AlmaChapter16

v1.10

For behold, the armies of the Lamanites had come in upon the wilderness side, into the borders of the land, even into the city of Ammonihah, and began to slay the people and destroy the city.

And now it came to pass, before the Nephites could raise a sufficient army to drive them out of the land, they had destroyed the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, and also some around the borders of Noah, and taken others captive into the wilderness.

Now it came to pass that the Nephites were desirous to obtain those who had been carried away captive into the wilderness.

Therefore, he that had been appointed chief captain over the armies of the Nephites, (and his name was Zoram, and he had two sons, Lehi and Aha)—now Zoram and his two sons, knowing that Alma was high priest over the church, and having heard that he had the spirit of prophecy, therefore they went unto him and desired of him to know whither the Lord would that they should go into the wilderness in search of their brethren, who had been taken captive by the Lamanites.

And it came to pass that Alma inquired of the Lord concerning the matter. And Alma returned and said unto them: Behold, the Lamanites will cross the river Sidon in the south wilderness, away up beyond the borders of the land of Manti. And behold there shall ye meet them, on the east of the river Sidon, and there the Lord will deliver unto thee thy brethren who have been taken captive by the Lamanites.

And they came upon the armies of the Lamanites, and the Lamanites were scattered and driven into the wilderness; and they took their brethren who had been taken captive by the Lamanites, and there was not one soul of them had been lost that were taken captive. And they were brought by their brethren to possess their own lands.

But behold, in one day it was left desolate; and the carcasses were mangled by dogs and wild beasts of the wilderness.

Nevertheless, after many days their dead bodies were heaped up upon the face of the earth, and they were covered with a shallow covering. And now so great was the scent thereof that the people did not go in to possess the land of Ammonihah for many years. And it was called Desolation of Nehors; for they were of the profession of Nehor, who were slain; and their lands remained desolate.

And the Lamanites did not come again to war against the Nephites until the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. And thus for three years did the people of Nephi have continual peace in all the land.

And Alma and Amulek went forth preaching repentance to the people in their temples, and in their sanctuaries, and also in their synagogues, which were built after the manner of the Jews.

And as many as would hear their words, unto them they did impart the word of God, without any respect of persons, continually.

And thus did Alma and Amulek go forth, and also many more who had been chosen for the work, to preach the word throughout all the land. And the establishment of the church became general throughout the land, in all the region round about, among all the people of the Nephites.

That they might not be hardened against the word, that they might not be unbelieving, and go on to destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as a branch be grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God.

Holding forth things which must shortly come; yea, holding forth the coming of the Son of God, his sufferings and death, and also the resurrection of the dead.

And many of the people did inquire concerning the place where the Son of God should come; and they were taught that he would appear unto them after his resurrection; and this the people did hear with great joy and gladness.

And now after the church had been established throughout all the land—having got the victory over the devil, and the word of God being preached in its purity in all the land, and the Lord pouring out his blessings upon the people—thus ended the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

In the eleventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, on the fifth day of the second month, a cry of war was heard throughout the land. There had been much peace in the land of Zarahemla, and no wars or conflicts for a number of years, right up to that very day. The Lamanite armies had come in on the wilderness side, into the borders of the land, all the way into the city of Ammonihah, and began killing the people and destroying the city. Before the Nephites could raise an army large enough to drive them out of the land, they had destroyed the people of that city, and some around the borders of Noah as well, and taken others captive into the wilderness.

The Nephites wanted to get back those who had been carried off captive into the wilderness. So the man who had been appointed chief captain over the Nephite armies, whose name was Zoram, went to Alma with his two sons, Lehi and Aha. They knew Alma was high priest over the church, and they had heard that he had the spirit of prophecy, so they asked him where the Lord would have them go into the wilderness to search for their captive brothers.

Alma asked the Lord about the matter, and he came back and said to them: "The Lamanites will cross the river Sidon in the south wilderness, far beyond the borders of the land of Manti. There you will meet them, on the east of the river Sidon, and there the Lord will deliver to you your brothers who have been taken captive by the Lamanites."

So Zoram and his sons crossed the river Sidon with their armies and marched beyond the borders of Manti into the south wilderness, on the east side of the river. They came upon the Lamanite armies, and the Lamanites were scattered and driven into the wilderness. They took back their brothers who had been taken captive, and not one of the captives was lost. Their brothers brought them back to possess their own lands.

And so ended the eleventh year of the judges, with the Lamanites driven out of the land and the people of Ammonihah destroyed. Every living soul of the Ammonihahites was destroyed, along with their great city, which they had said God couldn't destroy because of its size. But in a single day it was left deserted, and the corpses were mangled by dogs and wild animals from the wilderness. Still, after many days, their dead bodies were piled up on the ground and given only a shallow covering. The smell was so strong that for many years the people didn't go in to take over the land of Ammonihah. It was called Desolation of Nehors because those who were killed were of the profession of Nehor, and their lands stayed desolate.

The Lamanites didn't come to war against the Nephites again until the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. So for three years, the people of Nephi had continual peace throughout the land.

Alma and Amulek went out preaching repentance to the people in their temples, sanctuaries, and synagogues, which were built in the manner of the Jews. And they gave the word of God continually to all who would listen to their words, showing no favoritism. So Alma and Amulek went out to preach the word throughout the land, and so did many others who had been chosen for the work. The church became established generally throughout the land, in all the surrounding region, among all the people of the Nephites.

And there was no inequality among them. The Lord poured out his Spirit over the whole face of the land to prepare the minds of the people, to prepare their hearts to receive the word that would be taught among them at the time of his coming. This was so they would not harden against the word or fall into unbelief and go on to destruction. Instead, they would receive the word with joy and, like a branch, be grafted into the true vine, and so enter into the rest of the Lord their God.

Now the priests who went out among the people preached against lying, deceit, envy, strife, malice, insults, theft, robbery, plunder, murder, adultery, and every kind of lewdness, shouting that these things should not be. They proclaimed what was soon to come: the coming of the Son of God, his sufferings and death, and the resurrection of the dead. Many of the people asked about the place where the Son of God would come, and they were taught that he would appear to them after his resurrection. The people heard this with great joy and gladness.

By now the church had been established throughout the land. It had won the victory over the devil, the word of God was preached in its purity everywhere, and the Lord was pouring out his blessings on the people. And so ended the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

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OriginalModern English

For behold, the armies of the Lamanites had come in upon the wilderness side, into the borders of the land, even into the city of Ammonihah, and began to slay the people and destroy the city.

The Lamanite armies had come in on the wilderness side, into the borders of the land, all the way into the city of Ammonihah, and began killing the people and destroying the city.

Before the Nephites could raise an army large enough to drive them out of the land, they had destroyed the people of that city, and some around the borders of Noah as well, and taken others captive into the wilderness.

Now it came to pass that the Nephites were desirous to obtain those who had been carried away captive into the wilderness.

The Nephites wanted to get back those who had been carried off captive into the wilderness.

So the man who had been appointed chief captain over the Nephite armies, whose name was Zoram, went to Alma with his two sons, Lehi and Aha. They knew Alma was high priest over the church, and they had heard that he had the spirit of prophecy, so they asked him where the Lord would have them go into the wilderness to search for their captive brothers.

So Zoram and his sons crossed the river Sidon with their armies and marched beyond the borders of Manti into the south wilderness, on the east side of the river.

They came upon the Lamanite armies, and the Lamanites were scattered and driven into the wilderness. They took back their brothers who had been taken captive, and not one of the captives was lost. Their brothers brought them back to possess their own lands.

But behold, in one day it was left desolate; and the carcasses were mangled by dogs and wild beasts of the wilderness.

But in a single day it was left deserted, and the corpses were mangled by dogs and wild animals from the wilderness.

Still, after many days, their dead bodies were piled up on the ground and given only a shallow covering. The smell was so strong that for many years the people didn't go in to take over the land of Ammonihah. It was called Desolation of Nehors because those who were killed were of the profession of Nehor, and their lands stayed desolate.

And Alma and Amulek went forth preaching repentance to the people in their temples, and in their sanctuaries, and also in their synagogues, which were built after the manner of the Jews.

Alma and Amulek went out preaching repentance to the people in their temples, sanctuaries, and synagogues, which were built in the manner of the Jews.

And as many as would hear their words, unto them they did impart the word of God, without any respect of persons, continually.

And they gave the word of God continually to all who would listen to their words, showing no favoritism.

So Alma and Amulek went out to preach the word throughout the land, and so did many others who had been chosen for the work. The church became established generally throughout the land, in all the surrounding region, among all the people of the Nephites.

This was so they would not harden against the word or fall into unbelief and go on to destruction. Instead, they would receive the word with joy and, like a branch, be grafted into the true vine, and so enter into the rest of the Lord their God.

Holding forth things which must shortly come; yea, holding forth the coming of the Son of God, his sufferings and death, and also the resurrection of the dead.

They proclaimed what was soon to come: the coming of the Son of God, his sufferings and death, and the resurrection of the dead.

Many of the people asked about the place where the Son of God would come, and they were taught that he would appear to them after his resurrection. The people heard this with great joy and gladness.

OriginalModern English

And it came to pass in the eleventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, on the fifth day of the second month, there having been much peace in the land of Zarahemla, there having been no wars nor contentions for a certain number of years, even until the fifth day of the second month in the eleventh year, there was a cry of war heard throughout the land. For behold, the armies of the Lamanites had come in upon the wilderness side, into the borders of the land, even into the city of Ammonihah, and began to slay the people and destroy the city. And now it came to pass, before the Nephites could raise a sufficient army to drive them out of the land, they had destroyed the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, and also some around the borders of Noah, and taken others captive into the wilderness.

Now it came to pass that the Nephites were desirous to obtain those who had been carried away captive into the wilderness. Therefore, he that had been appointed chief captain over the armies of the Nephites, (and his name was Zoram, and he had two sons, Lehi and Aha)—now Zoram and his two sons, knowing that Alma was high priest over the church, and having heard that he had the spirit of prophecy, therefore they went unto him and desired of him to know whither the Lord would that they should go into the wilderness in search of their brethren, who had been taken captive by the Lamanites.

And it came to pass that Zoram and his sons crossed over the river Sidon, with their armies, and marched away beyond the borders of Manti into the south wilderness, which was on the east side of the river Sidon. And they came upon the armies of the Lamanites, and the Lamanites were scattered and driven into the wilderness; and they took their brethren who had been taken captive by the Lamanites, and there was not one soul of them had been lost that were taken captive. And they were brought by their brethren to possess their own lands.

And thus ended the eleventh year of the judges, the Lamanites having been driven out of the land, and the people of Ammonihah were destroyed; yea, every living soul of the Ammonihahites was destroyed, and also their great city, which they said God could not destroy, because of its greatness. But behold, in one day it was left desolate; and the carcasses were mangled by dogs and wild beasts of the wilderness. Nevertheless, after many days their dead bodies were heaped up upon the face of the earth, and they were covered with a shallow covering. And now so great was the scent thereof that the people did not go in to possess the land of Ammonihah for many years. And it was called Desolation of Nehors; for they were of the profession of Nehor, who were slain; and their lands remained desolate.

And Alma and Amulek went forth preaching repentance to the people in their temples, and in their sanctuaries, and also in their synagogues, which were built after the manner of the Jews. And as many as would hear their words, unto them they did impart the word of God, without any respect of persons, continually. And thus did Alma and Amulek go forth, and also many more who had been chosen for the work, to preach the word throughout all the land. And the establishment of the church became general throughout the land, in all the region round about, among all the people of the Nephites.

And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming— That they might not be hardened against the word, that they might not be unbelieving, and go on to destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as a branch be grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God.

Now those priests who did go forth among the people did preach against all lyings, and deceivings, and envyings, and strifes, and malice, and revilings, and stealing, robbing, plundering, murdering, committing adultery, and all manner of lasciviousness, crying that these things ought not so to be— Holding forth things which must shortly come; yea, holding forth the coming of the Son of God, his sufferings and death, and also the resurrection of the dead. And many of the people did inquire concerning the place where the Son of God should come; and they were taught that he would appear unto them after his resurrection; and this the people did hear with great joy and gladness.