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Bible #23
ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal: Isaiah
ESV Illuminated Scripture Journals pair the entirety of individual books of the Bible with a lightly dotted blank page opposite each page of Bible text, providing space to creatively engage with and reflect on the Word of God. Hand-lettered, gold-ink illustrations by renowned artist Dana Tanamachi are interspersed throughout the blank pages, inviting readers to add their own artwork or reflections to each page. These thin, portable notebooks have unique covers stamped with gold-foil and are great for art journaling, personal Bible reading and prayer, small-group Bible study, or taking notes through a sermon series.
Single-column format Thick, opaque, cream-colored paper Lightly dotted grid on blank pages opposite each page of Bible text Gold-ink illustrations by artist Dana Tanamachi Wide margins Lay-flat binding Unique covers stamped with gold-foil Packaging: Backer O-wrap
Single-column format Thick, opaque, cream-colored paper Lightly dotted grid on blank pages opposite each page of Bible text Gold-ink illustrations by artist Dana Tanamachi Wide margins Lay-flat binding Unique covers stamped with gold-foil Packaging: Backer O-wrap
372 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 521
143 people are currently reading
470 people want to read
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* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author
Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.
See also: Anonymous
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August 18, 2025
Isaiah. Perhaps my very favourite book in the entire Bible. How much beauty it contains! How much truth! How much wisdom! How much light! God shows His heart, His plan, His strength, His wisdom. How many lessons it contains that humanity needs every day, every century! How often it reminds us that the Lord reigns, that He will do justice, that He loves & cares for us, that He saves, that He gives light & life & healing! It has comforted, revived, lightened, & blessed me so much in my fear and depression.
“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”
“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”
“Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.”
“For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.”
“Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.”
“Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.”
“Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.”
“And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.”
“...for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.”
“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, & not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength & my song; He also is become my salvation. Praise the Lord, call upon His name, declare His doings among the people, make mention that His name is exalted. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.”
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, & who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”
“Take heed, & be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.... Thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.”
“Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”
“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”
“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”
“Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.”
“For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.”
“Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.”
“Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.”
“Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.”
“And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.”
“...for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.”
“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, & not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength & my song; He also is become my salvation. Praise the Lord, call upon His name, declare His doings among the people, make mention that His name is exalted. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.”
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, & who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”
“Take heed, & be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.... Thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.”
“Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”
January 7, 2023
This is one of my favorite books in The Bible. I highly recommend everyone reads it.
September 24, 2025
Isaiah 55:6-9
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
January 24, 2018
From rebellions and punishments to obedience and reconciliation, there's a little bit of everything in this book. I especially enjoyed the messages of peace, salvation, joy, and hope threaded throughout the chapters. Many verses made a deep impression upon my heart, and I'll carry them with me forever. There is so much life and treasure to discover in this book. A must-read!
I was not compensated for my honest review.
I was not compensated for my honest review.
October 9, 2017
In January 2015 I set myself the challenge to read the complete Bible within a year. I discovered that was an unrealistic challenge, and decided to pick up my Bible as and when I felt ready to read more of it. Yesterday, I picked it up for the first time in almost 6 months, but I spent a couple of hours reading it, so I'm getting there.
Isaiah is the first of the Prophets in the Old Testament, and I actually really enjoyed reading this book. Yay to enjoying reading the Bible again.
Isaiah is the first of the Prophets in the Old Testament, and I actually really enjoyed reading this book. Yay to enjoying reading the Bible again.
February 19, 2016
Wow, I really enjoyed this re-read of Isaiah! I think I read it more slowly and purposefully this time, and got more out of it. Really good though. Some parts are hard to understand, but that's okay. There are some really poignant and meaningful parts in here too. I'll have to read Isaiah again sometime! :)
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October 6, 2018Well I guess I finally start posting my reflections on the Bible, a book I've been reading for years and will never really be done with.
Isaiah is a book about hope in a world of sin and its inevitable consequences, of hope for a better life and for a better world, and while the themes are grounded in and repeatedly refer to then contemporary events, there is also a more general spiritual meaning, alluding to the final judgment, alluding to an eternal punishment or reward, even alluding to the life of Christ himself.
Israel had collapsed spiritually and inevitably would soon collapse politically, at least more so than they already had as the kingdom had long been divided. The beginning of the book is a condemnation of the dreadful state of the nation, an assurance of judgment, but also a reminder of the possibility for forgiveness.
Then it moves on to the call of Isaiah, the characteristic prophetic reluctance and then acceptance. The imagery is beautiful and I loved the description of the heavenly throne. Here is the source of that interesting reference one encounters in the missal as you follow along right before the Gospel is read. Munda cor meum ac labia mea, omnipotens Deus, qui labia Isaiae Prophetae calculo mundasti ignito
I am not an expert on the composition of the book, but I did get a sense of going back and forth as the text switches chronologically and thematically from lamentations, condemnations, historical accounts, prophecies, and consolations.
There is a memorable sequence in which a wide variety of countries are condemned for their evils, a sort of darker version of the table of nations in Genesis. While miracles are to be found in Isaiah, it appears that God's main way of punishing nations here is simply through the forces of history which God controls no less than he does the forces of nature. "at the beginning I foretell the outcome; in advance, things not yet done. I say that my plan shall stand, I accomplish my every purpose." The Jewish nation is punished through Assyria and Babylon. They are restored from their exile by Persia.
Some of the nations condemned were very prominent in the ancient world. Assyria was the largest empire before Alexander. The city of Babylon was reported to have had a wall fifty six miles in length surrounding it. When Assyria threatened the Levant, Judah, impressed by Egypt's grandeur decided to seek security with them, against the advice of Isaiah, a “covenant with death” as it's described.
Nations may seem powerful and impressive, but even they have circumstances beyond their control, and all of their grandeur hardly makes them immune to sin or other human fallibilities. “the wisest of Pharaoh's advisers give stupid counsel...where then are your wise men? Let them tell you and make known what the Lord of hosts has planned against Egypt. Perhaps every world power seemingly secure in their grandeur comes to think that they can last forever, perhaps that's why they never do.
Among the nations condemned perhaps Israel bore the greatest amount of blame for succumbing to idolatry as they certainly should've known better, more so than other nations yet even with all the condemnations, God never intends to annihilate his people. A remnant will survive and God only wants them to return to him.
There is a lot about judgment, but also assurance of a restoration and a future state of bliss. It's impossible to ever write about the book of Isaiah without mentioning that here is also some of the most vivid references to Christ in the entire Old Testament. It's much more straightforward to see that with several centuries of hindsight, but I wondered about the wide variety of interpretations people could've gotten from these passages centuries before Christ.
The fate of the Servant is gruesome, as the crucifixion would be. However, suffering and persecution is the paradoxical fate of those who seek to do God's will. It's a mysterious situation, but God reminds us that my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways...as high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways as my thoughts above your thoughts.
There is value that can come out of suffering. ”I have refined you like silver, tested you in the furnace of affliction” and the greatest value would come from the greatest suffering endured by the Servant who would be crucified to make available the Holy Mountain to those that had waited so long for it. Meanwhile for those of us still alive, we keep waiting for it, yet even today the Book of Isaiah is an exhortation to repentance and endurance in a world inevitably plagued by sin, but one in which God will inevitably triumph.
Isaiah is a book about hope in a world of sin and its inevitable consequences, of hope for a better life and for a better world, and while the themes are grounded in and repeatedly refer to then contemporary events, there is also a more general spiritual meaning, alluding to the final judgment, alluding to an eternal punishment or reward, even alluding to the life of Christ himself.
Israel had collapsed spiritually and inevitably would soon collapse politically, at least more so than they already had as the kingdom had long been divided. The beginning of the book is a condemnation of the dreadful state of the nation, an assurance of judgment, but also a reminder of the possibility for forgiveness.
Then it moves on to the call of Isaiah, the characteristic prophetic reluctance and then acceptance. The imagery is beautiful and I loved the description of the heavenly throne. Here is the source of that interesting reference one encounters in the missal as you follow along right before the Gospel is read. Munda cor meum ac labia mea, omnipotens Deus, qui labia Isaiae Prophetae calculo mundasti ignito
I am not an expert on the composition of the book, but I did get a sense of going back and forth as the text switches chronologically and thematically from lamentations, condemnations, historical accounts, prophecies, and consolations.
There is a memorable sequence in which a wide variety of countries are condemned for their evils, a sort of darker version of the table of nations in Genesis. While miracles are to be found in Isaiah, it appears that God's main way of punishing nations here is simply through the forces of history which God controls no less than he does the forces of nature. "at the beginning I foretell the outcome; in advance, things not yet done. I say that my plan shall stand, I accomplish my every purpose." The Jewish nation is punished through Assyria and Babylon. They are restored from their exile by Persia.
Some of the nations condemned were very prominent in the ancient world. Assyria was the largest empire before Alexander. The city of Babylon was reported to have had a wall fifty six miles in length surrounding it. When Assyria threatened the Levant, Judah, impressed by Egypt's grandeur decided to seek security with them, against the advice of Isaiah, a “covenant with death” as it's described.
Nations may seem powerful and impressive, but even they have circumstances beyond their control, and all of their grandeur hardly makes them immune to sin or other human fallibilities. “the wisest of Pharaoh's advisers give stupid counsel...where then are your wise men? Let them tell you and make known what the Lord of hosts has planned against Egypt. Perhaps every world power seemingly secure in their grandeur comes to think that they can last forever, perhaps that's why they never do.
Among the nations condemned perhaps Israel bore the greatest amount of blame for succumbing to idolatry as they certainly should've known better, more so than other nations yet even with all the condemnations, God never intends to annihilate his people. A remnant will survive and God only wants them to return to him.
There is a lot about judgment, but also assurance of a restoration and a future state of bliss. It's impossible to ever write about the book of Isaiah without mentioning that here is also some of the most vivid references to Christ in the entire Old Testament. It's much more straightforward to see that with several centuries of hindsight, but I wondered about the wide variety of interpretations people could've gotten from these passages centuries before Christ.
The fate of the Servant is gruesome, as the crucifixion would be. However, suffering and persecution is the paradoxical fate of those who seek to do God's will. It's a mysterious situation, but God reminds us that my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways...as high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways as my thoughts above your thoughts.
There is value that can come out of suffering. ”I have refined you like silver, tested you in the furnace of affliction” and the greatest value would come from the greatest suffering endured by the Servant who would be crucified to make available the Holy Mountain to those that had waited so long for it. Meanwhile for those of us still alive, we keep waiting for it, yet even today the Book of Isaiah is an exhortation to repentance and endurance in a world inevitably plagued by sin, but one in which God will inevitably triumph.
May 27, 2025
Isaiah is sometimes called the Gospel of the Old Testament- small wonder, since this Old Testament book talks about the virgin birth, the vicarious death of Christ, the resurrection and His coming again. The Word of God often does this. Prophecy, or as it is sometimes referred to, history written in advance.
June 20, 2021
"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy that it cannot hear:" ~Isaiah 59:1
"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." ~Isaiah 65:24
I really, really enjoyed my reading through Isaiah this time around!
"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." ~Isaiah 65:24
I really, really enjoyed my reading through Isaiah this time around!
December 7, 2020
I don't usually add my Bible reading on Goodreads, but I want a commemorative mark of how marvelous it was to read the whole book of Isaiah going into Advent (thanks quarantine). I would love to make this an annual tradition.
April 19, 2019
For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
I read this at precisely the right time. Spring was just beginning, and the thought of the beauty to come thrilled me through and through. That day, I read this! Isaiah is another of my favorite books, probably because of the many passages like the one above.
April 1, 2019
Finished!
August 24, 2018
So much contained in this book.
Some of my favourite scriptures is in this book. Here is a few:
Isaiah 40:27-28 "Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God'? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable."
Isaiah 40:31 "but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
Isaiah 41:10 "fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Some of my favourite scriptures is in this book. Here is a few:
Isaiah 40:27-28 "Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God'? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable."
Isaiah 40:31 "but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
Isaiah 41:10 "fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
August 29, 2022
8/28/22: It's hard for me to read very far into Isaiah without hearing a choir in my head. So much of Handel's Messiah and other music adapted from the Bible has been sourced specifically from Isaiah that you'd have to have your head in the sand not to have been exposed to at least SOME of it.
(For the record, I think "Surely, He hath borne our griefs"--from the text of Isaiah 53--is one of the more underrated pieces in the Messiah, since it doesn't get as much airtime as, say, the Hallelujah Chorus)
Isaiah is one of the critical hinges of the Old Testament--without it, most of the key passages Christians believe to be a foreshadowing of Christ would not exist. It is also situated at a dark time in Israel's history, when King Hezekiah--one of Judaism's greatest kings--was followed by one of its worst, his son Manasseh. The people needed a sign of hope--that history wouldn't always be an endless cycle of corruption and decay.
We need Isaiah's message just as badly some 2,800 years later.
Isaac of Nineveh (a 7th-century bishop) put the core of what Isaiah means for us like this:
"Do not fall into despair because of stumblings. I do not mean that you should not feel contrition for [your sins], but that you should not think them incurable. For it is more expedient to be bruised than dead. There is, indeed, a Healer for the person who has stumbled, even He Who on the Cross asked that mercy be shown to His crucifiers, He Who pardoned His murderers while he hung on the Cross . . ."
~Isaac of Nineveh, Ascetical Homilies 64
800 years before that Healer would descend from heaven into our history, Isaiah saw ahead to that moment in ways that are at times startlingly specific.
Christianity may not be the only belief system to have stories of a dying and rising god or of a "suffering servant," but as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and many others have argued, it is the only one to have had those "myths" fulfilled in the pages of history.
"Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows! He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him."
~Isaiah 53: 4-5 (& George Frideric Handel)
9/18/19: Some books of the Bible feel easier to write a "review" of than others. While much of Isaiah is taken up by repetitive judgments and promises of hope, there are many parts that stand out.
For example, there are large chunks of prophecy here that are explicitly connected with Jesus in the New Testament. In Luke 4, Jesus goes to a synagogue, is invited to read from one of the scrolls, and chooses what we know as Isaiah 61 ("The Spirit of the Lord has anointed me . . . "), connecting it with Himself and His own ministry.
And let's not forget "Surely he hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows" (Isaiah 53). Handel's Messiah, anyone?
This is obviously one of the key books of the Old Testament; while it can be argued that they're ALL important and they have certainly all meant a great deal to believers at one time or another, this is one of the books that it's hard to imagine the Bible without (it certainly wouldn't be the same book with the same message).
(For the record, I think "Surely, He hath borne our griefs"--from the text of Isaiah 53--is one of the more underrated pieces in the Messiah, since it doesn't get as much airtime as, say, the Hallelujah Chorus)
Isaiah is one of the critical hinges of the Old Testament--without it, most of the key passages Christians believe to be a foreshadowing of Christ would not exist. It is also situated at a dark time in Israel's history, when King Hezekiah--one of Judaism's greatest kings--was followed by one of its worst, his son Manasseh. The people needed a sign of hope--that history wouldn't always be an endless cycle of corruption and decay.
We need Isaiah's message just as badly some 2,800 years later.
Isaac of Nineveh (a 7th-century bishop) put the core of what Isaiah means for us like this:
"Do not fall into despair because of stumblings. I do not mean that you should not feel contrition for [your sins], but that you should not think them incurable. For it is more expedient to be bruised than dead. There is, indeed, a Healer for the person who has stumbled, even He Who on the Cross asked that mercy be shown to His crucifiers, He Who pardoned His murderers while he hung on the Cross . . ."
~Isaac of Nineveh, Ascetical Homilies 64
800 years before that Healer would descend from heaven into our history, Isaiah saw ahead to that moment in ways that are at times startlingly specific.
Christianity may not be the only belief system to have stories of a dying and rising god or of a "suffering servant," but as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and many others have argued, it is the only one to have had those "myths" fulfilled in the pages of history.
"Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows! He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him."
~Isaiah 53: 4-5 (& George Frideric Handel)
9/18/19: Some books of the Bible feel easier to write a "review" of than others. While much of Isaiah is taken up by repetitive judgments and promises of hope, there are many parts that stand out.
For example, there are large chunks of prophecy here that are explicitly connected with Jesus in the New Testament. In Luke 4, Jesus goes to a synagogue, is invited to read from one of the scrolls, and chooses what we know as Isaiah 61 ("The Spirit of the Lord has anointed me . . . "), connecting it with Himself and His own ministry.
And let's not forget "Surely he hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows" (Isaiah 53). Handel's Messiah, anyone?
This is obviously one of the key books of the Old Testament; while it can be argued that they're ALL important and they have certainly all meant a great deal to believers at one time or another, this is one of the books that it's hard to imagine the Bible without (it certainly wouldn't be the same book with the same message).
May 7, 2025
Perhaps the most beautiful and poetic of the Biblical prophets, Isaiah has so many prophecies of Jesus Christ that some have called it 'the fifth gospel'. Bible readers familiar with the four gospels will read through the book being continually surprised by familiar words "Unto us a child is born, unto us a King is given". "The leopard will lie down with the lamb", and many, many more.
The overall structure and context of the book is that Isaiah was commissioned by God (Isaiah 6) to warn the northern kingdom of Israel to repent or go into captivity in Assyria. This is the same country with the capital city of Nineveh to which the prophet Jonah was sent.
Israel didn't repent, but was conquered by Assyria and never seen again in history. Judah escaped Assyria through a miracle by God: the 185,000 man army of Assyria was slaughtered in one night, leaving the king alive. (Isaiah 38).
Judah was also warned about repenting or going into captivity, this time by Babylon. Did they repent? Nope.
Isaiah balances all this bad news with good news. Isaiah tells of God's future kingdom in Isaiah 35, and of the coming Messiah in Isaiah 9, 11, 40-66. The Messiah, also called 'God's servant' will take away all of Israel's sin with his own suffering. Specifically, he'll be beaten with stripes and die--but then live again, forever.
I've been reading Isaiah for nearly fifty years and in my opinion, it's one of the hardest books to understand. Go chapter by chapter and understand the context and meaning of each is my advice.
The overall structure and context of the book is that Isaiah was commissioned by God (Isaiah 6) to warn the northern kingdom of Israel to repent or go into captivity in Assyria. This is the same country with the capital city of Nineveh to which the prophet Jonah was sent.
Israel didn't repent, but was conquered by Assyria and never seen again in history. Judah escaped Assyria through a miracle by God: the 185,000 man army of Assyria was slaughtered in one night, leaving the king alive. (Isaiah 38).
Judah was also warned about repenting or going into captivity, this time by Babylon. Did they repent? Nope.
Isaiah balances all this bad news with good news. Isaiah tells of God's future kingdom in Isaiah 35, and of the coming Messiah in Isaiah 9, 11, 40-66. The Messiah, also called 'God's servant' will take away all of Israel's sin with his own suffering. Specifically, he'll be beaten with stripes and die--but then live again, forever.
I've been reading Isaiah for nearly fifty years and in my opinion, it's one of the hardest books to understand. Go chapter by chapter and understand the context and meaning of each is my advice.
September 17, 2020
Sidenote: The reason for such vague and short and "eh" words on each of these books, is because I wasn't challenging the study of the Bible when I read these. I was challenging myself to read the whole Bible in a year because I knew it would be discipline to keep at it daily. I do, however, plan to pick up a book and study what it is saying. Those will be longer reads and more notes.
So here is my review from my "Read the Bible in a Year" challenge. Usually just snippets of thoughts and random things I liked about the book itself. Nothing in-depth.
So here is my review of Isaiah.
This book is heavily laid with prophetic words. That is what this book is known for I am assuming, though I haven't done my research on that. It was interesting to hear things that are going to happen and know that they happen in the New Testament.
I don't really have much to say on it rather then that it was a good read and I would like to read it again and study it further.
So here is my review from my "Read the Bible in a Year" challenge. Usually just snippets of thoughts and random things I liked about the book itself. Nothing in-depth.
So here is my review of Isaiah.
This book is heavily laid with prophetic words. That is what this book is known for I am assuming, though I haven't done my research on that. It was interesting to hear things that are going to happen and know that they happen in the New Testament.
I don't really have much to say on it rather then that it was a good read and I would like to read it again and study it further.
Read
January 23, 2023***Not going to rate any books of the Bible, obviously they are God’s word and do not belong on a rating scale.***
Part of my morning routine is reading through books of the Bible. I don’t know why I began in Isaiah, but I am glad that I did. I’ve always considered him my favorite prophet and he definitely comes at an interesting time in Israel’s history.
It’s wild to me just how detailed and specific the prophecy of Christ is in this book which was written centuries before the actual birth of our savior. Down to the gold and frankincense of the wisemen, Isaiah foretold much of what would happen to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.
A lot of the book was also spent on the prophecy of the destruction of enemies and the wrath of God on those who oppose his gift of salvation. It is not all doom and gloom, however, because there is always a promise that followed about the milk and honey God’s people will receive. Promises of eternal joy and peace and happiness.
Good stuff.
Part of my morning routine is reading through books of the Bible. I don’t know why I began in Isaiah, but I am glad that I did. I’ve always considered him my favorite prophet and he definitely comes at an interesting time in Israel’s history.
It’s wild to me just how detailed and specific the prophecy of Christ is in this book which was written centuries before the actual birth of our savior. Down to the gold and frankincense of the wisemen, Isaiah foretold much of what would happen to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.
A lot of the book was also spent on the prophecy of the destruction of enemies and the wrath of God on those who oppose his gift of salvation. It is not all doom and gloom, however, because there is always a promise that followed about the milk and honey God’s people will receive. Promises of eternal joy and peace and happiness.
Good stuff.
August 19, 2025
5/26/2024-6/18/2024 with the kids
7/9/2024-8/1/2024 with The Bible Recap
7/9/2025-8/1/2025 with The Bible Recap
7/9/2024-8/1/2024 with The Bible Recap
7/9/2025-8/1/2025 with The Bible Recap
September 18, 2021
The book of Isiah is the longest prophetic book in the Old Testament. Isaiah received a visionary call around 742 BC. His preaching was directed to the Southern Kingdom of Judah and often to Jerusalem especially its kings. His ministry spanned the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah ending about 701 BC.
Isaiah's emphasis was on divine sovereignty and holiness urging faithfulness and trust in the Lord. He envisioned God's eventual redemption of Israel in visions. This book lays the foundation for the other books of prophecy.
Isaiah's emphasis was on divine sovereignty and holiness urging faithfulness and trust in the Lord. He envisioned God's eventual redemption of Israel in visions. This book lays the foundation for the other books of prophecy.
August 2, 2022
This is part of a series where I am reading the Bible in chronological order. I am not doing this for reasons of faith, as I am agnostic, but because of my interest in mythology, ancient literature, and history. I chose the NRSV because I used to be Catholic and still have sympathies there. More importantly, this version seeks a balance between an accurate translation and the literary qualities of the King James Bible. So it seems you get the best of two worlds.
Isaiah is the biggest of the doom prophets, the other smaller ones being Amos and Hosea. Given the size and scope though, the tone and themes of Isaiah are more diverse, which means it lacks the fiery focus of the other books. It offers a good window into the kind of terror the Assyrians instilled in others. That said, one can see a change in how God is portrayed. He is a vengeful God, but more expansive. Here we hear about a world reborn, long condemnations of idols as wholly false, and an emerging theme of forgiveness. The faint echoes of Jesus can be heard here.
Isaiah is the biggest of the doom prophets, the other smaller ones being Amos and Hosea. Given the size and scope though, the tone and themes of Isaiah are more diverse, which means it lacks the fiery focus of the other books. It offers a good window into the kind of terror the Assyrians instilled in others. That said, one can see a change in how God is portrayed. He is a vengeful God, but more expansive. Here we hear about a world reborn, long condemnations of idols as wholly false, and an emerging theme of forgiveness. The faint echoes of Jesus can be heard here.
November 11, 2025
This might be my new favorite book of the Bible. The Messianic prophecies are mind blowing. It really captures every aspect of the power and sovereignty of God. In His judgement and in His mercy, the Lord reigns!
January 12, 2025
About: Our desperate need for God
April 9, 2025
Isaiah is indeed my favorite Old Testament prophet and this book one of my favorites in the Bible!
July 11, 2025
One of my favorite books of the Bible
October 3, 2025
More beautiful than I remembered.
August 24, 2017
Getting past the "doom and gloom" in the former half of Isaiah, there are some startling prophecies made about the coming of Christ.
February 15, 2020
Wow! What an amazing book! For so many years I avoided old testament prophecy books just because of all the (percieved) "gloom and doom" contained therein, but I found to the contrary that the book of Isaiah when properly understood is busting at the seams with God's promises to save and redeem ALL MANKIND from the tyranny and opression of sin. Hallelujah, what a Savior!
August 8, 2018
Read the NIV version of this book in the Bible (not the book pictured.
Isaiah: 🤯 mind blowing
Isaiah: 🤯 mind blowing
December 25, 2022
Called the "Fifth Gospel," there were so many lines that sounded familiar because Isaiah is the most quoted OT writer in the NT. Of course, there is a lot of doom and judgment, especially in the first 39 chapters, but throughout and especially toward the end, there is a lot of hope and restoration promised. It was especially meaningful to me to read as my Advent study.
February 20, 2014
The book of Isaiah is one of my favourites, though so many years before the birth of Masiah Jesus, the Book of Isaiah had several prophesies of Jesus.
His birth: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
His ministry: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
Him being crucified and purchasing healing, salvation and redemption for the human race: Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
One of of my favourite accounts in Isiah was the worship scene in heaven: Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
BLESS THE NAME OF JESUS!
His birth: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
His ministry: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
Him being crucified and purchasing healing, salvation and redemption for the human race: Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
One of of my favourite accounts in Isiah was the worship scene in heaven: Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
BLESS THE NAME OF JESUS!
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