2 Nephi 17
People in this chapter
Nephi told his people what he wanted Isaiah to do for them: my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ (2 Nephi 11:4). This chapter is one of his strongest proofs. In the middle of a political crisis seven centuries before the birth of Jesus, Isaiah announces that a virgin will bear a son named Immanuel.
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2 Nephi 17:1-9Take Heed, and Be Quiet; Fear Not
1And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. 2And it was told the house of David, saying: Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.
Syria and Israel join forces against Jerusalem. When King Ahaz hears it, his heart shakes as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.
3Then said the Lord unto Isaiah: Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field; 4And say unto him: Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be faint-hearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. 5Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying: 6Let us go up against Judah and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, yea, the son of Tabeal. 7Thus saith the Lord God: It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.
The Lord's message to a terrified king: Take heed, and be quiet; fear not. The enemy's plan shall not stand.
8For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus, Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken that it be not a people. 9And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe surely ye shall not be established.
2 Nephi 17:10-16A Virgin Shall Conceive
10Moreover, the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying: 11Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depths, or in the heights above. 12But Ahaz said: I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. 13And he said: Hear ye now, O house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
The Lord offers Ahaz any sign he wants. Ahaz refuses with pious-sounding words. He had already decided to trust Assyria instead.
14Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign—Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
15Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and to choose the good. 16For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
Before the child is old enough to choose good from evil, the two kings Ahaz fears will be gone. The sign also had a near meaning for Ahaz.
2 Nephi 17:17-25The Razor That Is Hired
17The Lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah, the king of Assyria. 18And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes. 20In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard.
Ahaz trusted Assyria to save him. Isaiah warns that Assyria will swarm over Judah itself. The help Ahaz chose becomes the danger.
Assyria is a razor that is hired. Ahaz paid for it, and it will shave Judah bare, a picture of deep humiliation.
21And it shall come to pass in that day, a man shall nourish a young cow and two sheep; 22And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk they shall give he shall eat butter; for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land. 23And it shall come to pass in that day, every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, which shall be for briers and thorns. 24With arrows and with bows shall men come thither, because all the land shall become briers and thorns. 25And all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and the treading of lesser cattle.
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.
- ImmanuelA short entry on the name given in verse 14, its meaning, and its fulfillment in the birth of Jesus Christ.
- How Did Isaiah Prophesy of the Savior?Discusses how Isaiah's prophecies could have meaning in his own day and still point to Jesus Christ, with Isaiah 7:14 among the examples Matthew applied to the Savior's birth.
- How Did Nephi Read Isaiah as a Witness of Christ’s Coming?Shows how the prophecy of a virgin's son in verse 14 matches what Nephi saw in his own vision of Mary and the Christ child in 1 Nephi 11.
Where this echoes in Scripture
Take Heed, and Be Quiet; Fear Not
- D&C 101:16Let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God.
- 2 Kings 16:7So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me.What Ahaz did instead.
- 2 Nephi 4:34O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh.
- Isaiah 30:15In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.
A Virgin Shall Conceive
- Matthew 1:22-23They shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
- 1 Nephi 11:20-21I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God.
- Alma 7:10He shall be born of Mary... she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel.
- Mosiah 3:8And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God... and his mother shall be called Mary.
- Luke 1:35The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee.
The Razor That Is Hired
- 2 Kings 16:8And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD... and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.
- 2 Nephi 4:34Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.
- Jeremiah 17:5Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm.
- 2 Nephi 15:26He will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth.