Textual: Nephi is reprising Isaiah 29:21.
Isa. 29:21
21 That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.
This is a continuation of the condemnation of the learned, echoing Isaiah. In turning aside the just for a thing of nought, both Isaiah and Nephi are setting up a contrast between the just things of God, and the prevalent ideas of man. The clearest example of the explicit contrasting of these two sources of information is in Isaiah 5:20-21:
20 ¶ Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
For purposes of emphasis, the God and the “learned and rich” are placed in apposition. Of course this is not a condemnation of either wealth or learning, but a poetic emphasis on the need to turn to the true source - God.
Along with Isaiah, Nephi sees the end of time as the final delivery of justice. Those who have been the powerful and the learned will receive the due of their injustice, but that reconciliation of justice must wait to the last day.