“For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen” summarizes the calamities. This sentence would echo strongly with Nephi, for the foundation of his life was framed by Lehi’s prophecy that Jerusalem would fall. The city’s destruction, confirmed by prophecy, was one of the social and moral underpinnings of his people. That fall was the inarguable reason that they were led to the New World.
After announcing the effect, Isaiah then describes the means. Jerusalem and Judah had turned away from Yahweh. Their “doings” were sinful. Under the influence of foreign nations, they had changed their perceptions and descriptions of the way things ought to be, developing a philosophy that justified their sin. Thus, they had turned their “tongues… against the Lord.”
Provoking “the eyes of his glory” means that Yahweh had seen their sins and responded with an outpouring of wrath. The “glory” of God is often used as a synonym of his presence and, therefore, his person. Leopold Sabourin, professor emeritus of sacred scripture, Pontificio Instituto Orientale, Rome, Italy, explains:
While holiness expresses God’s transcendence, his glory concerns rather his immanence to the world. One text can be seen to combine both concepts: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isa. 6:3). God is invisible, but his glory (Hebr. Kabod), manifests itself in theophanies, usually associated with storms, fire, and earthquake (see Hab. 3:1–19, Ps. 18:7–15). Such resplendent events both reveal God’s presence and reflect his transcendence, concealing him as it were. In the Yahwist (J) tradition, God shows himself present in a pillar of cloud or of fire (Ex. 13:21), while for the Priestly (P) tradition “the glory of the Lord” settled on Mount Sinai and appeared to the Israelites below “like a devouring fire” (Ex. 24:17).