Isaiah speaks of the Messiah

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Isaiah speaks Messianically—Messiah shall have the tongue of the learned—He shall give his back to the smiters—He shall not be confounded—Compare Isaiah 50. Between 559 and 545 B.C.

(More from the Brass Plates (Old Testament).) I'm so glad I found that Isaiah book. This chapter is short, but full of meaning. The Lord starts by saying He has not forgotten Isreal. Saying:

"Where is the ^bbill of your mother’s ^cdivorcement? To whom have I put thee away, or to which of my ^dcreditors have I ^esold you?"

Instead, Isreal has turned from the Lord. He says that by their iniquities and transgressions, they've sold themselves. He goes on to say:

"when I came, there was no man; when I ^acalled, yea, there was none to answer."

When Christ comes to Isreal, there were few who followed Him. This is true through the ages, He calls and few answer. He goes on to ask Isreal why they doubtn His power:

"O house of Israel, is my hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem, or have I no power to deliver?"

The next verse speaks about darkness. Which could be interpreted several ways. My book says it can mean "coming judgments, as well as Christ's second coming". Elder Bruce R. McConkie says it refers to darkness on the earth when there was no revelation.

The next section prophesies of the Messiah and that He will confound the learned. This can be extended to anyone who is a servant of Lord. Even in the face of persecution, if they are obedient, they will have the Lord's help:

"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."

While cross referencing between Isaiah and 2 Nephi, I couldn't help but imagine Joseph Smith during translation. He worked with Oliver Cowdrey as his scribe. The language between the biblical Isaiah and those from the Brass Plates, found in the Book of Mormon, are very similar. At first glance, I wonder "Is Joseph just copying the words from the Bible?" I know that's an argument detractors from the Book of Mormon use. But, then the thought occured to me that while translating the Book of Mormon, Joseph was seeing through eyes of the Spirit. I can imagine that massive images came to his mind at once. He had to search for the words that could best describe what he was seeing/feeling. Considering that books were expensive in the 1800's, most households (if they even owned a book) would own the Bible. So, Joseph was using the words he knew best to describe what he was seeing. "That in the mouth of two or three ^awitnesses every word may be established."