“Judah’s lack of leadership will be evident with the need to place the young and inexperienced—those who lack maturity and understanding—in these vital positions. Another possibility is the placement of outsiders in ruling positions over the Jews—outsiders who lack an understanding (as children do) of the Jewish culture and religious heritage (2 Nephi 13:4)” (Brewster, Isaiah Plain and Simple, 24–25).
Why does the society break down? (13:5) “Without proper leadership, the whole society disintegrates into chaos, and the people oppress each other. Instead of love between neighbors, there is fear. This ironic twist of events displays the reversal of moral and social values that will also occur in the latter days. Good becomes evil (2 Nephi 15:20/Isaiah 5:20), children ‘behave … proudly’ to the elderly, and the base defame the honorable (v. 5). Truly, Satan’s influence perverts the natural truth and order of earthly life. In his hands, items of darkness are made to seem as light, words of deceit are presented as truth, and ways of wickedness are accepted as behavioral standards” (Ludlow, Unlocking Isaiah, 94).