What follows is my assembling of a number of outlines of the book of Isaiah from a variety of sources. The point is that there are many variations between these sources. The only real commonality is that chapters 1 through 39 are pre-Babylonian exile and chapters 40-66 are post-exilic.
From Executable Outlines
- I. The Assyrian Period - Conflict And Victory (1-39)
- A. Prophecies Concerning Judah And Jerusalem (1-12)
- B. Prophecies Concerning The Nations (13-27)
- C. The Source Of True Deliverance (28-35)
- D. Historical Interlude (36-39)
- II. The Babylonian Period - Hope For Troubled Times (40-66)
- A. The One True God Versus Idols (40-48)
- B. Salvation Through The Suffering Servant (49-53)
- C. The Future Glory For God’S People (54-66)
From ESV Study Bible
- a. Introduction: “Ah, Sinful Nation!” (1:1–5:30)
- b. God Redefines the Future of His People: “Your Guilt Is Taken Away” (6:1–12:6)
- c. God’s Judgment and Grace for the World: “We Have a Strong City” (13:1–27:13)
- d. God’s Sovereign Word Spoken into the World: “Ah!” (28:1–35:10)
- e. Historical Transition: “In Whom Do You Now Trust?” (36:1–39:8)
- f. Encouragement for God’s Exiles: “The Glory of the Lord Shall Be Revealed” (40:1–55:13)
- g. How to Prepare for the Coming Glory: “Hold Fast My Covenant” (56:1–66:24)
New Bible Commentary
- 1:1-31 A situation of crisis
- 2:1-4:6 God’s Ferusalem and man’s
- 5:1-30 The bitter vintage
- 6:1-13 The prophet’s call
- 7:1-12:6 Storm and sun: Assyria and Immanuel
- 13:1-23:18 Messages for the nations
- 24:1-27:13 God’s final victory
- 28:1-31:9 The Assyrian crisis: God’s help or man’s?
- 32:1-35:10 Salvation and its dark prelude
- 36:1-39:8 The supreme test for Hezekiah
- 40:1-48:22 Night far spent in Babylon
- 49:1-55:13 The dawn on redemption
- 56:1-66:24 The glory and shame of Zion
Search the Scriptures
- 1 Introductory. God’s controversy with his people.
- 2-4 Prophecies of judgment, lying between two Messianic oracles.
- 5 The Song of the Vineyard. A series of woes. Vision of an invading army.
- 6 Isaiah’s call.
- 7:1-10:4 Events connected with the alliance of Ephraim (i.e., northern Israel) and Syria against Judah, and prophecies arising out of them, some Messianic.
- 10:5-34 Assyrian invasion of Judah, and its results: (a) for Assyria, (b) for Judah.
- 11-12 Messianic prophecies.
- 13-23 Prophecies against the nations, except 22:1–14 (Jerusalem) and 22:15–25 (Shebna and Eliakim).
- 24-27 Prophecies of the Day of the Lord, in its twofold aspect of world judgment, and deliverance for Israel.
- 28-33 Prophecies connected with a proposed alliance with Egypt. Some speak of judgment, others of deliverance and of Messiah’s coming.
- 34-35 Vengeance upon Edom, contrasted with the salvation of the redeemed of the Lord, as they return from exile.
- 36-39 Historical.
- 40-48 The glad tidings of Israel’s redemption from captivity through the agency of Cyrus. The supremacy of Jehovah over the nations and their gods. 42:1–7 The first of the ‘Servant’ passages.
- 49-57 Messages of encouragement and comfort, with rebuke of those who practise evil.
- 58-66 Rebuke of sin. Visions of Zion’s glory. Prayer for God’s intervention, and God’s answer, that the people will be sifted. The true Israel will inherit ‘the new heavens and the new earth’, and those who refuse to turn to God will be destroyed.
Thompson Chain Reference NKJV
- I. Refers chiefly to events leading up to the Captivity, 1–39
- (1) Exhortations and warnings of Divine Judgments, mingled with predictions of better days and the coming of the Messiah, 1-12
- (2) Prophecies respecting surrounding nations,-Assyria, Babylonia, Moab, Egypt, Philistia, Syria, Edom, and Tyre, 13-23
- (3) Writings concerning the sins and misery of the people, promises of salvation, a song of Confidence in God, and his care over his vineyard, 24-27
- (4) Chiefly woes pronounced upon Ephraim and Jerusalem, especially for trusting in foreign alliances, 28-31
- (5) Promises of a Righteous King, and the outpouring of the Spirit, the exaltation of the Righteous, and the turning of the wilderness into a Garden of the Lord, 32-35
- (6) Hezekiah’s deliverance from the Assyrians, and the lengthening of his life, 36-39
- II. The second part of the book contains predictions, warnings, and promises which refer to events beyond the Captivity, and reach on down the centuries through the Christian dispensation. This portion of the prophecy is especially rich in messianic references, 40-66.