Review of Avraham Gileadi, The Book of Isaiah: A New Translation with Interpretive Keys from the Book of Mormon

This book is an important milestone in LDS scriptural study. For the first time, a Latter-day Saint scholar has fully recognized the inadequacy of the outdated and archaic 1611 King James translation and has produced a completely new translation of a biblical book from an LDS point of view. As modern readers we are familiar with the King James language of the New Testament Gospels, but other parts—especially the prophetic books of the Old Testament and Paul's letters—remain obtuse, in part because of the rhetorical complexity of these works, but also because their language (especially in an archaic translation) is so difficult to understand. Gileadi's goal is to translate Isaiah into modern English so that Isaiah can speak directly to us. Gileadi succeeds because his language is modern, yet elevated; it avoids slang and modernistic expressions that would detract from the seriousness of Isaiah's message. In addition, Gileadi has striven to achieve a consistent translation of Isaiah's terminology, thus allowing the reader to more readily see the prophetic patterns in this book.