirit of the Lord will not always work with man. And when the Spirit stops working with man, speedy destruction comes, and this grieves my soul.
12 I spoke about convincing the Jews that Jesus is the true Christ, and so it is necessary that the Gentiles also be convinced that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God;
13 And that he shows himself to all those who believe in him by the power of the Holy Ghost; to every nation, culture, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders among the children of men according to their faith.
14 I prophesy to you about the last days, the days when the Lord God will bring these things to men.
15 My seed and the seed of my brothers will weaken in unbelief, and will be afflicted by the Gentiles; and the Lord God will camp against them all around, and will lay siege against them with strength, and raise forts against them; and they will be brought down low in the dust, even to extinction. But the words of the righteous will be written, and the prayers of the faithful will be heard, and all those who have weakened in unbelief will not be forgotten because those who are destroyed will speak to them out of the ground, out of the dust, and their voice will be familiar; and the Lord God will give him power so he may whisper about them, like out of the ground.
17 The Lord God says, They will write the things that will be done among them, and they will be written and sealed up in a book, and those who have weakened in unbelief will not have them, because they try to destroy the things of God.
18 Those who have been destroyed have been destroyed speedily, gone in an instant like blown dust, and then those who have weakened in unbelief will be afflicted by the Gentiles.
20 The Gentiles are proud in their own eyes, and have stumbled because of the greatness of this stumbling block, so they have built up many churches, but they put down the power and miracles of God, and preach their own wisdom and learning so they may get profit and oppress the poor.
21 There are many churches built up that cause envy, contention, and evil intent.
22 There are also secret combinations, as in times of old, according to the combinations of the devil, for he is the founder of all these things, the founder of murder and works of darkness; and he leads them by the neck with a thin string until he binds them with his strong cords forever.
23 My beloved brethren, I say to you that the Lord God does not work in darkness.
24 He does nothing except it is for the benefit of the world because he loves the world so much that he laid down his own life so he could draw all men to him. He commands none to not share in his salvation.
25 Does he cry to any, saying, Depart from me? No, instead he says, Come to me, all you ends of the earth; buy milk and honey without money and without price.
26 Has he commanded any to leave their synagogues or houses of worship? No.
27 Has he commanded any not to share in his salvation? No, instead he has given it free for all men, and he has commanded his people to persuade all men to repentance.
28 Has the Lord commanded any not to share in goodness? No, all men are privileged, one like the other, and none are forbidden.
29 He commands that there will be no priestcrafts, where men preach and set themselves up for a light to the world so they can get profit and praise from the world, but they don’t work for the welfare of Zion.
30 The Lord has forbidden this thing. He has commanded that all men should have charity, which is love. And unless they have love they are nothing. So if they have love they will not allow the laborer in Zion to perish.
31 The laborer in Zion will labor for Zion, because if they labor for money they will perish.
32 The Lord God has commanded that men should not murder, or lie, or steal, or take the name of the Lord their God in vain, or envy, or have malice, or argue one with another, or commit whoredoms; and that they should do none of these things because whoever does them will perish.
33 None of these iniquities come from the Lord, because he does good among men, and he does nothing except it is plain to the children of men. He invites them all to come to him and have a part of his goodness, and he denies none that come to him, black and white, slave and free, male and female; and he remembers the heathen, and all are alike to God, both Jew and Gentile.
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.
1 In the last days, in the days of the Gentiles, all the nations of the Gentiles and the Jews will be drunk with iniquity, both those who will come on this land and those who will be on all other lands of the earth.
2 When that day comes they will be visited by the Lord of Hosts, with thunder, earthquake, a great noise, storm, violence, and with the flame of devouring fire.
3 All the nations that fight against Zion and distress her will vanish like a dream of the night. They will be like a hungry man who dreams of eating but wakes with an empty soul, or like a thirsty man who dreams of drinking but awakes faint. His soul is filled with desire, and so will all the nations be who fight against Mount Zion.
4 All you who do iniquity, be stunned and amazed, because you will cry out. You will be drunk but not with wine, you will stagger but not with strong drink.
5 The Lord has poured out the spirit of deep sleep upon you. You have closed your eyes by rejecting the prophets, and he has blinded your rulers and seers because of your iniquity.
6 The Lord God will bring you a book, and it will be the words of those who have slept.
7 The book will be sealed; and in it will be a revelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the end.
8 The things that are sealed will not be delivered in the day of the wickedness and abominations of the people, so the book will be kept from them.
9 The book—the words of those who have slept in the dust—will be delivered to a man, and he will give the words of the book to another man.
10 But he will not deliver the sealed words, nor the whole book. The book will be sealed by the power of God, and the revelation that was sealed will be kept in the book until the chosen time of the Lord, when they will come forth because they reveal all things from the foundation of the world to the end.
11 The day comes when the sealed words of the book will be read on the house tops, and they will be read by the power of Christ; and all things will be revealed to men that ever have been among men, and that ever will be even to the end of the earth.
12 At the day when the book will be delivered to the man I spoke of, the book will be hid from the eyes of the world, so it will not be seen except that three witnesses will see it by the power of God, besides him to whom the book will be delivered, and they will testify to the truth of the book and the things in it.
13 No one will see the book, except a few according to the will of God, to bear testimony of his word to men because the Lord God has said that the words of the faithful would speak like from the dead.
14 So the Lord God will bring forth the words of the book, and he will establish his word in the mouth of as many witnesses as seems good to him. And misery will be to him who rejects the word of God!
15 The Lord God will say to him to whom he will deliver the book, Take these words that are not sealed and give them to another, so he may show them to the educated, saying, Read this, I pray you. And the educated man will say, Bring the book here, and I will read them.
16 He will say this because of the glory of the world and to get profit, not for the glory of God.
17 And the man will say, I cannot bring the book because it is sealed.
18 Then the educated man will say, Then I cannot read it.
19 The Lord God will deliver the book to him who is not educated, and he will say, I am not educated.
20 Then the Lord God will say to him: The educated will not read them because they have rejected them, and I am able to do my own work. So you will read the words I will give you.
21 Don’t touch the things that are sealed because I will bring them out in my own chosen time. I will show to men that I am able to do my own work.
22 When you have read the words I have commanded you, and obtained the witnesses I have promised you, you will seal up the book again and hide it to me, so I may preserve the words you have not read until I choose in my own wisdom to reveal all things to men.
23 I am God, and a God of miracles, and I will show to the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever, and I do not work among men except according to their faith.
24 The Lord will say to him who will read the words delivered to him,
25 These people come close to me with their words and honor me with their lips but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear toward me is from the ways of men.
26 So I will do a marvelous work and a wonder among this people, and the wisdom of their wise and educated will perish, and the understanding of their intelligent will vanish.
27 Misery to those who try to hide their plans from the Lord! Their works are in the dark, and they say, Who sees us or knows us? But he will say, You turn things upside down, comparing the clay to the potter. But can the one who is created say to the creator, you did not make me? Can the clay say to the potter that he doesn’t understand?
28 The Lord of Hosts says, I will show to men that Lebanon will soon be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field will be valued as a forest.
29 In that day the deaf will hear the words of the book, and the blind will see out of gloom and darkness.
30 The humble will increase and rejoice in the Lord, and the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
31 As surely as the Lord lives, the terrible one is reduced to nothing, and the mocker will disappear, and all who look for iniquity are cut off,
32 Including those who make a man guilty for a word, and lay a trap for him who defends the gate, and push away the righteous like they were nothing.
33 This is what the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says about the house of Jacob: No more will Jacob be ashamed, nor will his face become pale.
34 When Jacob sees in his children the work of my hands, they will make my name holy, the Holy One of Jacob, and they will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
35 Those who were lost in spirit will come to understanding, and those who complained will receive instruction.
CHAPTER 28
Many false churches will be built up in the last days—They will teach false, vain, and foolish doctrines—Apostasy will abound because of false teachers—The devil will rage in the hearts of men—He will teach all manner of false doctrines. About 559–545 B.C.
1 I have spoken to you as the Spirit has directed me, so I know these things will surely happen.
2 And the things that will be written in the book will be of great worth to men, and especially to our seed, which is a remnant of the house of Israel.
3 The day comes when those churches are built up that I spoke of, and not to the Lord, and one will say to the other, I am the Lord’s; and the others will say, I am the Lord’s; and this is what they all will say who have built up churches but not to the Lord.
4 They will argue with each other; and their priests will fight with each other, and they will teach with their own learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which gives true speech.
5 They deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel, and they say to the people, Listen to us and hear our teachings because there is no God today, because the Lord and the Redeemer has done his work and given his power to men.
6 They will say, listen to my teaching: if people will say there is a miracle worked by the hand of the Lord, don’t believe it because today he is not a God of miracles; he has done his work.
7 There will be many who will say, Eat, drink, and be merry because tomorrow we die, and it will be well with us.
8 There will also be many who will say, Eat, drink, and be merry, but fear God. He will justify committing a little sin, so lie a little, take advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for your neighbor—there is no harm in this—and do all these things because tomorrow we die. And if it happens that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few lashes, and in the end we will be saved in the kingdom of God.
9 There will be many who will teach in this way, false and vain and foolish doctrines, and will be puffed up in their hearts, and will try to hide their plans from the Lord, and their works will be in the dark.
10 The blood of the saints will cry from the ground against them.
11 They have all gone out of the true way. They have become corrupted.
12 Because of pride, and false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted, and their churches are lifted up. Because of pride they are puffed up.
13 They rob the poor to maintain their fine buildings and to buy their fine clothing; and they persecute the humble because of their pride.
14 Because of pride, wickedness, stubbornness, and whoredoms, they have all gone off the path, except a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; but even they wander after the ways of men.
15 O the wise, the educated, the rich who are proud, those who preach false doctrines, and all those who commit whoredoms and pervert the right way of the Lord. The Lord God Almighty says, Curses, curses, curses to them, because they will be thrust down to hell!
16 Misery to those who reject the righteous like nothing, and speak evil against goodness, saying it is worthless! The day will come when the Lord God will speedily visit the people of the earth, and in that day when they are fully ripe in iniquity they will perish.
17 But the Lord of Hosts says, If the people of the earth repent of their wickedness they will not be destroyed.
18 That great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, must tumble to the ground, and its fall will be great.
19 The kingdom of the devil must be shaken, and they who belong to it must be stirred up to repentance, or the devil will grasp them with his everlasting chains, and they will be stirred up to anger and will perish;
20 Because at that day he will rage in the hearts of men, and stir them in anger against that which is good.
21 He will quietly deceive others into a false feeling of safety, so they will say, All is well in Zion, Zion prospers; and so the devil cheats their souls and leads them away carefully down to hell.
22 He flatters others away and tells them there is no hell, and he says, I am no devil, because there is none. So he whispers in their ears until he grasps them with his awful chains, from which there is no deliverance.
23 They are grasped with death and hell; and death, hell, the devil, and all who have been grasped by him must stand before the throne of God and be judged by their works; and then they must go to the place prepared for them, a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.
24 Misery be to him who is at ease in Zion!
25 Misery be to him who cries, All is well!
26 Misery be to him who listens to the moral laws of men but denies the power of God and the gift of the Holy Ghost!
27 Misery be to him who says, We have received, and we need no more!
28 In summary, misery to all those who shake and are angry because of the truth of God! He who is built on the rock receives it with gladness, but he who is built on a sandy foundation trembles for fear that he will fall.
29 Misery be to him who will say, We have received the word of God, and we need no more of it, because we have enough!
30 The Lord God says, I will give to men line upon line, law upon law, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who listen to my laws and direction, because they will learn wisdom. I will give more to those who receive, but I will take away what they have from those who say, We have enough.
31 Cursed is he who puts his trust in man, or gets his power from the world, or who listens to the laws of men, unless their laws are given by the power of the Holy Ghost.
32 The Lord of Hosts says, Curses be to the Gentiles, because even though I am patient in giving them my power, they will deny me. But I will be merciful to them if they repent and come to me because my power is offered all the day long.
CHAPTER 29
Many Gentiles will reject the Book of Mormon—They will say, We need no more Bible—The Lord speaks to many nations—He will judge the world out of the books which will be written. About 559–545 B.C.
1 I will do a marvelous work among them, so I may remember covenants I made with men, so I can take action the second time to recover my people from the house of Israel, and to remember the promises I made to you, Nephi, and to your father, that I would remember your seed, and that the words of your seed would go from my mouth to your seed. And my words will call to the ends of the earth to be a banner to my people, the house of Israel.
3 But at that day many of the Gentiles will say: A Bible! A Bible! We’ve got a Bible, and there can’t be any more Bible.
4 The Lord God says, O fools, they will have a Bible, and it will come from the Jews, my ancient covenant people. But what thanks do they give the Jews for the Bible they get from them? What do the Gentiles think? Do they remember the labors and pains of the Jews, and their diligence to me in bringing salvation to the Gentiles?
5 O you Gentiles, have you remembered the Jews, my ancient covenant people? No, you have cursed and hated them, and not tried to recover them. But I will return all these things back on your own heads because I the Lord have not forgotten my people.
6 You fool who will say, A Bible, we’ve got a Bible, and we need no more Bible, have you obtained a Bible except by the Jews?
7 Do you not know that there are more nations than one? And that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those in all the far lands, and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath, and I bring my word to men in all the nations of the earth?
8 So why do you complain because you receive more of my word? Do you not know that the testimony of two nations is a testimony to you that I am God, that I remember one nation like another? So I speak the same words to one nation as to another. And when the two nations come together the testimony of the two nations will come together also.
9 I do this to prove to many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak my words according to my own will. And just because I have spoken one word you should not think that I cannot speak another, because my work is not yet finished, nor will it finish until the end of man, and forever.
10 Just because you have a Bible you should not suppose that it contains all my words; neither should you think that I have not caused more to be written.
11 I command all men over all the earth to write the words I speak to them because from the books that will be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to what is written.
12 I will speak to the Jews and they will write it; and I will speak to the Nephites and they will write it; and I will speak to the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they will write it; and I will speak to all nations of the earth, and they will write it.
13 The Jews will have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites will have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and Jews will have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel will have the words of the Nephites and the Jews.
14 My people of the house of Israel will be gathered home to their lands, and my word will be gathered together. I will show to those who fight against my word and against my people, the house of Israel, that I am God, and that I covenanted with Abraham that I would remember his seed forever.
CHAPTER 30
Converted Gentiles will be numbered with the covenant people—Many Lamanites and Jews will believe the word and become delightsome—Israel will be restored and the wicked destroyed. About 559–545 B.C.
1 I, Nephi, speak to you because I don’t want you to think that you are more righteous than the Gentiles will be. Unless you keep the commandments of God you will all perish like them, but because of the words that have been spoken you should not suppose that the Gentiles are completely destroyed.
2 I tell you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord; and as many of the Jews as will not repent will be cast off because the Lord covenants with none except those who repent and believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel.
3 Now I prophesy somewhat more about the Jews and Gentiles. I have spoken about the book that will come forth and be written to the Gentiles and sealed up again to the Lord. After the book comes out, there will be many who will believe the words that are written, and they will carry them to the remnant of our seed.
4 Then the remnant of our seed will know about us, how we came from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews.
5 And the gospel of Jesus Christ will be taught among them, so they will be restored to the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which their fathers had.
6 Then they will rejoice because they will know that this is a blessing to them from God. And the darkness will begin to fall from their eyes, and not many generations will pass before they will be a pure and delightful people.
7 The Jews who are scattered will also begin to believe in Christ, and they will begin to gather; and as many as believe in Christ will also become a delightful people.
8 The Lord God will begin his work among all nations, cultures, tongues, and people, to bring about the restoration of his people on the earth.
9 With righteousness the Lord God will judge the poor, and justly rebuke people in defense of the humble. He will afflict the earth with the power of his words, and with his word he will kill the wicked.
10 The time soon comes that the Lord God will cause a great division among the people. He will destroy the wicked but will spare his people, even if he has to destroy the wicked by fire.
11 Righteousness will be his belt, and faithfulness the sash of his waist.
12 Then the wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid and the calf, and the young lion and young prey will be together, and a little child will lead them.
13 The cow and the bear will eat together, their young ones will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
14 And the nursing child will play on the hole of the poisonous snake, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.
15 They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain because the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord like the waters cover the sea.
16 The things of all nations will be made known; all things will be made known to men.
17 All secrets will be revealed, and all works of darkness will be shown in the light, and everything sealed on the earth will be released.
18 At that day all things that have ever been revealed to men will be revealed again, and Satan will have no power over the hearts of men for a long time.
CHAPTER 31
Nephi tells why Christ was baptized—Men must follow Christ, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end to be saved—Repentance and baptism are the gate to the strait and narrow path—Eternal life comes to those who keep the commandments after baptism. About 559–545 B.C.
1 I, Nephi, finish my prophesying to you, and I can write only a few things that I know will happen, with a few words of my brother Jacob.
2 I have written enough, except for a few words I must speak about the doctrine of Christ, so I will speak to you plainly.
3 My soul delights in plainness because this is how the Lord God works among men. He gives light to the understanding. He speaks to men according to their language and understanding.
4 Remember that I spoke about the prophet who would baptize the Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the world, who the Lord showed to me.
5 If the Lamb of God, being holy, should need to be baptized by water to fulfil all righteousness, then how much more need we have, being unholy, to be baptized by water!
6 I ask you, how did the Lamb of God fulfil all righteousness in being baptized by water?
7 Even though he is holy, he shows to men that he humbles himself before the Father in the flesh, and testifies to the Father that he would be obedient to him in keeping his commandments.
8 And after he was baptized with water the Holy Ghost descended on him in the form of a dove.
9 It shows to men by his example the narrowness of the path and the gate by which they should enter, he having set the example before them.
10 He said to men, Follow me. So can we follow Jesus unless we are willing to keep the commandments of the Father?
11 The Father said: Repent, repent, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.
12 And the voice of the Son came to me, saying: He who is baptized in my name, to him the Father will give the Holy Ghost, like he did with me, so follow me and do the things you have seen me do.
13 I know that if you follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, without hypocrisy or deception before God but with real intent, you will repent of your sins and testify to the Father that you are willing to take upon you the name of Christ by baptism. You will follow your Lord and Savior into the water according to his word, and then you will receive the Holy Ghost. Then comes the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and then you can speak with the tongue of angels and shout praises to the Holy One of Israel.
14 The voice of the Son says, After you have repented of your sins and testified to the Father that you are willing to keep my commandments by baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, the tongue of angels, then if you deny me, it would have been better for you that you had not known me.
15 I heard a voice from the Father, saying, The words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He who continues to the end will be saved.
16 I know that unless a man will continue to the end, by following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.
17 Do the things I have seen your Lord and Redeemer do, so you can know that the gate by which you should enter is repentance and baptism by water, and then comes a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.
18 Then you are in the exact and narrow path that leads to eternal life. You have entered in by the gate according to the commandments of the Father and the Son, and you have received the Holy Ghost, who testifies of the Father and Son, thereby fulfilling the promise which he made that if you entered in by the way, you would receive.
19 Now, after you have gotten into this exact and narrow path, I ask if everything is done? No, because you have come this far only by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly on the virtues of him who is mighty to save.
20 So you must press forward with a firmness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope and a love of God and of all men. So if you press forward, feasting on the word of Christ, and continue to the end, the Father says, You will have eternal life.
21 This is the way, and man can be saved in the kingdom of God by no other way or name given under heaven. This is the doctrine of Christ and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.
CHAPTER 32
Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost—Men must pray and gain knowledge for themselves from the Holy Ghost. About 559–545 B.C.
1 My beloved brethren, I suppose that you ponder in your hearts about what you should do after you have entered in by the way. But why do you wonder?
2 Remember how I said that after you receive the Holy Ghost, you could speak with the tongue of angels? And how could you do that except by the Holy Ghost?
3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost, so they speak the words of Christ. So I told you to feast on the words of Christ because they will tell you all the things you should do.
4 So now, after I have spoken these words, if you cannot understand them it will be because you don’t ask or knock, so you are not brought into the light but must perish in the dark.
5 If you will enter in by the way and receive the Holy Ghost, he will show you all things you should do.
6 This is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he will show himself to you in the flesh. And when he does show himself, do the things he will say to you.
7 I cannot say more. The Spirit stops my speaking, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, wickedness, ignorance, and stubborn pride of men. They will not search or understand great knowledge even when it is given to them as plain as word can be.
8 I see that you still ponder in your hearts, and it grieves me that I must speak about this thing. If you will listen to the Spirit, who teaches a man to pray, you would know that you must pray because only the evil spirit fails to teach a man to pray but teaches him that he must not pray.
9 You must pray always and not weaken, and don’t do any work for the Lord except first you pray to the Father in the name of Christ, so he will make your work sacred to you, so your work will benefit your soul.
CHAPTER 33
Nephi’s words are true—They testify of Christ—Those who believe in Christ will believe Nephi’s words, which will stand as a witness before the judgment bar. About 559–545 B.C.
1 I, Nephi, cannot write all the things that were taught among my people, nor am I mighty in writing like I am in speaking because when a man speaks by the power of the Holy Ghost, the power of the Holy Ghost carries it to the hearts of the children of men.
2 There are many who harden their hearts against the Holy Spirit so he has no place in them, so they throw away many things that are written and value them as nothing.
3 But I have written what I have written, and I value it as having great worth, especially to my people. I pray for them continually by day, and by night my eyes water my pillow because of them. I cry to my God in faith, and I know he will hear my cry.
4 I know that the Lord God makes my prayers sacred for the benefit of my people. And the words I have written in weakness will be made strong to them because they persuade them to do good. These words make their fathers known to them, and they speak of Jesus, and persuade them to believe in him, and to continue to the end, which is life eternal.
5 These words speak harshly against sin, according to the plainness of the truth, so no man will be angry at the words I have written unless he has the spirit of the devil.
6 I glory in plainness, I glory in truth, I glory in my Jesus, because he has redeemed my soul from hell.
7 I have love for my people and great faith in Christ that I will meet many souls spotless at his judgment seat.
8 I have love for the Jew, who are those where I came from.
9 I also have love for the Gentiles, but I can hope for none of these unless they are reconciled to Christ, enter in the narrow gate, walk in the exact path that leads to life, and continue in the path until the end of the days of probation.
10 My beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all you ends of the earth, listen to these words and believe in Christ, and if you don’t believe in these words, believe in Christ. But if you believe in Christ, you will believe in these words, because they are the words of Christ, and he has given them to me, and they teach all men that they should do good.
11 You decide if these are not the words of Christ, but Christ will show you at the last day, with power and great glory, that they are his words. And you and I will stand face to face before his bar, and you will know that I have been commanded by him to write these things, despite my weakness.
12 I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day.
13 My beloved brethren, all those of the house of Israel, and all you ends of the earth, I speak to you like one crying from the dust. Farewell until that great day comes.
14 And you who will not take from the goodness of God, and respect the words of the Jews, and also my words, and the words that will come out of the mouth of the Lamb of God, I speak to you an everlasting farewell, because these words will condemn you at the last day.
15 What I seal on earth will be brought against you at the judgment bar, because the Lord has commanded me to say this, and I must obey. Amen.