# 2 Nephi 23

*Paraphrase*

### A Warning About Babylon

This is Isaiah son of Amoz’s prophecy—a warning about Babylon.

### God’s Army Marches

Raise a signal flag on the high mountain. Shout the orders! Wave them forward—send them charging through the gates of the powerful. “I’ve called my chosen warriors—summoned my champions to carry out my judgment. They march with confidence, eager to display my power.”

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. 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.

### The Day of the Lord

Cry out in terror! The Lord’s day of reckoning is here—destruction unleashed by the Almighty himself.

Everyone’s courage will drain away. Every heart will melt with fear. 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.

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. The stars and constellations will go dark. The sun will be black when it rises, and the moon won’t shine.

“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. I’ll make people scarcer than pure gold—rarer than the finest gold from Ophir. 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.”

Like a hunted deer, like sheep with no shepherd—everyone will run back to their own people, flee to their own homeland. Anyone caught will be stabbed through. Anyone who joins the wicked will die by the sword. Their children will be smashed to death before their eyes. Their homes will be plundered, their wives violated.

### The Medes Will Strike

“I’m going to stir up the Medes against them—warriors who care nothing for silver and gold, who can’t be bribed.” Their arrows will cut down young men. They’ll show no mercy to babies, no compassion for children.

### Babylon’s Total Destruction

And Babylon—jewel of all kingdoms, pride of the Chaldeans—will end up like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them.

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. Only desert creatures will live there. The houses will fill with owls. Wild goats will leap among the ruins. 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.“

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*Source: [The Book of Mormon](https://bookofmormon.com/paraphrase/2-nephi/23)*
