15 Also, saith the Lord; I the Lord, yea, I have spoken; yea, I have called him to declare, I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
Here is another verse that seems unclear in its pronouns. I
think Isaiah is saying that these prophets who have declared the Lord’s will
have been called by the Lord, and his way will be made prosperous, or in other
words, his declaring the word will be facilitated. Doors will be opened to
enable these prophecies to be declared. Notice that his way will be made prosperous, not him personally.
This interpretation feels good to me, but my edition of the
Book of Mormon has a cross reference to the word “him” in the phrase, “I have
called him to declare.” That cross-reference changes my thoughts on this
completely. It refers to Isaiah 45: 1 (1–4), which is talking about Cyrus and
how the Lord will make his way prosperous and help him conquer Babylon, which
holds the Jews captive. So now I’m not sure what to make of all this. If we go
with this interpretation, then the last phrase in verse 14, “his arm shall come
upon the Chaldeans,” probably has to do with the Lord strengthening them
against their enemies, instead of punishing them, as I have assumed. In that
case, this part of the verse is about the Lord not forgetting His covenant with
Israel, and not leaving them captive to Babylon.
- Isaiah 45: 1 (1–4)
