upon thee except thou repent; and this because of thine iniquities. 13. And now, O king, what great evil hast thou done, or what great sins have thy people committed, that we should be condemned of God or judged of this man? 14. And now, O king, behold, we are guiltless, and thou. O king, hast not sinned; therefore, this man has lied concerning you, and he has prophesied in vain. 15. And behold, we are strong, we shall not come into bondage, or be taken captive by our enemies: yea, and thou hast prospered in the land, and thou shalt also prosper. 16. Behold, here is the man, we deliver him into thy hands; thou mayest do with him as seemeth thee good. 17. And it came to pass that king Noah caused that Abinadi should be cast into prison; and he commanded that the priests should gather themselves together, that he might hold a council with them what he should do with him. 18. And it came to pass that they said unto the king, Bring him hither that we may question him; and the king commanded that he should be brought before them. 19. And they began to question him, that they might cross him, that thereby they might have wherewith to accuse him; but he answered them boldly, and withstood all their questions, yea, to their astonishment: for he did withstand them in all their questions, and did confound them in all their words. 20. And it came to pass that one of them said unto him, What meaneth the words which are written, and which have been taught by our fathers, saying: 21. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings; that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good; that publisheth ́salvation; that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth; 22. Thy watchman shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion. 23. Break forth into joy; sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. 24. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. 25. And now Abinadi said unto them, Are you "priests, and pretend to teach this people, and to understand the Spirit of prophesying, and yet desire to know of me what these things mean? 26. say unto you, Wo be unto you for perverting the ways of the Lord. For if ye understand these things ye have not taught them: therefore, ye have perverted the ways of the Lord. 1, see f, Mos. 11. m, Isa. 52: 7-10. n, seef, Mos. 11. 27. Ye have not applied your hearts to understanding; therefore, ye have not been wise. Therefore, What teach ye this people? 28. And they said, We teach the law of Moses. 29. And again he said unto them, If ye teach the law of Moses why do ye not keep it? Why do ye set your hearts upon riches? Why do ye commit "whoredoms and spend vour strength with harlots, yea, and cause this people to ommit sin, that the Lord has cause to send me to prophesy against this people, yea, even a great evil against this people? 30. Know ye not that I speak the truth? Yea, ye know that I speak the truth; and you ought to tremble before God. : 31. And it shall come to pass that ye shall be smitten for your iniquities for ye have said that ye teach the law of Moses. And what know ye concerning the law of Moses? Doth salvation come by the law of Moses? What say ye? 32. And they answered and said, That salvation did come by the law of Moses. 33. But now Abinadi said unto them, I know if ye keep the commandments of God ye shall be saved; yea, if ye keep the commandments which the Lord delivered unto Moses in the mount of Sinai, saying, 34. I am the Lord thy God, who hast brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 35. Thou shalt have no other God before me. 36. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing in heaven above, or things which are in the earth beneath. 37. Now Abinadi said unto them, Have ye done all this? I say unto you, Nay, ye have not. And have ye taught this people that they should do all these things? I say unto you, Nay, ye have not. CHAPTER 13. 1. AND now when the king had heard these words, he said unto his priests, Away with this fellow, and slay him for what have we to do with him, for he is mad. 2. And they stood forth and attempted to lay their hands on him; but he withstood them, and said unto them, 3. Touch me not, for G1 shall smite you if ye lay your hands upon me, for I have not delivered the message which the Lord sent me to deliver; neither have I told you that which ye requested that I should tell; therefore, God will not suffer that I shall be destroyed at this time. 0, see o, 11. Nep. 25. p, see i, 11. Nep. 28. 7, Exodus 20: 2--4. q, see o, 11. Nep. 25. 4. But I must fulfil the commandments wherewith God has commanded me, and because I have told you the truth, ye are angry with me. And again, because I have spoken the word of God, ye have judged me that I am mad. 5. Now it came to pass after Abinadi had spoken these words, that the people of king Noah durst not lay their hands on him, for the Spirit of, the Lord was upon him; and his face shone with exceeding lustre, even as "Moses' did while in the mount of Sinai, while speaking with the Lord. 6. And he spake with power and authority from God; and he continued his words, saying, 7. Ye see that ye have not power to slay me, therefore I finish my message. Yea, and I perceive that it cuts you to your hearts, because I tell you the truth concerning your Iniquities; 8. Yea, and my words fill you with wonder and amazement, and with anger. 9. But I finish my message; and then it matters not whither I go, if it so be that I am saved. 10. But this much I tell you; what you do with me, after this, shall be as a. type and a shadow of things which are to come. 11. And now I read unto you the remainder of the commandments of God, for I perceive that they are not written in your hearts; I perceive that ye have studied and taught iniquity the most part of your lives. 12. And now, ye remember that I said unto you, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of things which are in heaven above, or which are in the earth beneath, or which are in the water under the earth. 13. And again; thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generations of them that hate me; 14. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. 15. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 16. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 17. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; 18. But the seventh day, the sabbath of the Lord thy God, thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 19. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is; wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. c, ver. 1. Alma 25: 7-12, e, Mos. 17: 13-19. 19: 20. d. Exodus 34: 29-35. J, Mos. 12: 36 g, Exodus 20:5-17. 20. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 21. Thou shalt not kill. 22. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. 23. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 24. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. 25. And it came to pass that after Abinadi had made an end of these sayings, that he said unto them, Have ye taught this people that they should observe to do all these things? for to keep these commandments? 26. I say unto you, Nay; for if ye had, the Lord would not have caused me to come forth and to prophesy evil concerning this people. 27. And now ye have said that salvation cometh by the law of Moses. I say unto you that it is expedient that ye should keep the law of Moses as yet; but I say unto you, that the time shall come when it shall no more be expedient to keep the law of Moses. 28. And moreover, I say unto you, that salvation doth hot come by the law alone; and were it not for the atonement which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of Moses. 29. And now say unto you, that it was expedient that there should be a law given to the children of Israel, yea, even a very strict law; for they were a stiff-necked people; quick to do iniquity, and slow to remember the Lord their God; 30. Therefore there was a law given them, yea, a law of performances and of ordinances, a law which they were to observe strictly, from day to day, to keep them in remem brance of God, and their duty towards him. 31. But behold, I say unto you, that all these things were types of things to come. 32. And now, did they understand the law? I say unto you, Nay, they did not all understand the law; and this because of the hardness of their hearts; for they understood not that there could not any man be saved, except it were through the redemption of God. 33. For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people, yea, and even all the prophets who have prophesied ever since the world began? Have they not spoken more or less concerning these things? h, see o, II. Nep. 25. i, III. Nep. 9: 19, 20, 15. 2-10. 1, u. Nep. 2. k, see o, II. Nep. 25. j, see 34. Have they not said that 'God himself should come down among the children of men, and take upon him the form of man, and go forth in mighty power upon the face of the earth? 35. Yea, and have they not said also, that he should bring to pass the "resurrection of the dead, and that he, himself, should be oppressed and afflicted? CHAPTER 14. (See Isaiah 53.) 1. YEA, even doth not Isaiah say, Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? 2. For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness: and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our face from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4. Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6. All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all. 7. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. 8. He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgressions of my people was he stricken. 9. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no evil, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief; when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he |