1 Ne 21:2-11 he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword

Isaiah’s prophecies often have multiple meanings. While we often think there should only be one correct interpretation for every scripture, that rule does not apply to Isaiah. One of the reasons Isaiah’s prophecies are so great is that they have so many layers and apply to so many situations. The ‘sharp sword’ called ‘from the womb’ and hid in the shadow of the Lord’s hand is identified as Israel in verse 3. But the passage can correctly apply to any prophet from the house of Israel who speaks the word of the Lord.

We have seen that Nephi applied this to his people. Certainly, Isaiah felt like this passage applied to him, particularly verse 4, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for naught and in vain.’ But the passage also has Messianic applications, for the Jesus was one ‘whom man despiseth…him whom the nations abhorreth’ and Jesus was certainly the one who made possible the preaching of the gospel in spirit prison, ‘That thou mayest say to the prisoners: Go forth’ (v. 7,9). Paul and Barnabas, as apostles unto the Gentiles, saw in their missions fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, ‘For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth’ (Acts 13:47). Furthermore, Joseph Smith was also told that he was a ‘light to the Gentiles’ (DC 86:11) and he is certainly the prophet who would restore the new and everlasting covenant prior to the gathering of Israel as prophecied, ‘I will…give thee my servant (Joseph Smith) for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages (Jerusalem and Zion)’ (v. 8).

Few have enough faith to correctly prophesy what will happen to them within the next week, but Isaiah’s prophecies are amazing. They apply to the house of Israel from his time unto the end of the earth. They apply not just to him and his day but to every chapter in the history of the house of Israel. The fact that his prophecies have many applications is not evidence that we don’t understand his original intent; it is evidence that his prophecies are so great that they can apply to any branch of the house of Israel at any given time in history. Hence, we ‘ought to search these things…for great are the words of Isaiah’ (3 Ne 23:1).