2 Nephi 16:11 - 16:13

2 Nephi 16:11 Then said I: Lord, how long? And he said: Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate;

Isaiah asked how long will this condition last? When all the land is destroyed and the people are killed.

2 Nephi 16:12 And the Lord have removed men far away, for there shall be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

Those who survive this destruction will be taken to other lands. Palestine will be vacant of the house of Israel and they will find themselves in strange lands.

2 Nephi 16:13 But yet there shall be a tenth, and they shall return, and shall be eaten, as a teil tree, and as an oak whose substance is in them when they cast their leaves; so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

But some will return in the future. They will be like the falling leaves that were left behind and became a humus that will be the fertilizer for the people who will return in the future.