CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 12
Abinadi hides for two years, then returns and preaches in disguise--When his is recognized, King Noah puts him in
prison--Abinabi insults King Noah and challenges his priests to interpret Isaiah. (148 BCE)
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Abinadi continues his prophecy (while in disguise)
1And it came to pass that after the space of two years that
Abinadi came among
them in disguise, that they knew him not, and began to prophesy among them, saying: Thus has the Lord commanded me,
saying -- Abinadi, go and prophesy unto this my people, for they have hardened their hearts against my words; they have
repented not of their evil doings; therefore, I will visit them in my anger, yea, in my fierce anger will I visit them
in their iniquities and abominations.
For two years Abinadi continued to preach among the Nephites. No one recognized him, though, because he was in disguise.
Here's what he said to them:
This is what God told me to say to you:
2Yea, wo be unto this generation! And the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth thy hand and prophesy saying:
Thus saith the Lord, it shall come to pass that this
generation, because of their iniquities, shall be brought into bondage, and shall be
smitten on the cheek;
yea, and shall be driven by men, and
shall be slain; and the vultures of the air, and the dogs, yea, and the wild beasts, shall devour their flesh.
Woe to this generation!
It will be enslaved and smitten on the cheek.
They will be killed, and the birds, dogs, and wild beasts will eat their dead bodies.
3 And it shall come to pass that the life of king Noah shall
be valued even as a garment in a hot furnace; for he shall know that I am the Lord.
King Noah's life will be as valuable as a garment in a hot furnace.
4 And it shall come to pass that
I will smite this my people with sore afflictions, yea, with famine and with pestilence; and
I will cause that they shall howl all the day long.
I'll kill the Nephites with famine and pestilence.
They'll howl all day long.
5 Yea, and I will cause that they shall have burdens lashed upon their backs; and
they shall be driven before like a dumb ass.
They'll carry heavy things and be driven like a dumb ass.
6 And it shall come to pass that I will send forth hail among them, and it shall smite them;
and they shall also be smitten with the east wind; and insects shall pester their land also, and devour their grain.
7 And they shall be smitten with a great pestilence -- and all this will I do because
of their iniquities and abominations.
I'll smite them with hail, with the east wind, and insects.
8 And it shall come to pass that except they repent I will utterly destroy
them from off the face of the earth; yet they shall leave a record behind them, and I will preserve them for other nations which shall possess the
land; yea, even this will I do that I may discover the abominations of this people to other nations. And many things
did Abinadi prophesy against this people.
If they don't repent, I'll kill them all -- except for a record that
they'll leave behind them for other nations to discover their abominations.
12:9-37
9And it came to pass that they were angry with him; and they took him and carried
him bound before the king, and said unto the king: Behold, we have brought a man before thee who has prophesied evil
concerning thy people, and saith that God will destroy them.
The people who heard Abinadi's prophecy were angry with him.
They brought him to King Noah and said,
This man says that God will destroy us.
10 And he also prophesieth evil concerning thy life, and
saith that thy life shall be as a garment in a furnace of fire.
And that your life will be like a garment in a furnace of fire,
11 And again, he saith that thou shalt be as a stalk, even as
a dry stalk of the field, which is run over by the beasts and trodden under foot.
that you'll be a dry stalk which is run over by beasts,
12 And again, he saith thou shalt be as the blossoms of a thistle, which, when it is fully ripe, if the
wind bloweth, it is driven forth upon the face of the land. And he pretendeth the Lord hath spoken it. And he saith
all this shall come 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.
and that you'll be like the blossom of a thistle.
17And 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.
18And 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.
When King Noah heard about Abinadi's prophesying, he threw him in prison and called his priests to a
meeting to decide what to do with him.
20And 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:
One of them asked him,
What did you mean when you said,
21How 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 watchmen 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?
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of he who brings good tidings?" [1]
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 I 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.
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.
Abinadi answered,
You are priests, so you should understand.
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 your strength with harlots, yea, and cause this people to
commit 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 hath 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.
Why do you commit whoredoms and spend your strength on harlots?
And it came to pass: 12:1, 2, 3, 4, 6,
8, 9, 17, 18, 20, 31
Behold: 12:9, 14, 15, 16
Yea: 12:1, 2(3), 4, 5, 8,
15, 19, 29(2), 30, 33
12:21 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; Isaiah 52:7
12:22 Thy watchmen 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;
Isaiah 57:8
12:23 Break forth into joy; sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem;
Isaiah 57:9
12:24 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?
Isaiah 52:10
12:34 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Exodus 20:2
12:35 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3
12:36 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above,
or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Exodus 203
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Dwindling in Unbelief
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Mosiah 12-13: Abinadi's Trial
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The Annotated Book of Mormon
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Mosiah 12