This guide uses the
Discovery Bible Study (DBS)
method — a simple, repeatable framework that moves every gathering through three phases:
Connect
(share life and invite God’s presence),
Discover
(read, restate, and find principles in the text), and
Act
(commit to a concrete response and share it with others). The method employed by Discovery Bible Study is meant to promote the idea that it is the Holy Spirit, not a person, who is leading and teaching the group. A facilitator is appointed each week to keep the group on track, and everyone in the group should take turns acting as the facilitator.
Isaiah 1–39 — Reading Guide
Weeks 1–9 · Judgment & Hope
Discovery Bible Study · 16-Week Series
The arc of chapters 1–39:
Isaiah accuses Jerusalem’s leaders of covenant rebellion and announces judgment through Assyria, then Babylon. But woven through the warning is hope — a coming Davidic king, a purified remnant, a new Jerusalem. The pattern of
old Jerusalem → purifying judgment → new Jerusalem
repeats throughout, building toward the exile that chapter 39 predicts.
Week 1 — Orientation
BibleProject Video Overview & Isaiah 1
Watch the 8-min overview · Introductory questions · Then read Isaiah 1 together
Old Jerusalem → purifying fire → new Jerusalem. Repeating pattern.
Week 1
Isaiah 1
Covenant lawsuit
Week 2
Isaiah 2
Zion vision · pride
Week 3
Isaiah 6
Isaiah’s commission
Week 4
Isaiah 7
Ahaz · Immanuel
Week 5
Isaiah 9:1–7
Davidic king promise
Chapters 13–27
Oracles Against the Nations
God judges imperial pride. Two cities: lofty city vs. new Jerusalem.
Week 6
Isaiah 14:1–27
Fall of Babylon
Week 7
Isaiah 25
Cosmic judgment · feast
The “lofty city” archetype draws language from Jerusalem, Assyria, and Babylon — a universal image of human pride under God’s judgment.
Chapters 28–39
Rise, Fall & the Hinge to Exile
Trust YHWH, not alliances. Hezekiah’s test. Babylon enters.
Week 8
Isaiah 36
Hezekiah · deliverance
Week 9
Isaiah 39
Hinge into exile
Ch. 39 is the pivot: Babylon enters, exile is foretold. Weeks 10–16 follow Isaiah 40–66 — the comfort that the exile makes necessary.
Chapter map — click a week to focus
Ch. 1–12
Ch. 13–27
Ch. 28–39
Wk 1
Isa. 1
Wk 2
Isa. 2
Wk 3
Isa. 6
Wk 4
Isa. 7
Wk 5
9:1–7
Wk 6
Isa. 14
Wk 7
Isa. 25
Wk 8
Isa. 36
Wk 9
Isa. 39
0 of 9 complete
Click a week dot to highlight · click again to reset
Isaiah 40–66 — Reading Guide
Weeks 10–16 · Comfort & New Creation
Discovery Bible Study · 16-Week Series
The arc of chapters 40–66:
Where chapters 1–39 warned of exile, chapters 40–66 address those living through it. God announces comfort, defends his sovereignty in a trial-scene against Israel’s doubts, introduces a mysterious Servant who does what Israel failed to do, and ends with new creation — a global covenant family worshipping in a renewed world.
Week 10 — New Section Orientation
BibleProject Video Overview (40–66) & Isaiah 40
Watch the 8-min overview · Reset questions · Then read Isaiah 40 together
How have you seen God at work in your lives recently?
Invite God’s Presence
Let’s thank God for the ways he has been at work and invite him to speak to us as we read the Scriptures together.
Discover
Read the Passage
Read the passage at least twice in two different versions.
Restate the Author’s Message
If a story: summarize the content of the story.
If something else: summarize what the author was trying to communicate to the original audience.
Note Your Response
What stuck with you from this passage?
Caught your attention
You appreciated
You were bothered by
Was difficult to understand
This is just a time to note emotional responses. Avoid the tendency to delve into principles or application (which will come later) or to function as the teacher and address people’s comments.
Look for the Principles
What are the principles from this passage that we can apply to our lives? Principles should be things:
About the nature of God or how he relates to people
About the nature of humanity or how we should relate to God
About how people should relate to each other
That can be applied broadly and are not based on a specific time period, culture, or life circumstances
Act
Commit to an Action
What is one way you will put this passage into action in your life over the next week (or until we meet again)?
Preferably, have each participant make a note of their action commitment somewhere so they can look back on it at the next gathering.
Share What You Learned
Is there some way you can share what we talked about today with somebody in your life, either by telling them or demonstrating it in your life?
Care for Those Around You
Is there some need you’re aware of that the group could help meet?
