2 Nephi 16
People in this chapter
Nephi opened this block of Isaiah with a reason: he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him. And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him... wherefore, by the words of three, God hath said, I will establish my word (2 Nephi 11:2-3). Nephi, Jacob, and Isaiah are three witnesses who saw the premortal Christ. This chapter is Isaiah's testimony.
Tap any highlighted phrase to jump to the commentary that unpacks it.
2 Nephi 16:1-4I Saw Also the Lord Sitting upon a Throne
1In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Isaiah dates his vision to the year King Uzziah died. Uzziah had reigned a long time, and his death left the nation uncertain. In that moment Isaiah saw the true King.
2Above it stood the seraphim; each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3And one cried unto another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. 4And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
The seraphim cover their faces in reverence and cry, Holy, holy, holy. The doorposts shake and smoke fills the house.
2 Nephi 16:5-8Here Am I; Send Me
5Then said I: Wo is unto 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.
Seeing the Lord's holiness makes Isaiah feel undone. He is a man of unclean lips among a people of unclean lips.
6Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; 7And he laid it upon my mouth, and said: Lo, this has touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
A seraph touches Isaiah's lips with a burning coal from the altar, and says his sin is purged. The cleansing comes from the altar, the place of sacrifice.
8Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said: Here am I; send me.
2 Nephi 16:9-13The Holy Seed Shall Be the Substance Thereof
9And he said: Go and tell this people—Hear ye indeed, but they understood not; and see ye indeed, but they perceived not. 10Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes—lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed.
The Lord tells Isaiah his message will mostly be rejected. In the Book of Mormon wording, the people heard but they understood not. The refusal is theirs.
11Then said I: Lord, how long? And he said: Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate; 12And the Lord have removed men far away, for there shall be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. 13But yet there shall be a tenth, and they shall return, and shall be eaten, as a teil tree, and as an oak whose substance is in them when they cast their leaves; so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
Even after the tree is cut down, a stump remains. That holy seed is the hope Isaiah carries: a remnant from which Israel will grow again.
Research trail
Sources & further study
These references support the historical, linguistic, manuscript, and contextual notes in this chapter. Scripture remains the primary text; external sources are provided so readers can inspect the research directly.
- How Did Nephi Read Isaiah as a Witness of Christ’s Coming?Notes the parallels between Isaiah's throne vision and cleansing in this chapter and the visions of Lehi and Nephi, and reads 2 Nephi 16-19 through the outline of Nephi's own vision of Christ.
- SeraphimA short entry on the heavenly beings Isaiah saw in verses 2-3, including the meaning of the word.
- IsaiahBackground on Isaiah's ministry and how often the Book of Mormon and the Savior quote him, which explains why his call in this chapter matters so much to Nephi.
Where this echoes in Scripture
I Saw Also the Lord Sitting upon a Throne
- 1 Nephi 1:8He thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels.Lehi's vision follows the same pattern.
- Revelation 4:8Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
- 2 Chronicles 26:16But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction.King Uzziah.
- Alma 36:22Methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne.
Here Am I; Send Me
- John 12:41These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.
- Abraham 3:27And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me.
- Moses 4:2Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.
- 2 Nephi 11:2For he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him.
- D&C 64:34Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind.
The Holy Seed Shall Be the Substance Thereof
- Matthew 13:15Lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
- Isaiah 6:9Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.The Bible wording.
- 3 Nephi 9:13Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?
- D&C 45:29For they perceive not the light, and they turn their hearts from me because of the precepts of men.
- 2 Nephi 21:1There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.