Nephi writing.
compiled by Fred W. Anson
Latter-day Saints like to describe the Lord’s restoration and/or continuing revelation as “line upon line, precept upon precept”. Here’s how this phrase appears in the Book of Mormon (italics added for emphasis):
2 Nephi 28
29 Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!
30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.
31 Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Like the Book of Mormon, this phrase only appears in one place in the Bible – twice in Isaiah chapter 28. Here’s the passage for your reference (again italics added for emphasis):
Isaiah 28 KJV
5 In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,
6 And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.
7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8 For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.
9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
So you see, in that biblical passage, “line upon line, precept upon precept” Isaiah is saying that God’s people are under His judgment and His curse rather than under His blessing and favor. Paraphrasing, it means, “Your hearts and minds and the minds of your leaders are so dull and slow that I have to teach you like a small child or like a drunken, irrational fool who must be spoken to slowly and distinctly so that you ‘get it’ – that is, word-by-word and guideline-by-guideline.”
And then the Lord goes on to declare judgment on these dim-witted people who are rejecting His clear warning. Again paraphrasing, “And since I can’t seem to get through to you all doing this, maybe the foreign-tongued invaders that I’m sending in judgment upon you will get my words and requirements through your thick skulls after you’ve been captured and conquered!”
This, friends is a mocking and pointed declaration of judgment on Isaiah’s audience, it is not a nice sweet little sermon about the Lord’s will unfolding via continuing revelation. God is expressing His frustration with His covenant people in the harshest, most direct, and graphic terms possible. He is calling them immature, idiotic fools publicly, right out loud, and to their face. This is even clearer in the NIV translation of the Bible (yet again, italics added for emphasis):
Isaiah 28 NIV
5 In that day the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people. 6 He will be a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions. 8 All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth.
9 “Who is it he is trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast? 10 For it is: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there.”
11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, 12 to whom he said, “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”; and, “This is the place of repose”— but they would not listen. 13 So then, the word of the Lord to them will become: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there— so that as they go they will fall backward; they will be injured and snared and captured.
As well-known Bible Expositor, John MacArthur observes regarding the key points in this passage:
28:6 spirit of justice. In that day of Messiah’s reign, the empowering Spirit will prevail in bringing justice to the world (cf. 11: 2).
28: 7 priest… prophet… err. Drunkenness had infected even the religious leadership of the nation, resulting in false spiritual guidance of the people.
28: 8 no place is clean. When leaders wallowed in filth, what hope did the nation have?
28: 9 weaned from milk. The drunken leaders resented it when Isaiah and other true prophets treated them as toddlers, by reminding them of elementary truths of right and wrong.
28:10 precept upon precept… there a little. This is the drunkard’s sarcastically mocking response to corrective advice from the prophet. Transliterated, the Hebrew monosyllables are Sav lasav, sav lasav, Kav lakav, kav lakav, Ze’er sham, ze’er sham. These imitations of a young child’s babbling ridicule Isaiah’s preaching.
28:11 another tongue. Since the drunkards would not listen to God’s prophet, he responded to them by predicting their subservience to Assyrian taskmasters, who would give them instructions in a foreign language. The NT divulges an additional meaning of this verse that anticipates God’s use of the miraculous gift of tongues as a credential of His NT messengers (see notes on 1 Cor. 14: 21, 22; cf. Deut. 28: 49; Jer. 5: 15; 1 Cor. 14: 21).
28:12 the rest… the refreshing… not hear. In simple language they could understand, God offered them relief from their oppressors, but they would not listen.
28: 13 Precept upon precept… there a little. In light of their rejection, the Lord imitated the mockery of the drunkards in jabber they could not understand (see v.10).
(NKJV, The MacArthur Study Bible, eBook: Revised and Updated Edition (Kindle Locations 107516-107537). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition)
And renowned Bible Scholar, D.A. Carson and the team of the NIV Zondervan Study Bible confirm, validate and agree with Mr. MacArthur’s analysis in their own award-winning Study Bible:
28:5– 6 Chs. 28– 33 alternate between representing the false leadership of humans and the true leadership of God. It begins here briefly and continues with larger and larger segments. Ephraim’s (and Judah’s) true “wreath” is “the LORD Almighty” (see notes on 1: 9, 24). He can inspire both civil and military leaders.
28:5 remnant. … The drunkenness described here is probably both metaphoric and literal. Because these leaders are selfishly motivated, they are blind to the truth of God’s revelation (29: 9), but they are also prone to the kind of self-indulgence that results in the abuse of alcohol.
28:9– 10 Having no real experience or understanding of God, all the leaders can offer the people are prescriptions from the law to be learned by rote. The Hebrew of v. 10 may well be a mockery of the rote repetitions the leaders offer…
28:11– 13 Since the people “would not listen” (v. 12) to the words of their true leaders, God would turn them over to the Assyrians, who spoke with “foreign lips” (v. 11).
(The NIV Zondervan Study Bible, eBook: Built on the Truth of Scripture and Centered on the Gospel Message (Kindle Locations 161305-161318). Zondervan. Kindle Edition)
Clearly, there is a consensus here on what the term, “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little,” meant during Isaiah’s day.
So based on all this expert witness testimony, here’s the question for our Mormon friends: Could you please explain to us how Nephi’s use of the phrase “line upon line, precept upon precept” in 2 Nephi 28:30 isn’t indicative of a people under God’s curse rather than His blessing? Given this what does this say about the state of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Is it possible that it too is under God’s judgment and/or curse?
I can’t help but wonder if Latter-day Saints and their church should rethink using this plagiarized and misused biblical phrase, let alone base any doctrine on it given its real and intention and meaning.
It does tend to make one ponderize, doesn’t it?
A mosaic featuring Isaiah.
“This plagiarized and misused biblical phrase”? No, there is no plagiarism involved. Plagiarism is claiming someone else’s work as one’s own. Nephi clearly stated he was quoting the work of Isaiah.
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First, I apologize for the delayed response. I just saw this.
Second, your response assumes the very point under dispute: that Nephi was a historical person who actually wrote the text attributed to him. If Nephi existed and consciously quoted Isaiah, then yes, “plagiarism” may not be the best term because he identifies Isaiah as his source.
But critics are not generally granting Nephi’s historicity. From their perspective, the relevant question is whether the Book of Mormon itself is an ancient document or a 19th-century composition. If the latter, then the extensive reproduction of King James Isaiah passages becomes evidence that the book’s modern author relied on the KJV Bible rather than evidence that an ancient prophet was quoting Isaiah.
In other words, you cannot use Nephi’s attribution of Isaiah as a defense without first establishing that Nephi was a real historical figure. Otherwise, the argument becomes circular: Nephi quoted Isaiah because Nephi says he quoted Isaiah. For those questioning the Book of Mormon’s authenticity, that is the very claim that must first be demonstrated, not assumed.
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“I can’t help but wonder if Latter-day Saints and their church should rethink using this plagiarized and misused biblical phrase, let alone base any doctrine on it given its real and intention and meaning.” There is no rethinking necessary, as God Himself confirmed the meaning of this phrase in Doctrine and Covenants 98:11-12:
11 And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God.
12 For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith.
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I apologize for the delayed response, I just saw this comment.
To directly address your argument, citing Doctrine and Covenants 98:12 to settle the meaning of the phrase does not resolve the issue raised by Isaiah 28; it assumes the authority of the very additional scriptures whose use of the phrase is under question.
In Isaiah 28:9–13 the language functions as mockery by drunken leaders and subsequent divine judgment, not as a positive description of progressive revelation. 2 Nephi 28:30 reuses it positively for incremental revelation.
Explaining why that recontextualization is valid requires engaging the Isaiah text itself—either by showing the phrase can reasonably bear a positive sense in its original setting, by offering a literary justification for the adaptation, or by acknowledging the different contexts and explaining why the shift is justified.
Pointing to another LDS revelation that employs the same wording simply restates the internal consistency of the Latter-day Saint canon; it does not demonstrate that the original biblical sense has been preserved or legitimately developed.
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Interesting that your conclusion on the meaning of this phrase directly contradicts that posted on Biblehub.com, a non-LDS site. https://biblehub.com/q/Meaning_of_precept_upon_precept.htm
“Though uttered in derision, the wording still reflects a divine principle: Scripture was given in progressive, orderly revelation (Psalm 119:160; Isaiah 28:13).”
“’Precept upon precept, line upon line’ was a taunt against Isaiah’s plain, incremental teaching, yet it unwittingly reveals God’s chosen way of instructing His people: orderly, cumulative revelation. Those who humble themselves under this method receive understanding and life; those who scorn it find the same words becoming a stumbling stone of judgment.”
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Again, I apologize for the delayed response, I just saw this comment too.
To that point: The Biblehub page does not contradict the article’s core claim about the original meaning in Isaiah 28. It explicitly treats the phrase as a taunt:
“Many grammarians note the rhyme and cadence resemble childish stammering or a mocking chant—sound-play that the drunk priests and prophets (v. 7) aimed at Isaiah’s straightforward calls to repentance… They caricature Isaiah’s prophetic teaching as simplistic baby talk—‘precept upon precept, line upon line.’ God turns their mockery back on them… because they reject clear instruction, He will indeed speak to them in ‘foreign tongues’ (v. 11)… reducing them to infancy in understanding (v. 13).”
That matches the consensus summarized in the article (MacArthur, NIV Zondervan Study Bible, etc.): the primary literary force of the phrase in its context is mockery by the leaders and subsequent judgment.
Biblehub then adds a secondary theological observation: “Though uttered in derision, the wording still reflects a divine principle: Scripture was given in progressive, orderly revelation.” And in the conclusion: it “was a taunt against Isaiah’s plain, incremental teaching, yet it unwittingly reveals God’s chosen way of instructing His people: orderly, cumulative revelation.”
That dual reading is common in popular exposition. It does not erase the primary sense (mockery + judgment); it layers an additional application onto it. The article’s question was narrower: whether the Book of Mormon’s positive reuse of the phrase for continuing revelation (2 Nephi 28:30) accurately reflects or legitimately develops the Isaiah context, or whether it significantly shifts the meaning. Biblehub’s own wording still begins with the derision and judgment, so it does not establish that the phrase’s original intent was a straightforward endorsement of progressive revelation. It only shows that some interpreters extract a positive pedagogical principle from it after acknowledging the taunt.
The broader biblical theme that God often teaches gradually (milk then solid food, etc.) is not in dispute. What is in dispute is whether *this particular phrase*, in its Isaiah setting, functions as a positive description of that method rather than as a pointed rebuke. Biblehub’s page supports the latter as the primary sense while offering the former as a further reflection.
Thank you.
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