The content is two-and-a-half fold:
- The first part of the book (chapters 1-5), generally referred to as the , recounts and expands on the events of 2 Kings chapter 21. Isaiah warns the dying Hezekiah that his Heir , Manasseh , will not follow the same path. When Manasseh takes over, and Isaiah's warning proves true, Isaiah and a group of fellow prophets head into the desert, and a demon named Belair inspires a False Prophet named Belkira to accuse Isaiah of Treason . The king consequently condemns Isaiah to death, and although Isaiah hides in a tree, he is found, and Belkira leads the execution.
- ---Into the middle of this (3:13-4:22) the editor has inserted a Christian Apocalypse called the , describing a vision of the coming of Jesus, the subsequent corruption of the Christian church, the rule of Belair, and the Second Coming . All of which is phrased in such a way that it is clearly a code for the persecution of the Church by Nero , and the belief that Nero was the Antichrist .
- ---According to Charles, ''The Martyrdom'' consists of: i. 1-2a, 6b-13a; ii. 1-iii. 12; v. 1b-14. (2) Ch. iii. 13b-iv. 18 are to be counted as a separate work, added by the first editor of the entire work, probably before the "Greek Legend" and the Latin translation were written. (3) ''The Vision'' comprises ch. vi. 1-xi. 40, ch. xi. 2-22 being thus an integral part of this section. (4) Editorial additions are: ch. i. 2b-6a, 13b; ii. 9; iii. 13a; iv. 1a, 19-22; v. 1a, 15-16; xi. 41-43.
- The second part of the book (chapters 6-11) is referred to as the and describes an angel-assisted journey, prior to the events of the first part of the book, by Isaiah through the Seven Heaven s. In its surviving form it is clearly written from a Christian perspective, concentrating on Jesus' death and His Resurrection , and especially the Ascension of Jesus. The birth of Jesus is curiously described as being preceded by Jesus descending through each of the heavens, disguising himself as an angel appropriate to each as he goes.
The text exists as a whole in three (in Latin: ''Ascensio Isaiæ'').
Elements of the ''Ascension of Isaiah'' are paralleled in other Jewish and Christian writings. The method of Isaiah's death (sawn in half by '', the '' Book Of Enoch '', the '' Testaments Of The Twelve Patriarchs '', and the '' Sibylline Books ''. Finally, Isaiah's journey through the Seven Heavens parallels that of Enoch's in the '' Second Book Of Enoch ''.
The first section of the text is also notable for its extreme hostility toward the Samaritans , a Jewish group that claimed to be the Jews that were left behind during the Babylonian Exile , and hence more original, but were disowned by the remainder.
- Jonathan Knight (1995), ''The Ascension of Isaiah''
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