13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; for the feet of those who are in the east shall be established; and break forth into singing, O mountains; for they shall be smitten no more; for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.14 But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me—but he will show that he hath not.14 But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.15 For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.17 Thy children shall make haste againstthy destroyers; and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee. [1 Nephi 21:13–17]17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee. [Isaiah 49:13–17]
The First Nephi text retains two whole clauses that have been lost from the KJV (v. 13). The first, “for the feet of those who are in the east shall be established” points to Jerusalem. The “mountains” would fit “this land (the Americas), unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I (Jesus Christ) made with your father Jacob; and it shall be the New Jerusalem” (3 Nephi 20:22). Therefore, the Lord is declaring that the two capitals of Israel’s gathering shall be established. The second retention, “for they shall be smitten no more,” promises permanent, peaceful cities of Zion and Jerusalem. The heavens and the earth will rejoice when this happens.
The mountains referring to the Zion of America is further substantiated by the subject of the next verse (14) shifting from the people to the land promised to them. The land speaks, bemoaning a seeming lack of evidence that the Lord has comforted his people, and shown mercy to the afflicted upon the land. The land feels as if the Lord has forsaken and forgotten it. The retention in First Nephi “but he will show that he hath not” (v. 14) declares not only the future happenings, but also forms a logical transition to his answer, bridging the gap that exists in the KJV.
A woman’s love for her offspring is considered to be one of the strongest bonds that exist, but the Lord’s love and promises are even stronger and are never forgotten. Zion (the Americas) is “the land of [Joseph’s] inheritance; and the Father [in heaven] hath given it to [Joseph]” (3 Nephi 15:12–13). Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes, had blessed his son Joseph with the same promise: “Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: … The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.” (Genesis 49:22, 26). Another witness of the Americas being Zion was given by the Prophet Joseph:
You know there has been great discussion in relation to Zion— where it is, and where the gathering of the dispensation is and which I am going to tell you. The prophets have spoken and written upon it; but I will make a proclamation that will cover a broader ground. The whole of America is Zion itself from north to south, and is described by the Prophets, who declare that it is Zion where the mountain of the Lord should be, and that it should be in the center of the land. When Elders shall take up and examine the old prophecies in the Bible, they will see it. [TPJS, 362]
The land of Zion speaking (v. 14) is consistent with another scripture representing the earth speaking.
48 And it came to pass that Enoch looked upon the earth; and he heard a voice from the bowels thereof, saying: Wo, wo is me, the mother of men; I am pained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest, and be cleansed from the filthiness which is gone forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me, that I may rest, and righteousness for a season abide upon my face? [Moses 7:48]
The earth is a living thing and will become the eternal abode of the celestial beings of this earth, and it “must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness that it may be prepared for the celestial glory” (D&C 88:17–18). Therefore, Zion must also be sanctified and prepared to be the New Jerusalem. Apparently the earth looks forward to that time.
“O house of Israel,” retained at the end of verse fifteen, is what is graven “upon the palms of (the Lord’s) hands” (v. 16). The Jews used phylacteries to continually remind them of the commandments of God.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. [Deuteronomy 6:6–9]
Probably in the symbolism of these writings, the Lord was declaring that he was keeping the promises made to Zion. He would fulfill his promises in the manner and in the time he had said. Another deeper meaning would have reference to the covenant made by Christ to atone for the sins of the world, and to bring to pass the resurrection. This covenant would be sealed or completed by his being nailed to the cross. The nail prints in the palms of his hands would be a sign to the world, and especially to the Jews, that he had kept his promise.
As an additional evidence that the Lord had not forgotten his promises to the house of Israel, he declared that Zion’s walls were continually before him (v. 16). He had kept the Americas hidden from “the knowledge of other nations; for behold, many nations would overrun the land, and there would be no place for an inheritance” (2 Nephi 1:8).
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. [Zechariah 12:9–10]
6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. [Zechariah 13:6]
51 And then shall the Jews look upon me and say: What are these wounds in thine hands and in thy feet?
52 Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for I will say unto them: These wounds are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am the Son of God. [D&C 45:51–53]
The Lord makes one more prophecy about the children of Israel in the land of Zion; Joseph’s children, to whom the land is given, will “make haste against thy destroyers” (v. 17). As prophesied by Mormon (Mormon 5:20), the Lamanites were “driven and scattered by the Gentiles” who possessed the land. Isaiah says the tables will be turned, and the Gentiles will be driven by the Lamanites. The second half of the verse is a Hebrew synonymous parallelism that repeats the same message. More detail on this is given later in the chapter.