(Isa. 2:16)
[The ships of the sea] The added phrase from the Book of Mormon is also found in the ancient Greek (Septuagint) text. “All the ships of the sea,” represent the commercial enterprises of the proud and lofty. Tarshish is believed to be a location in Spain. Her ships were renowned for their strength, size, and ability to successfully complete long voyages. These too will be stripped from the wicked when the Lord returns.
(Hoyt W. Brewster, Jr., Isaiah Plain and Simple [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1995], 20.)
Tarshish, whose precise location is unknown, was probably a prosperous and bustling Mediterranean seaport. For instance, it was through Tarshish that Solomon imported such luxury items as gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks (1 Kgs. 10:22). Perhaps because of the city’s connection with wealth and affluence, the destruction of Tarshish and its ships symbolizes the Lord’s judgment on the proud and arrogant (Ps. 48:7).
(Donald W. Parry, Jay A. Parry, and Tina M. Peterson, Understanding Isaiah [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1998], 34.)
In 2 Nephi 12:16 (cf. Isa. 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 (K.J.), 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,
and upon all the ships of Tarshish
And upon all the ships of Tarshish
And upon all pleasant pictures.
And upon all pleasant pictures.
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 1829–30 when he translated the Book of Mormon.
(Sidney B. Sperry, The Voice of Israel’s Prophets [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1965], 90–91.)
The “ships of the sea” … represent the people’s commercial enterprises, especially the “ships of Tarshish,” which were noted for their ability to travel long distances, their strength as war vessels, and their large storage capacity as commercial carriers… . The … “pleasant pictures” … were apparently the pleasure crafts or ships in which the wealthy traveled throughout the Mediterranean. Isaiah prophesies that the Lord will abase all these superficial symbols of wealth and power.
(Victor L. Ludlow, Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and Poet [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1982], 91.)
“Pleasant Pictures” refers to the standard or figure heads of the ships… . In Acts 28:11 the student will find an illustration of the meaning of the expression, “pleasant pictures.” There we are informed that the ship in which Paul traveled from Malta to Rome had Castor and Pollux for a “sign.” Those mythical twin sons of Zeus were the supposed protectors of the ship, and their images were painted, or sculptured in a prominent place on the ship. Others had different protectors and therefore different images and standards. But idols, whether on land or sea will be utterly destroyed in the wrath of the day of the Lord.
(George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, ed. Philip C. Reynolds, 7 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1955–1961], 325–26.)
Footnote a to 2 Nephi 12:16 notes that the Hebrew Mosoretic text of Isaiah 2:16 reads “upon all the ships of Tarshish,” while the Greek Septuagint reads “upon all the ships of the sea.” The Book of Mormon text reads “upon all the ships of the sea, and upon all the ships of Tarshish.” One can offer several speculations about why both phrases appear in the Book of Mormon: (1) Perhaps Joseph Smith fabricated the Book of Mormon and somehow had access to the Septuagint. Discovering there was a discrepancy between the Septuagint and the Masoretic texts of this passage, he decided to include both text versions in the Book of Mormon to deceive readers into thinking he was actually translating a more complete ancient record, that is, the gold plates; or (2) Maybe while Joseph Smith was fabricating the Book of Mormon he accidentally, by chance, inserted into the Book of Mormon the very phrase left out of the Masoretic text; or (3) while the Prophet Joseph Smith was translating the Book of Mormon from the gold plates by the gift and power of God, he translated the phrase “upon all the ships of the sea, and upon all the ships of Tarshish” because that is exactly what the record said. Both phrases were on the gold plates Joseph Smith was translating because the brass plates of pre-600 b.c. origin, from which the gold plates text was taken, were a more ancient and complete text than either the Masoretic text (ca. a.d. 500–1000) or the Septuagint (ca. 250 b.c.). Apparently the Septuagint had lost the phrase “the ships of Tarshish” and the Masoretic text had lost the phrase “the ships of the sea.” The Book of Mormon restores both.
From a purely logical point of view, the last option, option 3, is the only tenable one. From personal conviction, I testify that option 3 is the truth.
(Terry B. Ball, Voices of Old Testament Prophets: The 26th Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1997], 59.)