2 Nephi 24:19

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Reference Search: 2 Nephi 24:19

19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and the remnant of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under feet.

Quotes for Discussion

Cast out of thy grave

It has always been considered a great calamity not to obtain an honorable burial: and one of the greatest curses the ancient prophets could put on any man, was that he should go without a burial.

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 295

cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch. The grave of Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon’s king, has never been discovered, and Lucifer will never have a grave or a monument because he never received a body. The imagery of cast out of the grave stands opposite Jesus and his tomb (53:9), where Jesus arose from the dead and possessed “life in himself” (John 5:26); he used his own power to arise and exit the tomb. Lucifer, the abominable branch, can be contrasted to the useful “Branch” that will “grow out of” the roots of Jesse (11:1; D&C 113:1-2). John D. Watts, an Isaiah scholar, summarizes this section of Isaiah by writing of Nebuchadnezzar: “The body has not been buried, but abandoned like garbage (v. 19). He shares the fate of the dead among the poorest people.

Parry, Parry, and Peterson, Understanding Isaiah, p. 150-151

Thrust through with a sword

This became literally true. Nabondius, the last king of Babylonia, fled to Borsippa, after having been defeated in battle by Cyrus, and left his son, Belshazzar, in Babylon to look after the affairs of state. The young prince was surprised by the invaders, in the midst of revelry, and slain in the confusion, at the gate of his magnificent palace, “thrust through with a sword”; whereupon Nabonadius, his father, crushed in body and spirit by his losses, surrendered to the conqueror.

George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, ed. Philip C. Reynolds, 7 vols. [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1955-1961], 1:367