2 Nephi 24:9-11

[pam]

Reference Search: 2 Nephi 24:9-11

9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

10 All they shall speak and say unto thee: Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us?

11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave; the noise of thy viols is not heard; the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

Quotes for Discussion

Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming. Those in hell know that the king of Babylon will imminently join them.

it stirreth up the dead for thee. The New International Version reading here is instructive; it says that hell “rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—all those who were leaders in the world, it makes them rise from their thrones.”

chief ones of the earth/kings of the nations. These will marvel that the mighty king of Babylon has been cut down and become like them (14:10).

Art thou also become weak as we? During mortality the king of Babylon ruled with glory and power and possessed great wealth and importance. After death, while in the spirit prison, other spirits asked him, “Have you now become like us, without glory and wealth? Have you now become weak like us?”

Parry, Parry, & Peterson, Understanding Isaiah, p. 145-146

This section of the poem predicts Satan’s being restricted to the spirit world of hell during the millennial years of peace on earth, and describes the reaction of hell’s inhabitants when it is announced that he is assigned there. That he will have influence there is shown by the Prophet Joseph Smith’s statement that “when we have power to put all enemies under our feet in this world, and a knowledge to triumph over all evil spirits in the world to come, then we are saved” (TPJS, 297). Alma 34:34-35 also shows that the spirit of the devil will have power to possess the unrepentant in the spirit world. When he is bound in the spirit world, “the chief ones of the earth”—those leaders who were influential in the devil’s kingdom while they lived upon the earth—will assemble to greet him. When they see him, they will be amazed at his having lost his power.

Monte S. Nyman, Great Are the Words of Isaiah [salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1980], 85