1 NephiChapter16

v1.10

And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.

And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did exhort my brethren, with all diligence, to keep the commandments of the Lord.

And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord; insomuch that I had joy and great hopes of them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness.

Now, all these things were said and done as my father dwelt in a tent in the valley which he called Lemuel.

And thus my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord which had been given unto him. And also, I, Nephi, had been blessed of the Lord exceedingly.

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord spake unto my father by night, and commanded him that on the morrow he should take his journey into the wilderness.

And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness.

And it came to pass that we did take our tents and depart into the wilderness, across the river Laman.

And it came to pass that we traveled for the space of four days, nearly a south-southeast direction, and we did pitch our tents again; and we did call the name of the place Shazer.

And it came to pass that we did take our bows and our arrows, and go forth into the wilderness to slay food for our families; and after we had slain food for our families we did return again to our families in the wilderness, to the place of Shazer. And we did go forth again in the wilderness, following the same direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders near the Red Sea.

And it came to pass that we did travel for the space of many days, slaying food by the way, with our bows and our arrows and our stones and our slings.

And we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness.

And after we had traveled for the space of many days, we did pitch our tents for the space of a time, that we might again rest ourselves and obtain food for our families.

And it came to pass that we did return without food to our families, and being much fatigued, because of their journeying, they did suffer much for the want of food.

And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael did begin to murmur exceedingly, because of their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness; and also my father began to murmur against the Lord his God; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did murmur against the Lord.

Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, having been afflicted with my brethren because of the loss of my bow, and their bows having lost their springs, it began to be exceedingly difficult, yea, insomuch that we could obtain no food.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did speak much unto my brethren, because they had hardened their hearts again, even unto complaining against the Lord their God.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my father: Whither shall I go to obtain food?

And it came to pass that he did inquire of the Lord, for they had humbled themselves because of my words; for I did say many things unto them in the energy of my soul.

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came unto my father; and he was truly chastened because of his murmuring against the Lord, insomuch that he was brought down into the depths of sorrow.

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord said unto him: Look upon the ball, and behold the things which are written.

And it came to pass that when my father beheld the things which were written upon the ball, he did fear and tremble exceedingly, and also my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and our wives.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them.

And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the directions which were given upon the ball.

And it came to pass that I did slay wild beasts, insomuch that I did obtain food for our families.

And it came to pass that I did return to our tents, bearing the beasts which I had slain; and now when they beheld that I had obtained food, how great was their joy! And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord, and did give thanks unto him.

And it came to pass that Ishmael died, and was buried in the place which was called Nahom.

And it came to pass that the daughters of Ishmael did mourn exceedingly, because of the loss of their father, and because of their afflictions in the wilderness; and they did murmur against my father, because he had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, saying: Our father is dead; yea, and we have wandered much in the wilderness, and we have suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and after all these sufferings we must perish in the wilderness with hunger.

And thus they did murmur against my father, and also against me; and they were desirous to return again to Jerusalem.

Now, he says that the Lord has talked with him, and also that angels have ministered unto him. But behold, we know that he lies unto us; and he tells us these things, and he worketh many things by his cunning arts, that he may deceive our eyes, thinking, perhaps, that he may lead us away into some strange wilderness; and after he has led us away, he has thought to make himself a king and a ruler over us, that he may do with us according to his will and pleasure. And after this manner did my brother Laman stir up their hearts to anger.

And it came to pass that the Lord was with us, yea, even the voice of the Lord came and did speak many words unto them, and did chasten them exceedingly; and after they were chastened by the voice of the Lord they did turn away their anger, and did repent of their sins, insomuch that the Lord did bless us again with food, that we did not perish.

After I had finished speaking to my brothers, they said to me, "You've declared hard things to us, more than we can bear."

I told them I knew I had spoken hard things against the wicked, and that I had spoken the truth. I had justified the righteous and testified that they would be lifted up at the last day. So the guilty take the truth to be hard because it cuts them to the very center. And I said, "Brothers, if you were righteous and willing to listen to the truth and pay attention to it, so that you could walk uprightly before God, then you wouldn't complain about the truth and say I'm speaking hard things against you."

I urged my brothers with all diligence to keep the commandments of the Lord. They humbled themselves before the Lord, and so I had joy and great hope for them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness. All this was said and done while my father lived in a tent in the valley he called Lemuel.

I married one of Ishmael's daughters, my brothers married others of his daughters, and Zoram married the eldest. So my father had fulfilled all the commandments the Lord had given him. And I had been greatly blessed by the Lord.

That night the voice of the Lord spoke to my father and commanded him to set out into the wilderness the next morning. When my father got up in the morning and went to the tent door, he was astonished to see on the ground a round brass ball, skillfully made. Inside the ball were two spindles, and one of them pointed the way we should go into the wilderness.

We gathered together whatever we were to carry with us, along with the rest of the provisions the Lord had given us, and we took seeds of every kind. We took our tents and set out into the wilderness, across the river Laman. We traveled for four days in a nearly south-southeast direction, and we pitched our tents again. We called the place Shazer. We took our bows and arrows and went out into the wilderness to hunt food for our families. After we had killed food, we returned to them at Shazer. Then we set out again, following the same direction and keeping to the most fertile parts, which lay along the borders near the Red Sea. We traveled for many days, killing food along the way with our bows, arrows, stones, and slings. We followed the directions of the ball, which led us through the more fertile parts of the wilderness. After we had traveled for many days, we pitched our tents for a time so that we could rest again and get food for our families.

As I went out to hunt food, I broke my bow, which was made of fine steel. My brothers were angry with me over it because now we could get no food. We returned to our families without food, and they were worn out from traveling and suffered a great deal from hunger. Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael began complaining bitterly because of their suffering and hardship in the wilderness. Even my father complained against the Lord his God. They were all so sad that they grumbled against the Lord. Since I was suffering along with my brothers over my broken bow, and their bows had lost their spring, things grew so difficult that we could get no food at all. I spoke much to my brothers because they had hardened their hearts again, even to the point of complaining against the Lord their God.

I made a bow out of wood and an arrow out of a straight stick, so I armed myself with them, along with a sling and stones. And I said to my father, "Where should I go to get food?"

He asked the Lord because they had humbled themselves at my words. I had spoken to them with all the energy of my soul. The voice of the Lord came to my father, and he was truly rebuked for complaining against the Lord, so that he was brought down into deep sorrow.

The voice of the Lord said to him, "Look at the ball, and see what is written." When my father saw what was written there, he was filled with fear and trembled, and so were my brothers, the sons of Ishmael, and our wives.

I saw that the pointers in the ball worked according to the faith, diligence, and attention we gave them. New writing also appeared on them, easy to read, which gave us understanding about the ways of the Lord. It was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence we gave it. And so we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.

I went up to the top of the mountain, following the directions given on the ball. I killed wild animals, and so I got food for our families. I returned to our tents carrying what I had killed. When they saw that I had gotten food, how great their joy was! They humbled themselves before the Lord and gave thanks to him.

We set out again, traveling nearly the same course as at the start. After we had traveled for many days, we pitched our tents again so that we could stay for a while. Ishmael died and was buried in the place called Nahom. His daughters mourned deeply over the loss of their father and their hardships in the wilderness, and they complained against my father because he had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem. They said, "Our father is dead. We've wandered far in the wilderness, and we've suffered a great deal of hardship, hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. After all this suffering, we're going to die of hunger out here." So they complained against my father and me, and they wanted to go back to Jerusalem.

Laman said to Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael, "Let's kill our father, and our brother Nephi too. He's taken it on himself to be our ruler and teacher, when we're his older brothers. Now, he says the Lord has talked with him, and that angels have ministered to him. But we know he's lying to us. He tells us these things and works all sorts of tricks with his cunning to deceive our eyes, thinking, perhaps, that he can lead us off into some strange wilderness. And once he has, he plans to make himself a king and a ruler over us, so he can do whatever he wants with us." That was how my brother Laman stirred up their hearts to anger.

The Lord was with us. The voice of the Lord came and spoke many words to them, rebuking them sharply. After that, they turned away their anger and repented of their sins, and so the Lord blessed us again with food, and we didn't die.

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OriginalModern English

And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.

After I had finished speaking to my brothers, they said to me, "You've declared hard things to us, more than we can bear."

And I said, "Brothers, if you were righteous and willing to listen to the truth and pay attention to it, so that you could walk uprightly before God, then you wouldn't complain about the truth and say I'm speaking hard things against you."

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did exhort my brethren, with all diligence, to keep the commandments of the Lord.

I urged my brothers with all diligence to keep the commandments of the Lord.

And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord; insomuch that I had joy and great hopes of them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness.

They humbled themselves before the Lord, and so I had joy and great hope for them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness.

Now, all these things were said and done as my father dwelt in a tent in the valley which he called Lemuel.

All this was said and done while my father lived in a tent in the valley he called Lemuel.

I married one of Ishmael's daughters, my brothers married others of his daughters, and Zoram married the eldest.

And thus my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord which had been given unto him. And also, I, Nephi, had been blessed of the Lord exceedingly.

So my father had fulfilled all the commandments the Lord had given him. And I had been greatly blessed by the Lord.

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord spake unto my father by night, and commanded him that on the morrow he should take his journey into the wilderness.

That night the voice of the Lord spoke to my father and commanded him to set out into the wilderness the next morning.

When my father got up in the morning and went to the tent door, he was astonished to see on the ground a round brass ball, skillfully made. Inside the ball were two spindles, and one of them pointed the way we should go into the wilderness.

We gathered together whatever we were to carry with us, along with the rest of the provisions the Lord had given us, and we took seeds of every kind.

And it came to pass that we did take our tents and depart into the wilderness, across the river Laman.

We took our tents and set out into the wilderness, across the river Laman.

And it came to pass that we traveled for the space of four days, nearly a south-southeast direction, and we did pitch our tents again; and we did call the name of the place Shazer.

We traveled for four days in a nearly south-southeast direction, and we pitched our tents again. We called the place Shazer.

We took our bows and arrows and went out into the wilderness to hunt food for our families. After we had killed food, we returned to them at Shazer. Then we set out again, following the same direction and keeping to the most fertile parts, which lay along the borders near the Red Sea.

And it came to pass that we did travel for the space of many days, slaying food by the way, with our bows and our arrows and our stones and our slings.

We traveled for many days, killing food along the way with our bows, arrows, stones, and slings.

And we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness.

We followed the directions of the ball, which led us through the more fertile parts of the wilderness.

And after we had traveled for the space of many days, we did pitch our tents for the space of a time, that we might again rest ourselves and obtain food for our families.

After we had traveled for many days, we pitched our tents for a time so that we could rest again and get food for our families.

As I went out to hunt food, I broke my bow, which was made of fine steel. My brothers were angry with me over it because now we could get no food.

And it came to pass that we did return without food to our families, and being much fatigued, because of their journeying, they did suffer much for the want of food.

We returned to our families without food, and they were worn out from traveling and suffered a great deal from hunger.

Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael began complaining bitterly because of their suffering and hardship in the wilderness. Even my father complained against the Lord his God. They were all so sad that they grumbled against the Lord.

Since I was suffering along with my brothers over my broken bow, and their bows had lost their spring, things grew so difficult that we could get no food at all.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did speak much unto my brethren, because they had hardened their hearts again, even unto complaining against the Lord their God.

I spoke much to my brothers because they had hardened their hearts again, even to the point of complaining against the Lord their God.

I made a bow out of wood and an arrow out of a straight stick, so I armed myself with them, along with a sling and stones. And I said to my father, "Where should I go to get food?"

And it came to pass that he did inquire of the Lord, for they had humbled themselves because of my words; for I did say many things unto them in the energy of my soul.

He asked the Lord because they had humbled themselves at my words. I had spoken to them with all the energy of my soul.

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came unto my father; and he was truly chastened because of his murmuring against the Lord, insomuch that he was brought down into the depths of sorrow.

The voice of the Lord came to my father, and he was truly rebuked for complaining against the Lord, so that he was brought down into deep sorrow.

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord said unto him: Look upon the ball, and behold the things which are written.

The voice of the Lord said to him, "Look at the ball, and see what is written."

And it came to pass that when my father beheld the things which were written upon the ball, he did fear and tremble exceedingly, and also my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and our wives.

When my father saw what was written there, he was filled with fear and trembled, and so were my brothers, the sons of Ishmael, and our wives.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them.

I saw that the pointers in the ball worked according to the faith, diligence, and attention we gave them.

New writing also appeared on them, easy to read, which gave us understanding about the ways of the Lord. It was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence we gave it. And so we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the directions which were given upon the ball.

I went up to the top of the mountain, following the directions given on the ball.

And it came to pass that I did slay wild beasts, insomuch that I did obtain food for our families.

I killed wild animals, and so I got food for our families.

I returned to our tents carrying what I had killed. When they saw that I had gotten food, how great their joy was! They humbled themselves before the Lord and gave thanks to him.

We set out again, traveling nearly the same course as at the start. After we had traveled for many days, we pitched our tents again so that we could stay for a while.

And it came to pass that Ishmael died, and was buried in the place which was called Nahom.

Ishmael died and was buried in the place called Nahom.

His daughters mourned deeply over the loss of their father and their hardships in the wilderness, and they complained against my father because he had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem. They said, "Our father is dead. We've wandered far in the wilderness, and we've suffered a great deal of hardship, hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. After all this suffering, we're going to die of hunger out here."

And thus they did murmur against my father, and also against me; and they were desirous to return again to Jerusalem.

So they complained against my father and me, and they wanted to go back to Jerusalem.

Laman said to Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael, "Let's kill our father, and our brother Nephi too. He's taken it on himself to be our ruler and teacher, when we're his older brothers.

Now, he says the Lord has talked with him, and that angels have ministered to him. But we know he's lying to us. He tells us these things and works all sorts of tricks with his cunning to deceive our eyes, thinking, perhaps, that he can lead us off into some strange wilderness. And once he has, he plans to make himself a king and a ruler over us, so he can do whatever he wants with us." That was how my brother Laman stirred up their hearts to anger.

OriginalModern English

And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.

After I had finished speaking to my brothers, they said to me, "You've declared hard things to us, more than we can bear."

And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center. And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did exhort my brethren, with all diligence, to keep the commandments of the Lord. And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord; insomuch that I had joy and great hopes of them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness. Now, all these things were said and done as my father dwelt in a tent in the valley which he called Lemuel.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also, my brethren took of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife. And thus my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord which had been given unto him. And also, I, Nephi, had been blessed of the Lord exceedingly.

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord spake unto my father by night, and commanded him that on the morrow he should take his journey into the wilderness. And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness.

And it came to pass that we did gather together whatsoever things we should carry into the wilderness, and all the remainder of our provisions which the Lord had given unto us; and we did take seed of every kind that we might carry into the wilderness. And it came to pass that we did take our tents and depart into the wilderness, across the river Laman. And it came to pass that we traveled for the space of four days, nearly a south-southeast direction, and we did pitch our tents again; and we did call the name of the place Shazer. And it came to pass that we did take our bows and our arrows, and go forth into the wilderness to slay food for our families; and after we had slain food for our families we did return again to our families in the wilderness, to the place of Shazer. And we did go forth again in the wilderness, following the same direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders near the Red Sea. And it came to pass that we did travel for the space of many days, slaying food by the way, with our bows and our arrows and our stones and our slings. And we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness. And after we had traveled for the space of many days, we did pitch our tents for the space of a time, that we might again rest ourselves and obtain food for our families.

And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine steel; and after I did break my bow, behold, my brethren were angry with me because of the loss of my bow, for we did obtain no food. And it came to pass that we did return without food to our families, and being much fatigued, because of their journeying, they did suffer much for the want of food. And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael did begin to murmur exceedingly, because of their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness; and also my father began to murmur against the Lord his God; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did murmur against the Lord. Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, having been afflicted with my brethren because of the loss of my bow, and their bows having lost their springs, it began to be exceedingly difficult, yea, insomuch that we could obtain no food. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did speak much unto my brethren, because they had hardened their hearts again, even unto complaining against the Lord their God.

I made a bow out of wood and an arrow out of a straight stick, so I armed myself with them, along with a sling and stones. And I said to my father, "Where should I go to get food?"

And it came to pass that he did inquire of the Lord, for they had humbled themselves because of my words; for I did say many things unto them in the energy of my soul. And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came unto my father; and he was truly chastened because of his murmuring against the Lord, insomuch that he was brought down into the depths of sorrow.

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord said unto him: Look upon the ball, and behold the things which are written. And it came to pass that when my father beheld the things which were written upon the ball, he did fear and tremble exceedingly, and also my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and our wives.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them. And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the directions which were given upon the ball. And it came to pass that I did slay wild beasts, insomuch that I did obtain food for our families. And it came to pass that I did return to our tents, bearing the beasts which I had slain; and now when they beheld that I had obtained food, how great was their joy! And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord, and did give thanks unto him.

And it came to pass that we did again take our journey, traveling nearly the same course as in the beginning; and after we had traveled for the space of many days we did pitch our tents again, that we might tarry for the space of a time. And it came to pass that Ishmael died, and was buried in the place which was called Nahom. And it came to pass that the daughters of Ishmael did mourn exceedingly, because of the loss of their father, and because of their afflictions in the wilderness; and they did murmur against my father, because he had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, saying: Our father is dead; yea, and we have wandered much in the wilderness, and we have suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and after all these sufferings we must perish in the wilderness with hunger. And thus they did murmur against my father, and also against me; and they were desirous to return again to Jerusalem.

And Laman said unto Lemuel and also unto the sons of Ishmael: Behold, let us slay our father, and also our brother Nephi, who has taken it upon him to be our ruler and our teacher, who are his elder brethren. Now, he says that the Lord has talked with him, and also that angels have ministered unto him. But behold, we know that he lies unto us; and he tells us these things, and he worketh many things by his cunning arts, that he may deceive our eyes, thinking, perhaps, that he may lead us away into some strange wilderness; and after he has led us away, he has thought to make himself a king and a ruler over us, that he may do with us according to his will and pleasure. And after this manner did my brother Laman stir up their hearts to anger.