Joseph Smith, Jr. inserted numerous near-verbatim chapters from the Authorized King James Version of Isaiah into the early Book of Mormon. For example, 1 Nephi 20 and 21 closely mirror Isaiah 48 and 49, including repeated references to the ‘isles of the sea.’
In chapter 22, Smith (speaking as Nephi) pauses the Isaiah quotations to explain their meaning to his brothers. During this explanation, he reuses the phrase ‘isles of the sea’ in verse 4—an unmistakable giveaway that he’s improvising the dialogue and recycling phrasing from just a few verses earlier.
