pgs. 48 and 49...I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

CHAPTER 21

Messiah shall be a light to the Gentiles and shall free the prisoners—Israel shall be gathered with power in the last days—Kings shall be their nursing fathers—Compare Isaiah 49. Between 588 and 570 B.C.

1 ^aAnd again: Hearken, O ye house of Israel, all ye that are broken off and are driven out because of the wickedness of the pastors of my people; yea, all ye that are broken off, that are scattered abroad, who are of my people, O house of Israel. Listen, O ^bisles, unto me, and hearken ye people from ^cfar; the Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.

2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;

3 And said unto me: Thou art my ^aservant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

4 Then I said, I have labored in ^avain, I have spent my strength for naught and in vain; surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.

5 And now, saith the Lord—that ^aformed me from the womb that I should be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him—though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my ^bstrength.

6 And he said: It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the ^atribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give thee for a ^blight to the ^cGentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the ends of the earth.

7 Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nations abhorreth, to servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful.

8 Thus saith the Lord: In an acceptable time have I heard thee, O isles of the sea, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee ^amy servant for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

9 That thou mayest say to the ^aprisoners: Go forth; to them that sit in ^bdarkness: Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their ^cpastures shall be in all high places.

10 They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my ^ahighways shall be exalted.

12 And then, O house of Israel, behold, ^athese shall come from far; and lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.

13 ^aSing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; for the feet of those who are in the east shall be established; and ^bbreak forth into singing, O mountains; for they shall be smitten no more; for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his ^cafflicted.

14 But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me—but he will show that he hath not.

15 For can a ^awoman forget her sucking child, that she should not have ^bcompassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may ^cforget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.

16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the ^apalms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

17 Thy children shall make haste against thy destroyers; and they that made thee ^awaste shall go forth of thee.

18 Lift up thine eyes round about and behold; all these ^agather themselves together, and they shall come to thee. And as I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on even as a bride.

19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants; and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.

20 The children whom thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the first, shall ^aagain in thine ears say: The place is too strait for me; give place to me that I may dwell.

21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart: Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am ^adesolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? And who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where have they been?

22 Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the ^aGentiles, and set up my ^bstandard to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their ^carms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

23 And ^akings shall be thy ^bnursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that ^cwait for me.

24 For shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the ^alawful captives delivered?

25 But thus saith the Lord, even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.

26 And I will ^afeed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; they shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine; and all flesh shall ^bknow that I, the Lord, am thy ^cSavior and thy Redeemer, the ^dMighty One of Jacob.

I feel so inadequate to comment on this chapter. There is SO MUCH SYMBOLISM! I have been trying to reach my mom and she isn't available so I've been reading in a few Book of Mormon study guides about this chapter (and yesterday's chapter as well.) These are some of the things that I have learned in my study....

1. pastors in verse one probably refers to leaders or teachers.
2. isles in verse one and later verses refers to all far away nations and lands.
3. the expression "from the womb" is referring to foreordination.
4. in verse 8 servant = prophets, i.e Joseph Smith.
5. in verse 9 the prisoners are those who are in spiritual darkness.
6. in verse 9 the "pastures in high places" means the gospel of Christ.
7. in verse 11 "mountains" are symbolic of temples
8. in verse 12 it is thought that the word Sinim refers to inhabitants of southern China.
9. in verse 16 the Savior's hands being "engraved" shows that the atonement is his work, just as blisters or callouses would show the work of a carpenter.
10. in verse 16 the "walls" would represent a persons house so the Savior is saying "I know where you live and what help you need."
11. in verse 17 the phrase "thy children shall make haste against the destroyers" is thought to mean "your descendants will over take your enemies."
12. in verse 21 Isaiah is saying that in the last days Israel will ask "where did all these Israelites come from...I thought we were all destroyed?" and the Lord answers them in verse 22 when he says "Gentile nations will help gather Israel."
13. some think verse 23 was partially fulfilled when Great Britain helped establish a homeland for the Jews in Palestine after World War 1 and helped them become a member of the United Nations.
14. verse 26 says those who oppress Israel "shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine" which is thought to mean that the enemies of Israel will turn against each other and destroy themselves.

I hope some of these "crib notes" help you as much as they have helped me. They mostly came from "The Book of Mormon Made Easier" by David J. Ridges. In tomorrows pages Nephi will summarize these 2 chapters from Isaiah and that should help us understand more too.

If you have any other input or knowledge about the symbolism or meanings in these pages please leave it in a comment! You don't have to have a google account to leave a comment...you just click on the word "comments" and then select "anonymous" or "name." It's easy! =)