1 Nephi 21: 26

26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; they shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine; and all flesh shall know that I, the Lord, am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

I wrote about a verse with a similar theme as this one back in 1 Nephi 14: 3, where Nephi sees in vision that the “great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled with those who digged it.” The Lord will punish the wicked by the wicked in many cases. This is a prophecy that can be found in a few places in the scriptures, so I believe it will happen; I believe it is happening today. How it will come about is an interesting thought. Obviously the wicked will not obey the Lord’s command to destroy the wicked, but I doubt He will need to command them. I think that if He simply removes His blessing or protection from a nation or a group of people who are already wicked, their own violent natures will take over. Remember that Satan will use you as a tool as long as you are effective, but as soon as you are not, he abandons you to your destruction, as he did with Korihor, for example (see Alma 30: 60). Left to their own devices, the wicked will destroy; that is their natural tendency. All the Lord needs to do is stop protecting the wicked, and they will turn on themselves. It doesn’t take too many righteous among the wicked for the Lord to grant His protection, however (see Alma 10: 23 and Genesis 18: 23–33 for examples). The nature of God is life and protection; the nature of Satan is death and destruction. When the protection of God is removed, all that is left is the death and destruction of Satan. So for the fulfillment of this prophecy the Lord doesn’t need to do anything. In fact, He just needs to stop doing something: protecting and defending.

• 1 Nephi 14: 3
• 1 Nephi 14: 17 (15–17)
• 1 Nephi 22: 13 (13–14)
• 2 Nephi 6: 14 (14–18)
• Alma 10: 23
• Mormon 4: 5

1 Nephi 21: 25

25 But thus saith the Lord, even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.

Here is the Lord’s answer to Israel’s concerns, or the rhetorical question expressed in verse 24. The Lord will deliver captive Israel from bondage, even though those holding them are mighty, He will deliver the victims of tyranny, and He will fight Israel’s battles. Israel’s history is full of instances where the Lord has fought their battles and/or delivered them from enemies. This is one of the standing promises the Lord makes with his covenant people. As long as we live up to our side of the covenant, He will fight our battles. This is especially true on the macro scale, say in the case of nations. He often does this on a micro, or personal scale as well. However, on a personal level we may not notice His assistance as dramatically. Usually our biggest personal battle is against an unseen enemy: Satan. The covenant people of the Lord receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, which teaches us, strengthens us, and warns us against attacks on our spirit. At those times when it is just too much to resist any longer, we have been promised that the Lord would strengthen us to stand up to it, or remove the temptation from us. President Hinckley made that promise in a General Priesthood Meeting one time. I think his topic was pornography, but I don’t remember for sure. But I clearly remember the promise.

1 Nephi 21: 24

24 For shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives delivered?

This is another verse that makes more sense in my mind the way it is recorded in the Bible. And the only real difference is that the Bible leaves off the word “for” at the beginning of the verse. It also begins a new paragraph. The significance of this is that it now looks more like what I think it probably is, which is Israel’s response in this conversation with the Lord. From their perspective, all they see is oppression and captivity, yet they have just received some amazing promises. So they ask how this can come about, and the Lord answers their question in the next couple of verses.

The Book of Mormon version could also be understood that way, but the way it is written could take us a completely different, and harder to grasp direction. Including the word “for” at the beginning would indicate that this is a continuation of the thought in verse 23, which refers to those who are helping Israel, not their enemies. So it doesn’t make sense that the Lord would fight against His covenant people, or that those covenant people would oppress or hold captive the house of Israel. Or it could simply be a rhetorical question from the Lord, which would also make complete sense, and would have the same meaning as if Israel were to ask the question.

1 Nephi 21: 23

 23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

This verse has a couple of themes related to each other. I’ll take one at a time, and see where it leads. Kings and queens being their nursing fathers and mothers must have something to do with teaching the gospel to Israel. I suppose this could be taken as a temporal interpretation, such as when Britain sponsored the return of the Jews to Palestine in 1948 (see Ridges, Isaiah Made Easier, p. 134). However, I am more interested in the spiritual aspect of this. In Art, when you see something that is out of place or out of the ordinary it is often a visual clue to the viewer that there is some symbolic meaning beyond the literal image. If that’s the case in scripture as well, this verse is more than what it appears. What’s out of place here? “Nursing Fathers.” The cross reference provided at the bottom of the page (Isaiah 60: 16) goes further. It says, speaking to Israel, that they “shalt suck the breast of kings.” Why kings and not queens? (Actually the verse I am commenting on here includes nursing queens, but that doesn’t seem as out of place.) I believe this has to do with the life-giving saving ordinances that can only be administered by one holding the royal priesthood of God. (And for that matter, in the temple these ordinances are administered to women by other women—nursing queens.) Men can’t provide life-giving nourishment through their breasts, but they can provide spiritual life-giving nourishment by administering ordinances through proper priesthood authority. Even more specifically, this royal status of king and queen only comes to those who enter into the new and everlasting covenant of marriage (see D&C 131: 2 (1–4), and D&C 132: 19). So I believe these are the kings and queens who shall be the nursing fathers and nursing mothers to Israel.

And they will do it with all respect to the original covenants made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Otherwise, why would these kings and queens “bow down” and “lick up the dust of [Israel’s] feet?” I doubt this is literal, but it means that those in the covenant will serve Israel. Sharing the gospel is the greatest service, but there is no shame in serving anyone in any manner. When we serve one another, we are serving God (see Mosiah 2: 17). The cross reference provided to the word “wait” indicates that this waiting for the Lord has to do with being faithful in covenants, etc. Surely those who wait for the Lord in that sense will not be ashamed.

• Isaiah 60: 16 (14–16)
• 2 Nephi 6: 13
• D&C 133: 11 (10–11, 45)

1 Nephi 21: 22

22 Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

The Lord answers the question Israel asked in verse 21. This verse tells Israel that all these children that made things so crowded, as described in verses 20 and 21 have been gathered in large part by the efforts of the Gentiles. The cross-references in the footnotes indicate to me that this gathering of Israel will be a spiritual gathering more than physical. In other words, this will be a conversion to the restored covenants that the house of Israel had anciently. Of course, that restoration is found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here is where the standard, or Ensign to the nations has been set up. Through the missionary efforts of the Church, the Gentiles will “bring [Israel’s] sons in their arms, and [their] daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.”

I think the Lord delights in showing that He will accept anyone willing to covenant with Him. He is no respecter of persons in this matter, and the covenant is more important than the bloodlines. So the irony of this gathering is that it is made possible through the efforts of the Gentiles, who Israel (and especially the Jews) has always kind of discounted. Gentiles have been unclean in their eyes since ancient times. But in the latter days the covenant (again, more critical than bloodlines) is in the Church, which is Israel more by adoption than by inheritance. So Israel is depending on “unclean” Gentiles to make them clean again, or restore them to their former place of honor as a covenant people.

• Isaiah 11: 12 (10–12)
• Isaiah 66: 19 (18–20)
• 2 Nephi 6: 6–7
• 2 Nephi 10: 8 (8–9)