The Book of Mormon retains the identifying “his word” rather than “a word” in the KJV (v. 8). This retention broadens the meaning to include the gospel rather than just a single prophecy. This specifically fits the context of the sins or reasons for which the Lord’s judgments are to come upon northern Israel or Ephraim. Perhaps Nephi saw it as a dual prophecy of the Nephites being destroyed, because Jacob said “Isaiah spake concerning all the house of Israel” (2 Nephi 6:5).
Although Isaiah’s above prophecy follows the prophecy of the birth of Christ discussed in the last chapter (Isaiah 9:6–7), he now returns to the reasons for which Israel is going to be smitten by the Assyrians (about 722 B.C.).
The first evil that will bring the judgments of God upon Ephraim is the pride of their hearts. This was also a cause of the Nephite destruction (2 Nephi 26:10). They had failed to recognize the judgments that had already come upon them and had rationalized that if their dwellings were destroyed they would rebuild with better materials. Their reliance upon the material things and their own abilities was evidence of their pride which caused their downfall. The description of this evil, and the other three that follow, all end with the same pronouncement: “for all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still” (v. 12). God’s judgment is imminent.