The burden of Babylon (v. 1) is the message of doom or the inevitable downfall of Babylon. That the Babylon spoken of here includes more than ancient Babylon is obvious from the rest of the chapter that clearly speaks of the time of the Second Coming of Christ. “Spiritual Babylon,” identified above (D&C 133:14), will fall at the time of the Second Coming. Various other sections in the Doctrine and Covenants use Babylon in this context (see D&C 1:16; 35:11; 64:24; 86:3). The book of Revelation, also cited above, speaks of the same time period. Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51 contain the words of the Lord against Babylon. His prophecies are more detailed than Isaiah’s and seem to be directed toward ancient Babylon.
The word “banner” (v. 2) may be better translated “ensign,” as in Isaiah 5:26. The King James translators rendered the same Hebrew word in three different ways: ensign (Isaiah 11:10), banner (Isaiah 13:2), and standard (Isaiah 62:10). The Book of Mormon uses the word “banner,” but the Joseph Smith Translation reads “my banner,” which clarifies that it was the Lord’s banner that was to be raised. The banner or ensign being lifted up upon the high mountain may also be the establishment of the kingdom of God, as in Isaiah 2:2. The exalted voice in 2 Nephi 23:2 could be the “voice of the Lord” crying, “Go ye out of Babylon” (D&C 133:4–8; Isaiah 52:11). “That they may go into the gates of the noble” is an invitation for all who accept the restored gospel “who are among the Gentiles [to] flee to Zion. And let them who be of Judah flee unto Jerusalem” (D&C 133:12–13; compare Revelation 18:4).