Near the end of 1 Nephi 19, Nephi remarks that the Lord will remember his covenants with the house of Israel and he will remember 'the isles of the sea.' We have already established that Nephi considered his family a branch of Israel scattered to an isle of the sea (see commentary for 1 Nephi 19:10). Therefore Nephi appropriately believes that the words of Isaiah are speaking directly to him and his people. Indeed, the Nephites were a branch of Israel, broken off according to the allegory of the olive tree (Jacob 5:14,25), hidden by the hand of the Lord in a choice land. Nephi understood this verse to refer specifically to the scattering of Israel. His commentary on this verse can be found in 1 Nephi 22:3-5.