2 Nephi 24 corresponds to Isaiah 14.
Literature: The 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon does not have a chapter break at this point. Even though verse 1 concludes the subject of the previous chapter, it also serves as a transition into this chapter. The last chapter condemned Babylon (and, symbolically, sin and all that contradicts Yahweh’s plan). Chapter 24 will end with a taunt. Because no weaker nation would taunt a stronger one for fear of reprisal, this psalm of mockery requires that Israel triumph. These transitional verses (1–3) provide the setting of an Israel exalted through the Messiah’s power.
Verses 1 and 2 manifest Isaiah’s reversal technique, showing how complete the shift is for Israel. They contain two reversals—location and status. The reversal of location is Israel’s gathering from the countries to which it has been scattered, even from the ends of the earth. In this case, however, “strangers” will join with them. Their identity is illuminated by the reversal of status. Israel was scattered abroad as servants, as a conquered population. In the reversal of the final days, triumphant Israel will return from these “strange” or foreign lands with “servants and handmaids” of their own. “They shall take them captives unto whom they were captives; and they shall rule over their oppressors.” The Messiah’s return will turn the tables on the powerful; Israel’s position will be reversed, from captive and dispersed to triumphant and unified.
Comparison: KJV Isaiah 14:2 does not contain the bolded sentence which appears in the Book of Mormon: “And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: yea, from far unto the ends of the earth; and they shall return to their lands of promise. And the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.”
Tvedtnes reports some variation in the textual transmission, but no parallel to this specific addition. He attempts an explanation of how this phrase might have been lost, but the explanation is convoluted and unconvincing. The added phrase is particularly important in deciding how it fits into the textual history. The phrase is: “yea, from far unto the ends of the earth; and they shall return to their lands of promise.” This is part of the theme of gathering that is emphasized in the Book of Mormon text but is not overt in Isaiah.
This concept of the gathering from the ends of the earth and the isles of the sea is an added emphasis in the Book of Mormon, seen also in the comparison of Isaiah 49:8 to 1 Nephi 21:8. In that case, Nephi’s “O isles of the sea” is an addition in the text. Similar to the phrase concerning the gathering in verse 2, there is no version support for the additional text in 1 Nephi 21:8. With similar additions that exist in the Book of Mormon and that support Nephi’s particular understanding of the brass plates, it would seem that the best explanation is either a separate tradition that Nephi is reporting, or perhaps even an emendation that Nephi has made. This particular addition would be enhanced by Nephi’s perception that his people are those dispersed to the isles of the sea. (See commentary accompanying 1 Nephi 19:10 for more information on the phrase “isles of the sea.”)