| 20:1 Hearken
and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the
name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of
Judah, 1or out of
the waters of baptism, who
swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the
God of Israel, yet they swear not in truth nor in
righteousness. |
Here begins the first of
twenty-two chapters that Joseph Smith quoted from Isaiah,
at times almost verbatim from the King James Bible. This
despite the fact that the Book of Mormon writers
complained about limited space on the plates (Jarom 1:14), and about the
difficulty of engraving (Jacob 4:1).
Since the brass plates of Laban already contained the
book of Isaiah (I Nephi 5:13
and I Nephi 22:1), there
seemed to be little point in going to so much trouble to
copy so many chapters. Some commentators have suggested
that Smith included all these chapters from Isaiah as
filler material, to make up for the 116 pages that Martin
Harris lost. There are generally minor differences
between the BoM and the KJV, almost always in the
italicized portion of the KJV (which the KJV translators
used to indicate a clarifying phrase not in the original
text). See David Wright's discussion
on the KJV italics in the Book of Mormon.
Topic: Anachronistic
Quotes
Joseph Smith chose an unfortunate point to start his
quoting, since modern scholarship has determined that
Isaiah 40 through 55 were written by an unknown person
(usually denoted deutero-Isaiah) sometime after the Jews
returned from their exile in Babylon in about 536 BC. It
is thus very unlikely that Isaiah 48 would have been on
the brass plates. 
Isaiah 48:1 Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are
called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of
the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord,
and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in
truth, nor in righteousness.
Topic: Textual
Changes
[1] The phrase ‘out of the waters of
baptism’ was not present in the 1830 version, nor
the D MS, nor the E MS. It was present in the 1842
edition, but missing from all versions up to the 1920
edition.
In context, Isaiah obviously meant the phrase
"waters of Judah" as a metaphor for the
descendants of Judah. (Note the presence of the phrases
"house of Jacob" and "called by the name
of Israel"). It is extremely unlikely that Isaiah
had baptism in mind,
especially since this concept did not yet exist amongst
the Jews.
|
| 20:2
Nevertheless, they call themselves of the holy city, but
they do not stay themselves upon the God of Israel, who
is the Lord of Hosts; yea, the Lord of Hosts is his name.
|
48:2 For they call
themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the
God of Israel; The Lord of hosts is his name. |
| 20:3 Behold,
I have declared the former things from the beginning; and
they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them. I did
show them suddenly. |
48:3 I have declared the
former things from the beginning; and they went forth out
of my mouth, and I showed them; I did them
suddenly, and they came to pass. |
| 20:4 And I
did it because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy
neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; |
48:4 Because I knew that
thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron
sinew, and thy brow brass; |
| 20:5 And I
have even from the beginning declared to thee; before it
came to pass I showed them thee; and I showed them for
fear lest thou shouldst say--Mine idol hath done them,
and my graven image, and my molten image hath commanded
them. |
48:5 I have even from the
beginning declared it to thee; before it came to
pass I showed it thee: lest thou shouldest say,
Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my
molten image, hath commanded them. |
| 20:6 Thou
hast seen and heard all this; and will ye not declare
them? And that I have showed thee new things from this
time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. |
48:6 Thou hast heard, see
all this; and will not ye declare it? I have
showed thee new things from this time, even hidden
things, and thou didst not know them. |
| 20:7 They
are created now, and not from the beginning, even before
the day when thou heardest them not they were declared
unto thee, lest thou shouldst say--Behold I knew them. |
48:7 They are created now,
and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou
heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I
knew them. |
| 20:8 Yea,
and thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from
that time thine ear was not opened; for I knew that thou
wouldst deal very treacherously, and wast called a
transgressor from the womb. |
48:8 Yea, thou heardest not;
yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that
thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest
deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor
from the womb. |
| 20:9
Nevertheless, for my name's sake will I defer mine anger,
and for my praise will I refrain from thee, that I cut
thee not off. |
48:9 For my name's sake will
I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for
thee, that I cut thee not off. |
| 20:10 For,
behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the
furnace of affliction. |
48:10 Behold, I have refined
thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the
furnace of affliction. |
| 20:11 For
mine own sake, yea, for mine own sake will I do this, for
I will not suffer my name to be polluted, and I will not
give my glory unto another. |
48:11 For mine own sake, even
for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my
name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto
another. |
| 20:12
Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called, for I am
he; I am the first, and I am also the last. |
48:12 Hearken unto me, O
Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am
the first, I also am the last. |
| 20:13 Mine
hand hath also laid the foundation of the earth, and my
right hand hath spanned the heavens. I call unto them and
they stand up together. |
48:13 Mine hand also hath
laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath
spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they
stand up together. |
| 20:14 All
ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; who among them hath
declared these things unto them? The Lord hath loved him;
yea, and he will fulfil his word which he hath declared
by them; and he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his
arm shall come upon the Chaldeans. |
48:14 All ye, assemble
yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared
these things? The Lord hath loved him: he will do
his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on
the Chaldeans. |
| 20:15 Also,
saith the Lord; I the Lord, yea, I have spoken; yea, I
have called him to declare, I have brought him, and he
shall make his way prosperous. |
48:15 I, even I, have
spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and
he shall make his way prosperous. |
| 20:16 Come
ye near unto me; I have not spoken in secret; from the
beginning, from the time that it was declared have I
spoken; and the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me. |
48:16 Come ye near unto me,
hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the
beginning; from the time that it was, there am I:
and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me. |
| 20:17 And
thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of
Israel; I have sent him, the Lord thy God who teacheth
thee to profit, who leadeth thee by the way thou shouldst
go, hath done it. |
48:17 Thus saith the Lord,
thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the
Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth
thee by the way that thou shouldest go. |
| 20:18 O
that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments--then had
thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the
waves of the sea. |
48:18 O that thou hadst
hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as
a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: |
| 20:19 Thy
seed also had been as the sand; the offspring of thy
bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have
been cut off nor destroyed from before me. |
48:19 Thy seed also had been
as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the
gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor
destroyed from before me. |
| 20:20 Go ye
forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a
voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter to the end
of the earth; say ye: The Lord hath redeemed his servant
Jacob. |
48:20 Go ye forth of
Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of
singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to
the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his
servant Jacob. |
| 20:21 And
they thirsted not; he led them through the deserts; he
caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them; he
clave the rock also and the waters gushed out. |
48:21 And they thirsted not when
he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to
flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also,
and the waters gushed out. |
| 20:22 And
notwithstanding he hath done all this, and greater also,
there is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked. |
48:22 There is no
peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked. |
