12 For the day of the Lord of Hosts soon cometh upon all nations, yea, upon every one; yea, upon the proud and lofty, and upon every one who is lifted up, and he shall be brought low.12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:13 Yea, and the day of the Lord shall come upon all the cedars of Lebanon, for they are high and lifted up; and upon all the oaks of Bashan;13 And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,14 And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills, and upon all the nations which are lifted up, and upon every people;14 And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that arelifted up,15 And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall;15 And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall,16 And upon all the ships of the sea, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.16 And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.18 And the idols he shall utterly abolish. [2 Nephi 12:12–18]18 And the idols he shall utterly abolish. [Isaiah 2:12–18]
In the Book of Mormon, retention of the phrase “soon cometh upon all nations, yea” (v. 12) replaces the italicized “shall be” in the KJV. This phrase establishes the time when this prophecy will be fulfilled—the day the Lord will appear in glory to the entire world. The Book of Mormon retention of the phrase “Yea, and the day of the Lord shall come” (v. 13) replaces the introductory “and” in the KJV, further verifying the time period.
The 2 Nephi reading retains two phrases, “upon all nations” and “upon every people” (v. 14). It clearly shows the universal nature of the Lord coming in glory, the overall message of the above verses.
Again, Isaiah foretells the humbling of man and the exalting of the Lord alone at his Second Coming (vv. 17–18).
The late Dr. Sidney B. Sperry, who has helped members of the Church understand Isaiah, made the following comment about verse sixteen:
In 2 Nephi 12:16 (cf. Isaiah 2:16) the Book of Mormon has a reading of remarkable interest. It prefixes a phrase of eight words not found in the Hebrew or King James versions. Since the ancient Septuagint (Greek) Version concurs with the added phrase in the Book of Mormon, let us exhibit the readings of the Book of Mormon (B.M.), the King James Version (KJ), and the Septuagint (LXX) as follows:
B.M. And upon all the ships of the sea,
K.J. -----------------------------------------
LXX And upon every ship of the sea,
B.M. and upon all the ships of Tarshish
K.J. And upon all the ships of Tarshish
LXX ----------------------------------------
B.M. and upon all pleasant pictures
K.J. and upon all pleasant pictures.
LXX and upon every display of fine ships.
The Book of Mormon suggests that the original text of this verse contained three phrases, all of which commenced with the same opening words, “and upon all.” By a common accident, the original Hebrew (and hence the King James) text lost the first phrase, which was, however, preserved by the Septuagint. The latter lost the second phrase and seems to have corrupted the third phrase. The Book of Mormon preserved all three phrases. Scholars may suggest that Joseph Smith took the first phrase from the Septuagint. The prophet did not know Greek, and there is no evidence that he had access to a copy of the Septuagint in 1829–1830 when he translated the Book of Mormon. [The Voice of Israel’s Prophets, 1965, 90–91]