In this timely and highly readable volume, Old Testament scholar William Holladay introduces the reader to the several ways in which Isaiah speaks, from ancient Jewish readings of the text, to Handel's lyrical use of it in his oratorio, Messiah, to the Christian community who has heard it foretelling the life and death of Jesus Christ.

Holladay argues persuasively that the text of Isaiah, though rooted in historical time, place, circumstance, is unbound by time. Using those portions of the prophet's writings which are most often included in the various modern lectionaries of the churches, Holladay both provides detailed historical commentary and presents a method for allowing the text to still speak to believers in the twenty-first century.