In this work, Professor Sawyer opens a 'third track' of reading, which concerns the actual practice of the church in using the book of Isaiah, and appeals to but runs well beyond both 'historical-critical' and 'canonical' perspectives.

1. Introduction; 2. Isaiah and Christian origins; 3. The early Church; 4. The cult of the Virgin Mary; 5. The Man of Sorrows; 6. Isaiah and the Jews; 7. The Reformation; 8. The Evangelical tradition; 9. Isaiah in literature and music; 10. The quest for the historical Isaiah; 11. Women and Isaiah; 12. The peaceable kingdom; 13. Conclusion.