2 Nephi 23 Commentary

Differences with the King James Version of Isaiah 13

3 I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones, for mine anger is not upon (“is not upon” KJV uses “even“) them that rejoice in my highness.

4 The noise of the multitude in the mountains like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts mustereth the hosts (“hosts” KJV uses “host“) of the battle.

5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, yea (“yea” KJV uses “even“), the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.

8 and they shall be afraid; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them;(KJV adds “they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth:“) they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.

10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in her (“her” KVJ and later versions of Book of Mormon use “his“) going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

11 And I will punish the world for evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay down (“down” KJV uses “low“) the haughtiness of the terrible.

15 Every one that is proud (“proud” KJV uses “found“) shall be thrust through; yea, and every one that is joined to the wicked, (“to the wicked” KJV uses “unto them“) shall fall by the sword.

17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver and gold, nor (“and gold, nor” KJV uses “and as for gold,“) they shall not delight in it.

18 Their bows shall also dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes (“eyes” KJV uses “eye“) shall not spare children.

houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her day shall not be prolonged. (The last following phrase is not in KJV) For I will destroy her speedily; yea, for I will be merciful unto my people: but the wicked shall perish.

Commentary

The Hebrew word used here of “see” is a word that is specific for “to see in vision”.^{[source 1].} This vision is about Babylon. Yet when you read the chapter he is referring to a universal entity. There was a nation called Babylon anciently. And Babylon was also seen anciently as both a nation and as a worldwide empire and entity regarding idolatry and wickedness.^{[source 1]}

At the time this was written, Assyria was the primary powerful nation. Yet Isaiah did see that Babylon would rise as a power.

As I put this commentary together, I see that much has been written about this first verse and the meaning of the term Babylon. There are many scriptural verses that can be cross-referenced. For simplicity, consider Babylon is a nation that would threaten Jerusalem in the future as it did about 590 BC, and as a worldwide entity regarding idolatry and wickedness. Most of this chapter is about the last days and pertains to us living today – but for the forces of today, he is not referring to Iraq – he is referring to the universal entity of idolatry and wickedness. There will be a governments who are considered antichrist or as a beast which will represent Babylon as a type.^{[source 5, page 213]} Nephi felt inspired to include this portion in his record – it is a warning for our day.

These are all symbolic words applicable to us today:^{[source 2 page 131]}

• Banner – an ensign (like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or the Book of Mormon)
• High Mountain – a symbolic reference to the temple.
• Exalt the voice unto them – preach the gospel.
• Shake or wave the hand of invitation.
• Gates of the Nobles – possibly a reference to the entrances of the temples or entrances to Zion.

In more basic terms, the ensign, voice, and hand are what God raises up against the wicked nations.^{[source 1]} Look unto God for Salvation.

Taken from Understanding Isaiah. ^{[source 2 page 131]}

• Sactified Ones – Those who are temple worthy, who actually attend the temple, who are made holy by Christ’s power.
• Mighty Ones – The saints are warriors who battle against evil forces under Jehovah’s direction, using his weapons.
• Rejoice in my Highness – Highness refers to the Lord’s exaltation.

The mountains represents the nations.^{[source 1]} The tumultuous noise of the nations rallying against the nations represents the wicked fighting the wicked. The Lord of hosts will muster his forces in the New Jerusalem. The Lord through his weapons will destroy the whole land of wickedness. The destruction will seem indignant or unfair.

The wicked will be destroyed. The fear that will be upon them will be terrible.

There are many verses which speak of this event. Doctrine and Covenants 133:48-49 adds some clarity as it clears up as to why the sun and the moon are darkened – it is because the Lord is present on the earth clothed in red. This is a portion of the second coming, but it precedes the time when he comes in the clouds and the righteous go up to meet him.

Also note the following verse in Doctrine and Covenants 45 which speaks of the Glory of the Lord being present in the New Jerusalem.

“Fine gold is a grade of higher quality than metal simply referenced to as gold, and the gold of Ophir was prized in the ancient Near East because it was a grade of gold of the highest quality. The statement here that a man will be more precious than fine gold calls to mind two things: a great number of people will be slaughtered during the destructions identified in this section, so that those who remain on the earth will be more scarce than a precious metal like gold; and those who remain after the decreed desolations and survive the furnace of affliction will be purified like gold; they will no longer possess dross (sin).” ^{[source 2 page 136]}

Some scholars will proclaim the “the earth shall remove out of her place” can be translated as great earthquakes. This may be correct. I take a different position. I take the position that this removal out of her place will be the literal movement of the earth away from the current sun and moon and literally moving to a different location – the location it once resided prior to the fall of Adam. The movement may take some time.

Add quote from Brigham Young about the location of the earth prior to the fall.

Chased roe refers to hunted deer. Sheep that no many taketh up are sheep without a protective shepherd. With all the destruction from war, and with all the signs in the heavens, all the people will be saying, “It is enough, I am going home”.

This continues the description of the state of the wicked who continue in the cause of war and wickedness.

In 538 BC (approximately 160 years after this was written), Medes joined with the Persians, blocked the Euphrates River, and took over the city of Babylon. The interest of Medes was not monetary but for power. There will likely be a modern day Medes only interested in power and destruction.

These verses receive a dual fulfillment. The first being literal regarding the city of Babylon. The second being more allegorical for the end of wickedness upon the earth.

Commentary Sources

1. The website Isaiah Explained – by Avriham Gileadi.
2. The book Understanding Isaiah by Donald and Jay Parry, and Tina Peterson published by Deseret Book Company, 1998.
3. The book Annotated Edition – The Book of Mormon published by David R. Hocking and Rod Meldrum, 2018.
4. The book The Book of Isaiah – Annotated Edition eBook published by David R. Hocking, 2020.
5. Verse by Verse – The Book of Mormon by D. Kelly Ogden and Andrew C. Skinner, published by Deseret Book Company, 2011.
6. Isaiah Made Easier by David J Ridges, Second Edition, published by Cedar Fort, Inc., 2009.
7. Commentary of the Book of Mormon – writings from George Reynolds and Janne Sjodahl.
8. My own understanding.

Isaiah Explained

This video file was downloaded from the website at Isaiah Explained – Avraham Gileadi. He has a very detailed commentary to this chapter.

The website Isaiah Explained has this type of detailed description for all chapters of Isaiah.

Commentary from George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl taken from Commentary on the Book of Mormon published in 1955:

VERSE 1. Burden. The word translated ” burden ” means that which is borne, and, therefore, figuratively speaking, a prediction of a calamity which falls on you like a weight, a ” burden. ” Comp. Jer. 23:33.

VERSE 2. Exalt the Voice Unto Them. The people of Babylon are here told, ironically, I think, to call on the Medes and Persians and hurry them up to come and enter the gates of the city. Through abandoning themselves to wickedness, people are always inviting destruction.

VERSE 3. My Sanctified Ones. The Lord had commanded the armies of the Medes and the Persians to begin a holy war. They were, for the time being, in his service; sanctified, that is, set apart, to execute his judgments.

VERSES 4-5. The Noise of the Multitude. There is an unusual noise in the mountains. What is it ? The Lord is mobilizing nations from far off countries, in tending to use them for the destruction of the entire land.

VERSES 6-16. The Day of the Lord is at Hand. To the Babylonians the invasion of the Medes and Persians, the destruction of their homes and cities, was “the day of the Lord.” It was the day of his vengeance and judgment upon them. The prophetic imagery, which here refers to the destruction of Babylon, is applicable to all such catastrophes of historic import. It is, therefore, also descriptive of the last judgment before the Millennium, which is, the fullest meaning of the word, “the day of the Lord.”

The destruction comes from the Almighty ( v. 6 ); it is not a peaceful, painless operation. On the contrary, under it, people will faint with pain and anguish. ( v. 7-9 ); stars and constellations ( “ Orions ” ), meaning, individuals and organizations renowned throughout the world for their brilliancy, will fail to give their light; even the sun and the moon – even kings and queens, and governments in general ( Gen. 37: 8-10 ) -will be darkened, or fail to function ( v. 10 ); for the Lord will punish the world for evil and wickedness, and humiliate the proud and haughty. ( v. 11 ) In this process the population will be decimated ( v. 12 ); the heavens will be shaken – government systems will be dissolved – the earth removed out of her place – boundaries of kingdoms will be obliterated in the wrath of the Lord ( v. 13 ); armies will be scattered like sheep ( v. 14 ), and those who are found among the wicked will be slain by the sword ( v. 15 ); in the savagery of the war, even women and children will be destroyed. ( v. 16 ) Such is the prophetic sketch of the day of the Lord which was to end the Babylonian empire. And that catastrophe was a type of the termination of our own era, too.

VERSE 17. Not Regard Silver and Gold. It is here said that the Medes would not accept bribes. They could not be bought off.

VERSE 18. Dash the Young Men to Pieces. The cruelty of the soldiers in former days was almost unbelievable. To some little extent the human race has undeniably advanced from the moral level of the ancient Babylonians, Medes and Persians, but military ethics are yet very low. Aeronautics has not yet had the elevating influence on warfare it might have had in our time, but it is coming gradually, slowly.

VERSES 19-22. Babylon Utterly Destroyed. Babylon was one of the great cities of the ancient world, perhaps the greatest. Its walls were, for height and width, one of the wonders of the world. The temple of Bel, the terraced ( ” hanging ” ) gardens, the immense copper gates, and the artificial lake were, up to that time, the greatest achievements of human skill and ingenuity. The fields and farms and flocks yielded almost incredible returns, and the wealth, luxury and power of the ruling classes were correspondingly great. If any city, or country, could be regarded as invincible, Babylonia and Babylon might be so considered. But centuries before their fall Isaiah predicted, with supernatural knowledge of the details, the destruc tion of the city and the overthrow of the government.

It was done by means of strategy. After a long siege, apparently without effect, Cyrus, who led the besieging Medes and Persians, decided to turn the Euphrates out of its course and enter on the dry river bed. That was a gigantic undertaking. The river was 1500 feet wide and 12 feet deep. However, the undertaking was successful. The invaders entered from two sides, the former inflow and outflow of the river, and so quietly did they take possession that most of the people did not know what was happening till it was too late to make resistance. Aristotle had been informed that some of the inhabitants did not know until three days after wards that the city had fallen. When the king of Babylon learned that Cyrus was at the gate of the palace, he commanded that he be admitted. He was. The king and all the revelers surrounding him perished. Many Babylonian princes, at that time, ended their useless earthly lives, in a drunken debauch. The kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and the Persians. Comp. Dan. 5.