pgs. 70 and 71...Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which has drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury...

5 The Lord God hath opened mine ^aear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.

6 I gave my back to the ^asmiter, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from ^bshame and spitting.

7 For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ^aashamed.

8 And the Lord is near, and he ^ajustifieth me. Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is mine adversary? Let him come near me, and I will ^bsmite him with the strength of my mouth.

9 For the Lord God will help me. And all they who shall ^acondemn me, behold, all they shall ^bwax old as a garment, and the moth shall eat them up.

10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the ^avoice of his servant, that ^bwalketh in darkness and hath no light?

11 Behold all ye that kindle fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light of ^ayour fire and in the sparks which ye have kindled. ^bThis shall ye have of mine hand—ye shall lie down in sorrow.

CHAPTER 8

In the last days, the Lord shall comfort Zion and gather Israel—The redeemed shall come to Zion amid great joy—Compare Isaiah 51 and 52:1-2. Between 559 and 545 B.C.

1 ^aHearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness. Look unto the ^brock from whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit from whence ye are digged.

2 Look unto Abraham, your ^afather, and unto ^bSarah, she that bare you; for I called him alone, and blessed him.

3 For the Lord shall ^acomfort ^bZion, he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her ^cwilderness like ^dEden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.

4 Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation; for a ^alaw shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a ^blight for the people.

5 My righteousness is near; my ^asalvation is gone forth, and mine arm shall ^bjudge the people. The ^cisles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.

6 Lift up your eyes to the ^aheavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall ^bvanish away like smoke, and the earth shall ^cwax old like a garment; and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner. But my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart I have written my law, ^afear ye not the ^breproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their ^crevilings.

8 For the ^amoth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool. But my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation.

9 ^aAwake, awake! Put on ^bstrength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the ancient days. Art thou not he that hath cut ^cRahab, and wounded the ^ddragon?

10 Art thou not he who hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a ^away for the ransomed to pass over?

11 Therefore, the ^aredeemed of the Lord shall ^breturn, and come with ^csinging unto Zion; and everlasting joy and holiness shall be upon their heads; and they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and ^dmourning shall flee away.

12 ^aI am he; yea, I am he that comforteth you. Behold, who art thou, that thou shouldst be ^bafraid of man, who shall die, and of the son of man, who shall be made like unto ^cgrass?

13 And ^aforgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath ^bstretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth, and hast feared continually every day, because of the fury of the ^coppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor?

14 The ^acaptive exile hasteneth, that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.

15 But I am the Lord thy God, whose ^awaves roared; the Lord of Hosts is my name.

16 And I have ^aput my words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion: Behold, thou art my ^bpeople.

17 Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the ^acup of his ^bfury—thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling wrung out—

18 And none to guide her among all the sons she hath brought forth; neither that taketh her by the hand, of all the sons she hath brought up.

19 These two ^asons are come unto thee, who shall be sorry for thee—thy desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword—and by whom shall I comfort thee?

20 Thy sons have fainted, save 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 thy God.

21 Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and ^adrunken, and not with wine:

22 Thus saith thy Lord, the Lord and thy God ^apleadeth the cause of his people; behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again.

23 But ^aI will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; who have said to thy soul: Bow down, that we may go over—and thou hast laid thy body as the ground and as the street to them that went over.

24 ^aAwake, awake, put on thy ^bstrength, O ^cZion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for henceforth there shall ^dno more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.

25 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the ^abands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.


There is so much going on in these verses and on such a large scale that it feels like a lot to grasp. I wonder if the Nephites felt the same way when Jacob was teaching it to them. The main theme I take from these verses is that Christ suffered so intensely for all of us because He loves us and that His love never changes. Also He is always hoping we will turn to Him. What do you think?

Symbolism Often Used in the Scriptures.

This is a list of common scripture symbols from the book Your Study of the Book of Mormon Made Easier by David J. Ridges. It has helped me with these Isaiah chapters but I think it will help a lot in the whole Book of Mormon. I decided to list it in it's own post so that we can refer back to it easily.

colors:
white - purity; righteousness; exaltation
black - evil; famine; darkness
red - sins; bloodshed
blue - heaven; godliness; remembering and keeping God's commandments
green - life, nature
amber - sun, light; divine glory
scarlet - royalty
silver - worth, but less than gold
gold - the best; exaltation

body parts:
eye - perception; light and knowledge
head - governing
ears - obedience; hearing
mouth - speaking
hair - modesty; covering
members - offices and callings
heart - inner man; courage
hands - action, acting
right hand - covenant hand, making covenants
bowels - center of emotion; whole being
loins - posterity; preparing for action (gird up your loins)
liver - center of feeling
reins - kidneys; center of desires; thoughts
arm - power
foot - mobility; foundation
toe - associated with cleansing rites
nose - anger
tongue - speaking
blood - life of the body
knee - humility; submission
shoulder - strength; effort
forehead - total dedication, loyalty

numbers:
1- unity; God
3 - God; Godhead; A word repeated 3 times means superlative, "the most" or "the best"
4 - mankind; earth (4 angels over 4 parts of the earth: Rev. 7:1)
7 - completeness; perfection. When man lets God help, it leads to perfection. (man+God=perfection) (4+3=7)
10 - numerical perfection; well-organized (example: ten commandments, tithing)
12 - divine government; God's organization
40 days - literal; sometimes means "a long time" as in Samuel 17:16
forever - endless; can sometimes be a specific period or age

other:
horse - victory; power to conquer
donkey - peace
palms - joy; triumph, victory
wings - power to move, act, etc.
crown - power; dominion; exaltation
robes - royalty; kings, queens; exaltation