{"book":"2-nephi","chapter":23,"edition":"paraphrase","verses":[{"number":1,"content":"This is Isaiah son of Amoz’s prophecy—a warning about Babylon."},{"number":2,"content":"Raise a signal flag on the high mountain. Shout the orders! Wave them forward—send them charging through the gates of the powerful."},{"number":3,"content":"'I’ve called my chosen warriors—summoned my champions to carry out my judgment. They march with confidence, eager to display my power.'"},{"number":4,"content":"Listen—a roar in the mountains, like a massive army on the move! It’s the thunder of kingdoms, nations gathering together. The Lord Almighty is assembling his forces for war."},{"number":5,"content":"They come from distant lands, from the farthest reaches of the sky—the Lord and his instruments of fury, ready to devastate the entire land."},{"number":6,"content":"Cry out in terror! The Lord’s day of reckoning is here—destruction unleashed by the Almighty himself."},{"number":7,"content":"Everyone’s courage will drain away. Every heart will melt with fear."},{"number":8,"content":"They’ll be gripped by panic. Pain and anguish will seize them like a woman in labor. They’ll stare at each other in shock, faces flushed and burning."},{"number":9,"content":"Look—the Lord’s day is coming, fierce and furious. He’ll turn the land into a wasteland and wipe out every sinner in it."},{"number":10,"content":"The stars and constellations will go dark. The sun will be black when it rises, and the moon won’t shine."},{"number":11,"content":"'I’ll punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their crimes. I’ll crush the arrogance of the proud and humble those who terrorize others.'"},{"number":12,"content":"'I’ll make people scarcer than pure gold—rarer than the finest gold from Ophir.'"},{"number":13,"content":"'That’s why I’ll shake the heavens, and the earth will be torn from its place—this is the fury of the Lord Almighty on his day of burning anger.'"},{"number":14,"content":"Like a hunted deer, like sheep with no shepherd—everyone will run back to their own people, flee to their own homeland."},{"number":15,"content":"Anyone caught will be stabbed through. Anyone who joins the wicked will die by the sword."},{"number":16,"content":"Their children will be smashed to death before their eyes. Their homes will be plundered, their wives violated."},{"number":17,"content":"'I’m going to stir up the Medes against them—warriors who care nothing for silver and gold, who can’t be bribed.'"},{"number":18,"content":"Their arrows will cut down young men. They’ll show no mercy to babies, no compassion for children."},{"number":19,"content":"And Babylon—jewel of all kingdoms, pride of the Chaldeans—will end up like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them."},{"number":20,"content":"It will never be lived in again. No one will settle there, generation after generation. No nomad will pitch a tent there. No shepherd will rest his flock there."},{"number":21,"content":"Only desert creatures will live there. The houses will fill with owls. Wild goats will leap among the ruins."},{"number":22,"content":"Hyenas will howl in the abandoned fortresses, jackals in the once-beautiful palaces. Babylon’s time is running out—her days are numbered. I’ll destroy her quickly. I’ll show mercy to my people, but the wicked will perish.'"}],"paragraphing":{"paragraphBreaks":[{"verseNumber":4,"position":"before_verse","sortOrder":1},{"verseNumber":7,"position":"before_verse","sortOrder":2},{"verseNumber":9,"position":"before_verse","sortOrder":3},{"verseNumber":11,"position":"before_verse","sortOrder":4},{"verseNumber":14,"position":"before_verse","sortOrder":5},{"verseNumber":20,"position":"before_verse","sortOrder":6}],"headings":[{"verseNumber":1,"position":"before_verse","text":"A Warning About Babylon","level":3,"sortOrder":1},{"verseNumber":2,"position":"before_verse","text":"God’s Army Marches","level":3,"sortOrder":2},{"verseNumber":6,"position":"before_verse","text":"The Day of the Lord","level":3,"sortOrder":3},{"verseNumber":17,"position":"before_verse","text":"The Medes Will Strike","level":3,"sortOrder":4},{"verseNumber":19,"position":"before_verse","text":"Babylon’s Total Destruction","level":3,"sortOrder":5}]}}