The Book of Mormon

2 Nephi 7:2

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~559–545 BC

1830 Edition

wherefore, when I come, there was no man; when I called, yea, there was none to answer. O House of Israel, is my hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem, or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke, I dry up the sea, I make their rivers a wilderness and their fish to stink, because the waters are dried up; and they die because of thirst.

Influences

Isaiah 50:2 (KJV)
Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.

Changes

wWherefore, when I coame, there was no man; when I called, yea, there was none to answer. O Hhouse of Israel, is my hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem, or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke, I dry up the sea, I make their rivers a wilderness and their fish to stink, because the waters are dried up;, and they die because of thirst.

Simple English

So when I came, there was no one. When I called, there was no one to answer. People of Israel, is my hand too weak to save you? Do I have no power to rescue you? When I warn you, I dry up the sea. I make their rivers turn into deserts. Their fish smell bad because the water is dried up. They die because they have no water.

Paraphrase

So when I came, why was no one there? When I called out, why didn’t anyone answer? House of Israel, do you think my reach is too short to save you? Do I lack the power to rescue you? Listen: at my word I can turn the sea into a desert. I can dry up rivers until the fish rot and die of thirst.

Notes

7:1-11

Chapters 7 and 8 of 2 Nephi reproduce material from Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 50–52:2), while an additional thirteen chapters (2 Nephi 12–24) quotes Isaiah 2–14—amounting to more than twenty-one total chapters of Isaiah within the Book of Mormon. Given that these records were reportedly engraved on small metal plates, a medium that would require significant effort and space (Jacob 4:1), this extensive duplication raises questions about purpose and necessity—especially since the Nephites already possessed Isaiah’s writings on the brass plates and the biblical text was independently preserved (as later evidenced by discoveries such as the Dead Sea Scrolls). Critics argue that this repetition, along with numerous phrases reflecting the King James Bible, suggests literary dependence rather than ancient origin. In contrast, Latter-day Saint scholars, including those from FAIR, contend that Isaiah was doctrinally central to Nephite theology. They emphasize that prophets like Nephi and Jacob not only quoted but interpreted Isaiah, indicating that these passages were intentionally preserved to teach covenant and messianic themes.