(Isa. 3:25)
What makes a nation great? Power and gain is the answer we give today, the thing is to be number one in military and economic clout. They thought so in Isaiah’s day too… . Where does security lie? In digging the defenses of Jerusalem you are merely digging your graves! The only true defense is the calling of the priesthood in the Temple. If you play the game of realistic power politics you can’t expect any but the usual reward.
(Hugh W. Nibley, “Great Are the Words of Isaiah,” Sidney B. Sperry Symposium [Provo, Utah: Religious Instruction, BYU, January 28, 1978], 204.)