Scholars have long called Isaiah 40-55 "Second Isaiah" or "Deutero-Isaiah" and Isaiah 56-66 "Trito-Isaiah," because they belong to exilic and post-exilic times, during Babylonian captivity and after Cyrus the Great of Persia in 538 bce allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their city and temple.[1] These chapters call Cyrus the messiah (44.28 – 45:1) even though he was a foreigner, and there is no mention of any personal messiah besides Cyrus (Klausner 154-5, 163). Nevertheless, scholars consider as messianic the descriptions of the future age of peace and greatness for YHWH, Jerusalem, the Jews, and their law, and on this subject Second Isaiah fantasizes at great length.
[1] Bamberger, Bernard J. The Story of Judaism. 3rd printing. New York: American Book-Stratford Press, 1962, p. 38. Gitay, Yehoshua. "Isaiah, the Book of." Harper's Bible Dictionary. 1985 ed., pp. 427. Klausner, Joseph. The Messianic Idea in Israel: From Its Beginning to the Completion of the Mishna. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1955, pp. 143-8. May, Herbert G. and Bruce M. Metzger. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha. 1977.
Here is an outline of Second Isaiah using the most important quotations from the work. I have placed critical words and phrases in bold font.
[Remember to see Appendix B for Second Isaiah's famous "Servant Passages," which were later turned by Christians into "prophecies" of Jesus to the extent that they shaped their stories around the Servant Passages in an attempt to portray Jesus as fulfilling prophecy. To do so, they had to twist the original meaning of Isaiah. See Appendix B .]
· 54.5-17: 5. "For your Maker is your husband—YHWH of armies is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the land (ha eretz). 6. YHWH will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—a wife who married young, only to be rejected,” says your God. 7. “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. 8. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says YHWH your Redeemer. 9. “To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again. 10. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says YHWH, who has compassion on you. 11. “O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires. 12. I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones. 13. All your sons will be taught by YHWH, and great will be your children’s peace. 14. In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you. 15. If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you. 16. “See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc; 17. no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of YHWH, and this is their vindication from me,” declares YHWH."
· Non-Israelites will come to YHWH and the temples and will keep the law of Moses: 56.1-8: 1. "This is what YHWH says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. 2. Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.” 3. Let no foreigner who has bound himself to YHWH say, “YHWH will surely exclude me from his people.” And let not any eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.” 4. For this is what YHWH says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant—5. to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off. 6. And foreigners who bind themselves to YHWH to serve him, to love the name of YHWH, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant — 7. these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” 8. The Sovereign YHWH declares—he who gathers the exiles of Israel: “I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.”
· The nations will serve YHWH bring offerings to the temple in the rebuilt Jerusalem: 60.1-22: 1. “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of YHWH rises upon you. 2. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but YHWH rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 3. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4. “Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. 5. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. 6. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of YHWH. 7. All Kedar’s flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I will adorn my glorious temple. ... 9. Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of YHWH your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor. 10. “Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion. 11. Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations— their kings led in triumphal procession. 12. For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined. 13. “The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the pine, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn the place of my sanctuary; and I will glorify the place of my feet. 14. The sons of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City of YHWH, Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15. “Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations. 16. You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts. Then you will know that I, YHWH, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 17. Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler. 18. No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. 19. The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for YHWH will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. 20. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; YHWH will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end. 21. Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor. 22. The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation [by having so many children]. I am YHWH; in its time I will do this swiftly.”
· Return of Exiles, Restoration, Wealth, Joy: 61.1-7: 1. "The Spirit of the Sovereign YHWH is on me, because YHWH has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners/bound, 2. to proclaim the year of YHWH’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3. and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of YHWH for the display of his splendor. 4. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. 5. Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. 6. And you will be called priests of YHWH, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. 7. Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs."
· Jerusalem will be rebuilt, restored, made glorious, and never plundered again: 62.1-9: 1. "For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. 2. The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of YHWH will bestow. 3. You will be a crown of splendor in YHWH’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4. No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah (My-delight-is-in-her), and your land Beulah (married); for YHWH will take delight in you, and your land will be married. 5. As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. 6. I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on YHWH, give yourselves no rest, 7. and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the land. 8. YHWH has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: “Never again will I give your grain as food for your enemies, and never again will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled; 9. but those who harvest it will eat it and praise YHWH, and those who gather the grapes will drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.”
· Future Peace in a Utopian Jerusalem: 65.17-25: 17. “Behold, I will create new skies and a new land (eretz). The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. 18. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. 19. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. 20. “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. 21. They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. 23. They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by YHWH, they and their descendants with them. 24. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. 25. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says YHWH.
o 65.17 – This becomes the concept of the "new heavens and new earth" that some Jews and Christians expected YHWH to create.
· YHWH's Coming Judgement; All Nations will worship YHWH every Sabbath and New Moon at the Temple in Jerusalem: 66.15-24: " 15. See, YHWH is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 16. For with fire and with his sword YHWH will execute judgment upon all men, and many will be those slain by YHWH. 17. “Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following the one in the midst of those who eat the flesh of pigs and rats and other abominable things—they will meet their end together,” declares YHWH. 18. “And because of their actions and their imaginations, I am about to come and gather all nations and tongues, and they will come and see my glory. 19. “I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. 20. And they will bring all your brothers, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to YHWH—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says YHWH. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of YHWH in ceremonially clean vessels. 21. And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says YHWH. 22. “As the new skies and the new land that I make will endure before me,” declares YHWH, “so will your name and descendants endure. 23. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says YHWH. 24. “And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”
o As the historical context of this passage (hopes for Israel after Babylonian exile in the 500's bce) faded with time, such passages as these would be constantly reinterpreted. This passage would eventually be influential both on other writings and would appear in Christianity as an expectation for end-time judgement and a hope for "new heavens and a new earth," except that as Christianity become increasingly less Jewish, all references to the Mosaic law (ban on pork 66.17, Sabbaths and New Moons 66.23, temple offerings 66.20, priests and Levites 66.21) would be omitted from their concept of the coming paradise, as would the ability to go view the dead bodies of the slain (66.24) and references to the return from Babylonian exile via horses, chariots, wagons, mules, and camels (66.20). Whereas early Christians apparently kept the Mosaic law (see Mt 5, James' Jerusalem community, and the Ebionites), Pauline Christianity did away with its importance.[1]
[1] Rom. 10.4: "Christ is the end of the law." Eph. 2.15: "(Christ) abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations." Heb. 10.1: "The law is only a shadow." Gal. 3.24-25: "The law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law." Col. 2.13-17: "(Jesus) cancelled the written code, with its regulations. . . . He took it away, nailing it to the cross." New Moon celebrations and Sabbath days were just "a shadow." . . . Contrast Mt 5.17-20, which portrays Jesus as saying, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."