2 Nephi 12:6

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Reference Search: 2 Nephi 12:6

6 Therefore, O Lord, thou hast forsaken thy people, the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and hearken unto soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.

Quote for Discussion

“Forsaken”

Forsake means “to desert or abandon.” The original Hebrew is more clear in meaning. The word translated forsaken…does mean “to send away, to let go, to leave or desert;” but it also carries the meanings of “to disperse or to spread abroad.” The entire meaning of the word taken as a whole is exactly what happened to the house of Jacob. God withdrew and they were spread to all quarters of the earth.

Loren D. Martin, Isaiah: An Ensign to the Nations [salt Lake City: Valiant Publications, 1982], 61

“Replenish from Cast”

To the Israelites, “east is the sacred direction. Holy temples are oriented eastward,…Jesus Christ enters his temples from the east (Ezek. 43:1-2; see Ezek. 10:19); and at the time of the Second Coming, the Lord will come from the east (JS-M 1:26; Matt. 24:27; Teachings, 287),” In 2:5, the prophet Isaiah commands the house of Israel to “walk in the light of the Lord,” which comes from the east. Yet the house of Israel attempted to be spiritually revitalized (replenished) through apostate, spurious sources from the east (such as the deities and religious systems of the heathen countries), which constituted mockery unto God.

Donald W. Parry, Jay A. Parry, and Tina M. Peterson, Understanding Isaiah [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1998], 29

“Please themselves in the children of strangers”

Hebrew sepiyqu means to “clasp hands” rather than the KJV “please themselves.”

Donald W. Parry, Jay A. Parry, and Tina M. Peterson, Understanding Isaiah [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1998], 29

The term…translated strangers, means foreign as in opposition to the son or lawful heir. In Ecclesiastes 6:2, the feminine form of the word is used to refer to a strange woman as in opposition to one’s own wife, especially with regard to illicit intercourse; hence an adulteress….The people had become strangers to the House of the Lord. Therefore, the term also was used to signify the worship of idols or strange gods. Yet, a most interesting term is the word “please.”…The Jerusalem Bible translates the phrase, “they clap foreigners by the hand.” That interpretation is footnoted by the comment, “by the hand”; signifies, “a gesture of friendship, or else a magic rite: the text is obscure.” The whole phrase may be taken several ways and has multiple meaning. It may be taken as a condemnation of association with harlots, foreign gods, persons who worship idols, or marrying or being in league with followers of idols. Yet, even further, Isaiah may have also been condemning those who clap hands with strangers in secret rites, delivering sacred things to those not worthy to receive them. The Hebrew term translated “please” means to strike, to clap the hands, or to make an agreement concluded with the striking of the hands or handshake. They left God, turned unto soothsayers and “strangers”. They served the gods of this earth. Silver and gold became gods. Collecting treasure became the objective of life.

Loren D. Martin, Isaiah: An Ensign to the Nations [salt Lake City: Valiant Publications, 1982], 62-63