BOM 2 Nephi 23

Today’s reading, 2 Nephi 23, is equivalent to Isaiah 13.

In the first instance, it’s an oracle predicting the destruction of Babylon — though it’s certainly not difficult to see the divine judgment upon historical Babylon as representing the future divine judgment upon the world as a whole at the end of time.

The Babylonians, who would be responsible for the conquest of the southern Hebrew kingdom (Judah) and for the so-called Babylonian captivity of the Jews, had overthrown the Assyrians, who had destroyed the northern Hebrew kingdom (Israel) and carried off the (now lost) ten tribes.

Now, in turn, the Babylonians were to be overthrown by the Medes, an ancient Iranian people (Indo-Europeans and close kin to the Persians, rather than Semites like the Hebrews, Arabs, Assyrians, and Babylonians) who lived in the mountainous region of what are now southeastern Turkey and northwestern Iran.

With that background in mind, it shouldn’t be too hard to understand the references to people coming down out of the mountains to punish the arrogance of Babylon, and so forth.