“I Will Lift Up Mine Hand to the Gentiles”

Alan C. Miner

Jacob quotes the words of Isaiah (Isaiah 49:22-23 -- see also 1 Nephi 21:22-23, and 2 Nephi 10:8-9).

The Lord Will Redeem His Covenant People

6 And now these are the words: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard (my Church or my true gospel) to the people; and they (the Gentiles) shall bring thy sons (scattered Israel) in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

7 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers (or in other words, nations and the leaders of nations will help in this gathering); they shall bow down to thee with their faces towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet (that is, the tables will be turned in the last days--those who formerly despised and oppressed you will now help you); and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they (the people of the Lord) shall not be ashamed that wait for me (or place their hope and trust in me).

[Alan C. Miner, Step by Step through the Book of Mormon: The Covenant Story, Vol. 2; Adapted from David J. Ridges, Isaiah Made Easier / The Book of Revelation Made Easier, 1994]

“Behold I Will Lift Up Mine Hand to the Gentiles”

According to John Welch, the second Nephite text that uses Isaiah in conjunction with the Nephite prophetic view is Jacob's covenant speech in 2 Nephi 6-10. This speech is built around the theme, "behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, . . . and they shall bring thy sons in their arms" (2 Nephi 6:6), which will usher in the victorious day of the Lord. . . . Jacob uses the chapters from Isaiah to establish and expound upon stage four of that view, which deals with the theme of the day of the Lord. . . .

Although Jacob covers all four phases in giving his audience a basic frame of reference, he spends most of his time in this speech focusing on stage four, which he elaborates with the aid of Isaiah's writings. [John W. Welch, "Getting through Isaiah with the Help of the Nephite Prophetic View," in Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, pp. 26-28]

Note* For the benefit of the reader, the four stages of the Nephite prophetic view are:

1. Christ's coming;

2. his rejection and the scattering of the Jews;

3. the day of the Gentiles; and

4. the restoration of Israel and the ultimate victory of good over evil.

2 Nephi 6:8 And now I, Jacob would speak somewhat concerning these words ([Illustration]): "Outlines of Passages Quoting Isaiah," [John Gee, "Choose the Things That Please Me": On the Selection of the Isaiah Sections in the Book of Mormon," in Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, p. 76]

Note* When Nephite prophets quoted Isaiah, they followed a regular pattern. The pattern they used in citing and interpreting Isaiah in the Book of Mormon may be standardized as follows:

A. Introduction

B. Citation of a passage of scripture

C. Quotation of parts of the text and interpretation of the passage by explaining and defining terms

D. Conclusion by quoting the closing verses of the section.

Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon: A Cultural Commentary

References