1 ^aAND again: Hearken, [ Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearken which means to "listen" and "obey". ] , O ye house of Israel, all ye that are broken off and are driven out [ Lehi did not leave Jerusalem merely by choice. He was "driven out" by "wicked pastors", but at the same time was "led away by the Lord." The lost ten tribes did not just wander off they were lead away. ] because of the wickedness of the pastors of my people; [ Why where they driven out? Because of the wickedness of those who were supposed to lead, but their leadership turned to greed and power. ] yea, all ye that are broken off, that are scattered abroad, who are of my people, O house of Israel. Listen, O isles, unto me, and hearken [ Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearken which means to "listen" and "obey". ] ye people from far; the Lord hath called me from the womb; [ While Jesus was still in the womb he was identified as the son of God. ] from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. [ "A virgin shall bring forth a son, and his name shall be called Emanuel". Yet Israel did not know him as the son of God. ]

2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, [ The most precious truths that the Father has are hidden from the world, you must seek to understand them for them to be of value. The fact that the Savior did not come to the Jews and destroy all of their enemies was the reason that he has hidden to them. This is what they expected to happen, but the power that was provided to them by the Father was resurrection from dead, the atonement and yet they never understood. So just like the Savior and his mission was veiled from the world, so will the main body (lost ten tribes) be from the world. ] and made me a polished shaft; [ Perfect in every way. ] in his quiver hath he hid me; [ The lost ten tribes are hidden to the world are are still in God's arsenal ready to deploy as needed when the time is right. ]

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

4 Then I said, I have labored in vain, [ Isaiah laments that his work has been in vain, that no matter what he tries he has not been able to save Israel. HE feels as though he has not made a difference with them. ] 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 formed 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, [ The Lord instructs Isaiah that while his words may not have lead to the gathering of Israel in his day. that his ministry will span many generations of time, and at a time when the lost ten tribes return his words would be useful to help prepare the Gentiles for what is to come. ] and my God shall be my strength.

6 And he said: It is a light thing [ A charge given by God to his servant that prophet. He is to be a light to the world, the light of the Gospel is used as the beacon in gathering Israel. Note the choice of words - "It is a light thing" the Savior is the light of the world, it is light that allows us to see our way, the absence of light gives no hope, only darkiness and despair- hence it is a light thing - it is light; having access to the light that all of the blessings of God are brough down to us. The message really says it all - the gospel is really all about light - it is a light thing. ] that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, [ Because it is a light thing; Both the Savior and Joseph Smith are lights unto the gentiles see Isaiah 42:6; D&C 86:11. ] that thou [ That Isaiah and his words. ] mayest be my salvation [ Be a tool that leads many away from destruction, to salvation. ] unto the ends of the earth. [ In the last days of the earth. ]

7  Thus saith the Lord, [ The Lord is addressing Israel here. ] the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him [ Israel. ] whom man despiseth, to him whom the nations abhorreth, to servant of rulers: [ Israel was used as a people by the Kings of the world, who used them as slaves so to speak. ] Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful.

8  Thus saith the Lord: [ Again God is addressing Isaiah. ] In an acceptable time [ When the time is right for God. We know this as the last days as well. ] 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 my servant for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; [ Or in the Lord's time he will restore Israel to these desolate places. ]

9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners: Go forth; to them that sit in darkness: Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. [ Since they will be brought back by the hand of God, of coarse they will be high places as God will be with them. ]

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 highways shall be exalted. [ The highway, or the way that they return will not be on the streets that we have today but will come forth by a way that is greater than that, something spectacular. This will indeed be a miraculous event. This was also seen by Ezekiel 1:3-7. ]

12 And then, O house of Israel, behold, these shall come from far; [ The return of the lost ten tribes. ] and lo, these from the north [ The Hebrew word for north is tsafon (צָפוֹן). Tsafon is a feminine noun that means "hidden" or "dark". In the Bible, it's used to refer to the north as a quarter, which is considered gloomy and unknown. In the Bible, the words for left and right are used to refer to the south and north, respectively. This is because the Bible assumes that east is the frame of reference, as Adam was created facing east. In modern Israel, tsafon is also used to refer to the Galilee ] and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim. [ An unknown location. Some suggest this is China. You can only get to China from the west and from the south by land. ]

13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; for the feet of those who are in the east [ something to understand about the 4 cardinal directions in prophetic language. Like numbers, it represents quality, not direction. Facing East is always the "correct" way to face. It is covenant-keeping. Example: the Garden was placed Eastward in Eden. Christ will come from the East when He comes again. The sun/son rises in the East. Because you face East, that is what is in your future. Thus, what is in the West is in your past. It is your history, your anchor. It is the words and the prophets. When you face East, the North is on your left hand. This is not a good place to be from. This is covenant-breaking. Israel was taken captive into the North countries, or the covenant-breaking countries of the world. And it is out of them that Israel must return. North is also the only direction in which, if you face it, you will never see the sun/son. The south shares the same word in Hebrew as "parched", probably because the world's largest desert lay to the south of Israel. Though it is sparsely populated, the peoples are cared for by the Lord. It is a land of "milk and honey". It is Egypt, a place of refuge. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, even the Child Jesus sought refuge in the south in Egypt. But they did not stay there. It is the only direction which, if you face it, you will always see the sun/son, and view its highest point in the sky. The Jew and Israel considered the East as their homeland. ] shall be established; and break forth into singing, O mountains; for they [ The Jews and scattered Israel. ] shall be smitten no more; for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.

14 But, behold, Zion hath said: [ The Jews and the Saints in the last days will say. ] The Lord hath forsaken me, a [ Where aret thou oh God, why do you allow all of theis suffering among us, have you abandoned us? ] and my Lord hath forgotten me—but he will show that he hath not.

15 For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, [ God has not forgotten even for a moment. ] O house of Israel.

16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; [ How can you forget us, as you have the covenants that you have made with us on your hands. But as he expressed in the previous verse he has not forgotten the saints. ] thy walls are continually before me.

17  Thy children [ Children of the house of Israel. some of them(the lost ten tribes). ] shall make haste [ Will come very quickly. 1. Celerity of motion; speed; swiftness; dispatch; expedition; applied only to voluntary beings, as men and other animals; never to other bodies. We never say, a ball flies with haste 2. Sudden excitement of passion; quickness; precipitance; vehemence. ] against [ In opposition too. ] thy destroyers; [ Those who are oppressing them. ] and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee. [ They will come so fast and with such great force that those doing the oppressing will just leave. ]

18 Lift up thine eyes round about and behold; all these gather themselves together, and they shall come to thee. And as I live, [ As God is God - or because he has said it will be. ] saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, [ They will be taken from their state of destitution, and nakedness to a state of fine clothing like a bride would have. ] as with an ornament, [ That which embellishes; something which, added to another thing, renders it more beautiful to the eye. ] and bind [ To oblige by a promise, vow, stipulation, covenant, law, duty or any other moral tie; to engage. ] them on even as a bride. [ A bride who makes a covenant with her husband. Perfect reference of who they are (the saints, his people, those who are under covenant with him as they are his bride) and who the husband is (Jesus Christ). Compare this with D&C 133:26-33. ]

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; [ The size of this returning group will be so grand as to completely overtake their ancestral lands, the ground will not be big enough. ] and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.

20 The children whom thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the first, shall again in thine ears say: The place is too strait [ To close for me - it is not big enough. ] for me; give place to me that I may dwell.

21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart: [ A kind of mumbling in silence to oneself. A feeling of being lost and rejected, alone and forgotten. ] Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, 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: [ Hebrew - Yahweh ( or Jehovah which means "to become" or "to exist") translated as Lord; Elohim translated as God ("the Gods") which together the words mean "He will cause Gods to be". ] : Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

23 And kings shall be thy nursing 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; a [ Those that once oppressed Israel will bow down postrate at the feet of Israel. Symbolic of their absolute acknowledgement of Israels covenant relationship with God. ] and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; [ This is a big reason why Nephi included the words of Isaiah. He wanted to make sure that the message that God in the end would win, that as bad as things have gotten, that God would come forth is glory. The return of a host of this size will indeed rival that exodus from Egypt in size and power. As a result the kingdom of God will come forth is such power that the rest of the world will be in awe. ] for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. [ I will make it all worth it in the end. The Hebrew word for "wait" is “entwined”. Imagine two ropes being braided into each other, so that in the end, you don't know where one starts and the other one ends. Greek/Hebrew Definitions. Strong's #6960: qavah (pronounced kaw-vaw') a primitive root; to bind together (perhaps by twisting), i.e. collect; (figuratively) to expect:--gather (together), look, patiently, tarry, wait (for, on, upon). ]

24  For shall the prey be taken from the mighty, [ It will happen in an instant, everything will change. We will go from a place of wondering if this is the end of us, to a place of total and complete protection. ] or the lawful 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 feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; they shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine; and all flesh shall know that I, the Lord, am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob . [ This is the end of the first vision that NEphi saw, and the text from Isaiah that went with that vision. Since Nephi was commanded that he could not write what he had seen, he took the text from Isaiah that was the same thing - this he was allowed to do. Nephi no doubt would have written it much plainer. ]