2 Nephi 14 – Commentary

Differences with the King James Version of Isaiah 4

And in that day, seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

2 In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious; (KJV includes word “and“) the fruit of the earth (KJV includes words “shall be“) excellent and comely to (“to” KJV uses “for“) them that are escaped of Israel.

3 And it shall come to pass, them that are (“them that are” KJV uses “that he that is“)left in Zion, and(KJV includes “he that“) remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:

4 when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

5 And the Lord will create upon every dwelling-place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory of Zion (“of Zion” not in KJV) shall be a defence.

6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and (KJV includes “for“)a covert from storm and from rain.

Commentary

This entire chapter of six verses is a reference to the last days following the destruction that is an archetype of the fallout from the attacks of Assyria, Babylon, and Rome spoken of in the last chapter. Those three attacks caused great catastrophes to the land of Israel, and Jerusalem. But these six verses are tied to events leading to the Millennium. As the Jews and Israelites suffered in those days due to unrighteousness, the wicked in the top nation of the world, will suffer at the hands of a modern day Assyria, Babylon, or Rome. Following their destruction, the remnant who are righteous will establish Zion – a New Jerusalem, and the old Jerusalem will be reclaimed with glory by Jesus Christ himself.

Following the destruction that will happen in this “Top Nation” or the United States, there will be a significant more survivors of women than men. This has been seen in vision and reported by both John Taylor ^{[Latterday Conservative Website]}, and Wilford Woodruff ^{[source 5, pages 173-174]}. The in-balance is due to the righteousness of women over the wickedness of men. In that day, they shall desire families, companionship, and protection due to necessity. The days of one man and one woman families might be changed for a time due to expediency for this generation.

Following the destruction, the survivors shall be a more righteous people even pre-millennial as the Kingdom of Christ begins to envelope the earth. They will be a people who have passed through the fire of adversity and they will be blessed of the Lord. The branch of the Lord refers to the people of Jerusalem, the people of the New Jerusalem, and all the branches of Zion (stakes and wards) throughout the world. Food shall again become abundant to them. The reference to Israel shall be the literal Jews who are converted and survived and those outside of Jerusalem who are believers and are the covenant people of Israel wether it be by lineage or by adoption. “Escaped of Israel” refers to the Israelites (believers) who have escaped the destructive forces.

The people living in both the New Jerusalem and the people rescued by Jesus^{[D&C 45:51-53]} in the old Jerusalem shall be called holy. For the wicked are no longer present in those lands. These people have gone through great adversity and survived. The wicked have been cleansed from their midst. They will be a righteous people.

This is all still prior to the millennium but after the creation of the New Jerusalem. The glory of the Lord ^{[D&C 84:5]} shall be upon their homes, churches, and temple. The glory of the Lord shall serve as a defense from the nations of the world still living in wickedness with wicked rulers as the archetype of the Assyrians and Babylonians.

Doctrine and Covenants 84:5 – an house shall be built unto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be even the glory of the Lord which shall fill the house.

The tabernacle will comfort the Lords people from the scorching heat of this time (Rev 16:8-9) and the other plagues and weather catastrophes specified in great detail in the Book of Revelation, as well as protection from the attacks of enemies.

Commentary Sources

1. The website Isaiah Explained – by Avriham Gileadi.
2. The book Understanding Isaiah by Donald and Jay Parry, and Tina Peterson published by Deseret Book Company, 1998.
3. The book Annotated Edition – The Book of Mormon published by David R. Hocking and Rod Meldrum, 2018.
4. The book The Book of Isaiah – Annotated Edition eBook published by David R. Hocking, 2020.
5. Verse by Verse – The Book of Mormon by D. Kelly Ogden and Andrew C. Skinner, published by Deseret Book Company, 2011.
6. Isaiah Made Easier by David J Ridges, Second Edition, published by Cedar Fort, Inc., 2009.
7. Commentary of the Book of Mormon – writings from George Reynolds and Janne Sjodahl.
8. My own understanding.

Isaiah Explained

This video file was downloaded from the website at Isaiah Explained – Avraham Gileadi. He has a very detailed commentary to this chapter.

https://www.isaiahexplained.com/chapter/4

The website Isaiah Explained has this type of detailed description for all chapters of Isaiah.

Commentary from George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl taken from Commentary on the Book of Mormon published in 1955:

VERSE 1. In that Day. That is, when a large part of the male population shall have been exterminated by war and its concomitants, seven women shall offer themselves to one man, as here stated. To Take Away our Reproach. In the old times a woman, as a rule, considered it unfortunate not to have the privilege of motherhood. See the story of Rachel in the Old Testament, Gen. 30:33; or, in the New Testament, Elisabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, Luke, 1:25. The misfortune must have been felt more keenly at a time when the population had been practically decimated. A plurality of wives in one household, under the protection of one man may, according to this prophetic utterance, be a more desirable arrangement than one by which six women of every seven are excluded from the joys and responsibilities of a mother. It is no defense of lawlessness to say that under similar circumstances the same remedy might be applied again. But only by divine revelation through the Prophet authorized to speak for the Lord. (See Jacob 2: 27-30; D. and C. 43: 2-6.)

VERSE 2. The Branch. This is generally understood to refer to the Messiah. But see 2 Ne. 3: 5; 10: 1; Is. 60:21; 61: 3.

VERSE 3. Holiness has been defined as “conformity to the nature and the will of God, whereby a Saint is distinguished from the unrenewed world; and is not actuated by their principles and precepts, nor governed by their maxims and customs.” ( Cruden’s Concordance under “Holiness.” ) Israel was commanded to be a “holy nation, a sanctified nation, a nation of saints.” ( Ex. 19: 6 ) The followers of our Savior are in the New Testament often referred to as “saints,” which indicates that they were regarded as sanctified, separated from the “world” by their purer faith and more perfect practices. In this remarkable prophecy the prediction is made that, in the latter days, when Israel and Judah ( v. 4 ) are being gathered in from the dispersion, those who remain after having passed through the fiery trials, whether in Zion or Jerusalem, will be known as “holy,” that is, as “Saints.” Written Among the Living. Mme. Lydia M. von Finkelstein Mountford, in her little gem of a book, “Jesus Christ in His Homeland,” explains that the book of the living in the Roman empire, at the time our Savior was born, was a volume in which property owners were registered as living, when they had fulfilled their duties, as required of them. The book was Caesar’s “Book of Life.” Mme. Mountford tells an incident to which she was an eyewitness during the late reign of the Turks in her homeland, Palestine. The occasion was one of registration of tax payers. A man brought up, she says, weak and feeble. In fact, he was carried on a stretcher. The tax gatherer asked the secretary to ascertain his name and to write it down, if he was worthy. Then he asked: “Hast thou written it ?” The Secretary: “Yes, my lord, for it is worthy to be written in the Book of Life.” “Then,” the narrator says, that man raised himself up on his elbow, and he looked at us with wondrous eyes and said: “Praise and thanks unto God, my name is written in the Book of Life.” Whereupon he again reclined upon the stretcher and passed away, peacefully and happy. This may help us to understand, better, this expression, “written among the living,” and also, “The Book of Life,” and, “The Lamb’s Book of Life,” in Rev. 20:12 and 21:27.

VERSE 4. Spirit of Burning. The divine punishment is like a fire which separates the good from the evil, and then consumes the bad element while it purifies that which is good.

VERSE 5. A Defense. A protecting cover. But even so, the expression needs explanation. Perhaps a question might help. Suppose the prophet, seven hundred years before our era, had been carried away, in the spirit, to Ensign Peak and been permitted to see Salt Lake valley, as it is today, first at noon, then at sunset with its indescribable beauty of colors; then, let us suppose that he had seen the shadows of night fall, and, all of a sudden, the entire valley, as by a miracle, lit up by thou sands of lights, the Temple radiant among all the glittering little stars; how would he have described this vision to a public not aware of electricity, and he, himself, just as ignorant in that particular as his hearers, except by saying just what he did say, that the Lord had created upon every dwelling place on Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; and that this marvelous beauty, this evidence of progress and prosperity, would be the protection of the glory of Zion? Or, suppose that the prophet had been standing on the Mount of Olives in Palestine, at a future day, viewing the New Jerusalem and the new temple across the Valley of Kedron, and the thousands of homes that will be there, even more wonderfully illuminated, as scientific marvels are multiplied; what could he have said in a description? That the modern glory of Zion reminded him of the cloud and the fire by which God anciently manifested his glory to Israel is certain. ( See Ex. 13:21; 33:18; Numb. 9:15; 2 Chron. 5:13, 14. See also Ezek. 11:22, 23; 43: 1-5 )

VERSE 6. Shadow. An explanation of the “cloud” in the preceding verse. Covert. Means “shelter,” the same as “defense.”

GENERAL NOTES

Some scholars regard the first verse of this chapter as belonging to the preceding chapter. It might be well, therefore, to remember that the division of the Bible into chapters and verses is not part of the original arrangement of the sacred volume. ” The present division of the Scriptures into chapters and verses… are not of divine origin, nor are they of great antiquity. The Vulgate was the first version divided into chapters: a work undertaken by Cardinal Hugo, in the 13th century, or, as Jahn thinks, by Langton, archbishop of Canterbury, 1227. He introduced the division into chapters only. The Hebrew Scriptures were similarly divided by Mordecai Nathan, in 1445, and in 1661 Athias added in his printed text, the division into verses. The New Testament was divided in the same way by Robert Stephens, who is said to have completed it in the year 1551, during a journey ( inter equitan dum ), from Paris to Lyons. “As might be expected, these divisions are very imperfect, and even when not inaccurate, they tend to break the sense and to obscure the meaning.” ( Bible Hand book, by Dr. Joseph Angus, p. 60 ) Modern Jews use the present division of the Old Testament, but anciently, when referring to their sacred scriptures, they mentioned the subject of the paragraph, as, for instance “in Elias” ( Rom. 11: 2 ), which is 1 Kings 17:19. ” The Bow ” in 2 Sam. 1:18 refers to a poem so called, in the Book of Jasher, and, in “The Bush” ( Mark 12:26, and other places ), may refer to Exodus 3.