Isaiah is a story of crisis. Two crises, in fact. In the first, the Israelites are facing the threat of conquest and exile by the mighty Assyrian empire. Unlike their earlier enslavement in Egypt, this time they have no one to blame but themselves. They have deliberately disobeyed God and the prophet is pleading with them to repent before they receive the consequences of their actions. Through poems, songs, and stories, he delivers hard words to a...