Here Isaiah/Joseph Smith juxtaposes the image of a powerless Israel against the two sons. In the non-Book of Mormon Isaiah, the final phrases about the “wild bull” in the net refer to the fainted sons, stressing their powerlessness. The conflicting imagery of “fainting” and “wild bull” is due to the translation of a word that is unclear. The Hebrew word occurs only twice. The Vulgate translates it as “an oryx caught in a trap.” Blenkinsopp translates this passage: “Your children have fainted; they are lying at the corner of every street like antelopes caught in the net. They have felt the full force of Yahweh’s wrath, the rebuke of your God.”
In the Book of Mormon, the “wild bull” means the two sons who have not “fainted.” It becomes a description of their constraint from action.