In the previous chapter Nephi read the words of Isaiah which explain why the Israelites were driven from the promised land and scattered across the whole earth. Now Nephi reads Isaiah chapter 49, which describes how the Israelites will be reclaimed by the Lord in the latter days and gathered from the four corners of the earth as well as the outmost regions of heaven, as indicated by Moses in Deuteronomy 30:4.
About half of this verse is missing from the Bible. Here is the way it appears in the Book of Mormon as Nephi copied it from the plates of Laban. It says, "And again: Hearken, O ye house of Israel, all ye that are broken off and are driven out because of the wickedness of the pastors of my people; yea, all ye that are broken off, that are scattered abroad, who are of my people, O house of Israel. Listen, O isles, unto me, and hearken ye people from far; the Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name."
In making this great proclamation to all the children of Israel as God's prophet, Isaiah wants to establish his own credentials before delivering the details of his great message. He wants the people to know that he was called from the time of his birth to be a prophet and a messenger to Israel. Apparently, although the details are not related, Isaiah was prophetically known by name before he was born. The same thing happened to Jeremiah, the great prophet whose mission followed that of Isaiah. He said the Lord disclosed to him that the Lord called him to be a prophet before he was born.1