1 [19:22a]
And when the time came, I, Nephi, taught my brothers these things.
2 [19:22b]
I opened before them the ancient records, the Plates of Brass, that they might see the works of יהוה YHVH in lands long past, and remember how YHVH Raphachaa had moved among the peoples of old.
3 [19:23a]
I read to them from the Book of Moses, from the Book of Beginnings, teaching of journeys, of covenant, and of calling.
4 [19:23b]
wanting to more fully turn their hearts to YHVH Raphachaa, their Ga’alib, I read to them the words of Isaiah, as his voice carries both the hand judgment and the hand of mercy, and his vision stretches across generations.
5 [19:23c]
And I showed them how all scripture speaks inwardly of us, that it might become living wisdom, bread for the journey, light for the path, and understanding for the soul.
6 [19:24]
And I said to them: Listen, O you who area remnant of Bnei Yisrael, you are also a branch that has been broken off! Hear the words written for all Yisrael, and receivea them as your own, that you may have hope, just as those from whom you were separated.
7 [19:24c]
For after this manner did the prophet speak:
8 [20:1/Isaiah 48:1]
Hear this and listen, O House of Jacob, you who beara the name Yisrael, who emerged from the waters of Judah, you,who speak the Name of יהוה YHVH and invoke Tzur Yisraelb, yet not in truth, and not in righteousness.
9 [20:2]
You call yourselves citizens of the holy city, but you do not lean your weight upon Tzur Yisrael, YHVH Tzva’ota, the Lord of Hosts—this is His Name.
10 [20:3]
See how from the beginning I declared what would be, my words went forth from My mouth, and suddenly I revealed them.
12 [20:5]
So I spoke beforehand, lest you say: My idol did this, my image commanded it.
13 [20:6]
You have seen, you have heard: will you not now testify? From this moment, I reveal new things, even those that have been hidden, mysteries you did not know.
14 [20:7]
And they are brought to light even now, not a long time ago, so you cannot say: I already understood.
15 [20:8]
Your ear was never fully open, I knew you would rebel, so from the womb you were called a transgressor.
16 [20:9]
¶ And yet, for the sake of My Name, I restrain My anger, for My glory, I do not cut you off.
17 [20:10]
Behold, I have refined you, I did seek you out in the furnace of affliction.
18 [20:11]
For My own sake, yes, My own sake, I act; for I will not allow My Name to be desecrated, nor My glory given to another.
19 [20:12]
¶ Listen to Me, O Jacoba! Listen, Yisrael, whom I have called! I Am He: I am the First, and I am the Last, Aleph-Tav!
20 [20:13]
And My hand laid the foundations of the earth; My right hand stretched out the heavens, and when I call to them, they stand together.
21 [20:14]
Gather yourselves and hear: Who among the idols foretold these things? יהוה YHVH loves His chosen one, and His will will be fulfilled: His will be done to Babylon, and His arm will rise against the Chaldeans.
22 [20:15]
I have spoken, I have called him, I have brought him forth, and his way will prosper.
23 [20:16]
¶ Come closer to Me, I have not spoken in secret; from the beginning, My voice has been heard! And now YHVH Elohim has sent Me, and His Ruach with Me.
24 [20:17]
Thus says יהוה YHVH, your Ga’ali, Kodesh Yisraelaa: I have sent him, יהוה YHVH, your Elohim, the One who teaches you to your benefit, who guides you in the way you should walk has done this.
25a [20:18]
O, that you had listened! Then your peace would have floweda like a river, and your righteousness like the wavesb of the sea.
26 [20:19]
Your descendants would have been countlessa as sand, your offspring like grains upon the shore; your name would never have been cut off from before Me.
27 [20:20]
¶ Go out from Bavela, flee from confusion and captivity; declare it with singing—proclaim it to the ends of the earth: יהוה YHVH has redeemed His servant Jacob!
28 [20:21]
They did not thirst in the deserts, He led them, He split the rock, and living watersa poured forth.
29 [20:22]
And yet, even though He has done all of this and more, there is no peace, says יהוה YHVH, for the wicked.
30 [21:1a]
¶ Hearken, O Bnei Yisrael, you who have been torn away, scattered like sparks from a shattered vessel, driven to distant shores by shepherds who forgot their calling; all you broken branches of the ancient tree: listen now to the voice that gathers.
31 [21:1b/Isaiah 49:1]
Listen to me, O islands of the sea, and you peoples who dwell at the edges of the earth; יהוה YHVH called me before my first breath; from the hidden chambers of my mother He spoke my name, before I knew myself, the Holy One knew me.
32 [21:2]
He shaped my words like a sharpened sword, keen with truth, and hid me within the shadow of His hand; like a polished arrow prepared for its hour, He placed me in His quiver until the appointed time.
33 [21:3]
And He said to me: You are My servant, O Yisrael! In you My splendor shall be revealed; through you the light of My Name will shine.
34 [21:4]
And yet I whispered in my weariness: I have labored for nothing; my strength has been poured out like water on dry ground; still my judgment rests with יהוה YHVH, and my work is gathered into the hands of my Elohim.
35 [21:5]
¶ Now, says יהוה YHVH, who formed me in the secret womb to be His servant, to turn Jacob’s heart homeward and call Yisrael back to the Source: Even if Yisrael seems not yet gathered, still I am precious in the eyes of יהוה YHVH, and Elohaia remains my strength.
36 [21:6]
And He spoke again: It is too small a thing that you should only raise the fallen tribes of Jacob and restore the preserved remnant of Yisrael! I will make you a light to the nations, a lamp upon the menorah of the world, that My salvation may reach to the farthest horizon.
37 [21:7]
Thus says יהוה YHVH, Ga’ali of Yisrael, His Kodesh, to the servant scorned and despised, rejected by rulers and nations: Kings will rise when they behold you; princes shall bow low in reverence, because יהוה YHVH is faithful, HaKodesh who has chosen you.
38 [21:8]
And יהוה YHVH says: In the season of favor I have heard you, O islesa of the sea, and in the day of salvation I have helped you; I will guard you and give you my servant as a covenant for the people, to renew the earth in restoration of the desolate inheritances.
39 [21:9]
You will say to the prisoners: Go free! and to those who sit in darkness: Come into the lighta, reveal yourselves! They shall find pasture along every road, and nourishment on every height.
40 [21:10]
They will hunger no more, nor thirst again; the burning sun will not strike them, for the Compassionate One will lead them and guide them beside springs of livinga water.
41 [21:11]
I will turn My mountains into pathways; My highways will be lifted up like bridges between exile and home.
42 [21:12]
And then, O Bet Yisrael, see that My children shall come from afar: from the north and the west, from the land of Sinim, from every place where My Name was whispered in secret.
43 [21:13]
¶ Sing, O heavens! Rejoice, O earth! for the feet of those who are in the east shall be established! Break forth into song, O mountains, you are no longer afflicted! For יהוה YHVH has comforted His people and shown mercy to the lowly.
44 [21:14]
Yet Zion cries: יהוה YHVH has abandoned me! And: Adonai has forgotten my name! Yet He will prove that he has not forgotten.
45 [21:15]
Ha’Kadosh answers: Can a mother forget her nursing child? Even if she should forget, I will never forget you, O Bnei Yisrael.
46 [21:16/Isaiah 49:16]
See, I have engraveda you upon the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me.
47 [21:17]
Your children will hurry home, and those who destroyed you shall depart from your borders.
48 [21:18]
¶ Lift up your eyes and see: they gather to you from every direction! As I live, says יהוה YHVH, you shall wear them like jewels, as a bridea adorns herself with beauty.
49 [21:19]
Your desolate lands, once barren, will overflow with life; those who consumed you will be far away.
50 [21:20]
The children born after your sorrow will say in your hearing: This place is too small for us,
make room that we may dwell!
51 [21:21]
Then you will wonder in your heart: Who has borne me these? I was bereaved and alone, wandering and captive; from where have these come?
52 [21:22]
Thus says YHVH Elohim: See, I will lift My hand to the nations and raise My banner to the peoples; they will carry your sons in their arms and your daughters upon their shoulders.
53 [21:23]
Kings will be your foster fathers, queens your nursing mothers; they shall bow before you, and then you will know that I am יהוה YHVH; and none who wait for Me will ever be ashamed.
54 [21:24]
Can the prey be taken from the mighty? Can captives be freed from the strong?
55 [21:25]
Yes, says יהוה YHVH: Even the captivesa of the mighty will be delivered, and the prey of the ruthless set free; and I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.
56 [21:26]
Those who oppressed you will be turned upon themselves, and all flesh will know at last that I, יהוה YHVH, am your Savior, your Ga’ali, the Mighty One of Jacob, HaShomer Yisraela, the Restorer.