2 Nephi 8
People in this chapter
Jacob is reaching the end of his Isaiah reading, and the words get louder. Three times the chapter cries Awake, awake! (vv. 9, 17, 24). First Israel calls on the Lord to wake up and act. Then the Lord turns it around and calls on His people to wake up.
Tap any highlighted phrase to jump to the commentary that unpacks it.
2 Nephi 8:1-3Look unto the Rock from Whence Ye Are Hewn
1Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness. Look unto the rock from whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit from whence ye are digged. 2Look unto Abraham, your father, and unto Sarah, she that bare you; for I called him alone, and blessed him.
The Lord tells His people to remember where they came from: Abraham and Sarah. He called Abraham when he was alone, and made him a great people. He can do it again.
3For the Lord shall comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.
The Lord promises to comfort Zion and make her wilderness like Eden. Joy and gladness shall be found therein.
2 Nephi 8:4-8Fear Ye Not the Reproach of Men
4Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation; for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light for the people. 5My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arm shall judge the people. The isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust. 6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment; and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner. But my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
The heavens and the earth will wear out, but the Lord says, my salvation shall be forever. The isles, people far away like the Nephites, will trust in Him.
7Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart I have written my law, fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. 8For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool. But my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation.
Fear ye not the reproach of men. People who mock the Lord's people will fade like a moth-eaten garment. The Lord's salvation lasts forever.
2 Nephi 8:9-16Awake, O Arm of the Lord
9Awake, awake! Put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the ancient days. Art thou not he that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? 10Art thou not he who hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?
11Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy and holiness shall be upon their heads; and they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and mourning shall flee away. 12I am he; yea, I am he that comforteth you. Behold, who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of man, who shall die, and of the son of man, who shall be made like unto grass? 13And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth, and hast feared continually every day, because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor?
The redeemed will come home singing. Then the Lord says, I am he that comforteth you. Why be afraid of people who will die, and forget the Lord who made the heavens?
14The captive exile hasteneth, that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail. 15But I am the Lord thy God, whose waves roared; the Lord of Hosts is my name. 16And I have put my words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion: Behold, thou art my people.
The captive will be freed. The Lord puts His words in His people's mouths, covers them with His hand, and says, thou art my people.
2 Nephi 8:17-23The Cup of Trembling
17Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury—thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling wrung out— 18And none to guide her among all the sons she hath brought forth; neither that taketh her by the hand, of all the sons she hath brought up.
Now the Lord tells Jerusalem to wake up. She has drunk a bitter cup of suffering, down to the dregs, and has no one to guide her.
19These two sons are come unto thee, who shall be sorry for thee—thy desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword—and by whom shall I comfort thee? 20Thy sons have fainted, save these two; they lie at the head of all the streets; as a wild bull in a net, they are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of thy God. 21Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, and not with wine:
22Thus saith thy Lord, the Lord and thy God pleadeth the cause of his people; behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again. 23But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; who have said to thy soul: Bow down, that we may go over—and thou hast laid thy body as the ground and as the street to them that went over.
2 Nephi 8:24-25Put On Thy Strength, O Zion
24Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. 25Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
The last awake is for Zion: put on thy strength. The Lord told Joseph Smith this means putting on the authority of the priesthood and returning to Him.
Zion is told to put on thy beautiful garments and shake off the dust. The risen Savior quoted these verses to the Nephites, and Moroni used them in his last words.
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.
- Jacob's Use of Isaiah in 2 Nephi 6-10Charts how Jacob quotes Isaiah in 2 Nephi 7-8 and echoes and alludes to Isaiah throughout the rest of his sermon.
- Did Jacob Refer to Ancient Israelite Autumn Festivals?Discusses a scholarly proposal that Jacob read these chapters at a covenant-renewal festival, noting themes such as the law, judgment, and holy garments in Isaiah 51-52.
- ZionWhat scripture means by Zion: the pure in heart, a people of one heart and one mind, and the places where the Lord gathers them.
Where this echoes in Scripture
Look unto the Rock from Whence Ye Are Hewn
- Genesis 12:1-3I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee.The call of Abraham.
- Hebrews 11:11-12Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed… so many as the stars of the sky.
- Abraham 2:10As many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed.
- 2 Nephi 5:27And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness.
- Isaiah 35:1-2The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
Fear Ye Not the Reproach of Men
- Jeremiah 31:33I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.
- Matthew 24:35Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
- 1 Nephi 8:33They did point the finger of scorn at me… but we heeded them not.
- Matthew 5:11-12Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you… Rejoice, and be exceeding glad.
- 2 Nephi 10:20The Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea.
Awake, O Arm of the Lord
- Isaiah 53:1Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
- John 12:37-38Though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled.
- Exodus 14:21-22The children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground.
- John 14:16-18I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
- Isaiah 51:11Everlasting joy shall be upon their head.The King James wording, without “holiness.”
The Cup of Trembling
- Matthew 26:39O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
- 3 Nephi 11:11I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me.
- D&C 19:16-18Would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink.
- D&C 45:3-5Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him.
- Isaiah 51:19These two things are come unto thee.The King James wording of verse 19.
Put On Thy Strength, O Zion
- D&C 113:7-10To put on her strength is to put on the authority of the priesthood.The Lord's own explanation of these verses.
- 3 Nephi 20:36-37Awake, awake again, and put on thy strength, O Zion.The risen Savior quotes these verses.
- Moroni 10:31Awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments.
- Isaiah 52:1-2Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion.
- 2 Nephi 9:14Clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness.