AlmaChapter54

v1.10

And now it came to pass in the commencement of the twenty and ninth year of the judges, that Ammoron sent unto Moroni desiring that he would exchange prisoners.

And it came to pass that Moroni felt to rejoice exceedingly at this request, for he desired the provisions which were imparted for the support of the Lamanite prisoners for the support of his own people; and he also desired his own people for the strengthening of his army.

Now the Lamanites had taken many women and children, and there was not a woman nor a child among all the prisoners of Moroni, or the prisoners whom Moroni had taken; therefore Moroni resolved upon a stratagem to obtain as many prisoners of the Nephites from the Lamanites as it were possible.

Therefore he wrote an epistle, and sent it by the servant of Ammoron, the same who had brought an epistle to Moroni. Now these are the words which he wrote unto Ammoron, saying:

Behold, I would tell you somewhat concerning the justice of God, and the sword of his almighty wrath, which doth hang over you except ye repent and withdraw your armies into your own lands, or the land of your possessions, which is the land of Nephi.

Yea, I would tell you these things if ye were capable of hearkening unto them; yea, I would tell you concerning that awful hell that awaits to receive such murderers as thou and thy brother have been, except ye repent and withdraw your murderous purposes, and return with your armies to your own lands.

But as ye have once rejected these things, and have fought against the people of the Lord, even so I may expect you will do it again.

And now behold, we are prepared to receive you; yea, and except you withdraw your purposes, behold, ye will pull down the wrath of that God whom you have rejected upon you, even to your utter destruction.

But, as the Lord liveth, our armies shall come upon you except ye withdraw, and ye shall soon be visited with death, for we will retain our cities and our lands; yea, and we will maintain our religion and the cause of our God.

And behold, if you do not this, I will come against you with my armies; yea, even I will arm my women and my children, and I will come against you, and I will follow you even into your own land, which is the land of our first inheritance; yea, and it shall be blood for blood, yea, life for life; and I will give you battle even until you are destroyed from off the face of the earth.

Behold, I am in my anger, and also my people; ye have sought to murder us, and we have only sought to defend ourselves. But behold, if ye seek to destroy us more we will seek to destroy you; yea, and we will seek our land, the land of our first inheritance.

Now I close my epistle. I am Moroni; I am a leader of the people of the Nephites.

Now it came to pass that Ammoron, when he had received this epistle, was angry; and he wrote another epistle unto Moroni, and these are the words which he wrote, saying:

For behold, your fathers did wrong their brethren, insomuch that they did rob them of their right to the government when it rightly belonged unto them.

Behold, ye have breathed out many threatenings against me and my people; but behold, we fear not your threatenings.

Nevertheless, I will grant to exchange prisoners according to your request, gladly, that I may preserve my food for my men of war; and we will wage a war which shall be eternal, either to the subjecting the Nephites to our authority or to their eternal extinction.

And if it so be that there is a devil and a hell, behold will he not send you there to dwell with my brother whom ye have murdered, whom ye have hinted that he hath gone to such a place? But behold these things matter not.

I am Ammoron, and a descendant of Zoram, whom your fathers pressed and brought out of Jerusalem.

And behold now, I am a bold Lamanite; behold, this war hath been waged to avenge their wrongs, and to maintain and to obtain their rights to the government; and I close my epistle to Moroni.

At the beginning of the twenty-ninth year of the judges, Ammoron sent word to Moroni asking to exchange prisoners. Moroni was overjoyed at this request because he wanted the food that went to support the Lamanite prisoners to go to his own people instead, and he wanted his own people back to strengthen his army. Now the Lamanites had taken many women and children, and there wasn't a single woman or child among all the prisoners Moroni had taken. So Moroni worked out a strategy to get back as many Nephite prisoners from the Lamanites as he possibly could.

He wrote a letter and sent it back with Ammoron's servant, the same man who had brought the earlier letter to Moroni. These are the words he wrote:

Ammoron, I am writing to you about this war you have waged against my people, or rather the war your brother waged against them, and that you are still determined to carry on after his death. I would tell you something about the justice of God and the sword of his almighty wrath, which hangs over you unless you repent and pull your armies back into your own lands, the land you possess, which is the land of Nephi. I would tell you these things if you were capable of listening to them. I would tell you about that awful hell that waits to receive murderers like you and your brother, unless you repent, give up your murderous purposes, and return with your armies to your own lands.

But since you have already rejected all this and fought against the people of the Lord, I can only expect you to do it again. Now we are ready to receive you. And unless you give up your purposes, you will bring down on yourselves the wrath of the God you have rejected, even to your utter destruction. But as the Lord lives, our armies will come against you unless you withdraw, and you will soon meet death, because we will keep our cities and lands, and we will maintain our religion and the cause of our God.

But I believe I am talking to you about all this for nothing. I believe you are a child of hell. So I will close my letter by telling you that I will not exchange prisoners except on these terms: that you hand over a man, his wife, and his children for one prisoner. If you will do that, I will exchange. And if you will not do this, I will come against you with my armies. I will even arm our wives and children and follow you into your own land, the land of our first inheritance. It will be blood for blood, life for life, and I will give you battle until you are destroyed from the face of the earth.

I am angry, and so are my people. You have tried to murder us, and we have only tried to defend ourselves. But if you try to destroy us any further, we will try to destroy you, and we will try to take back our land, the land of our first inheritance. Now I close my letter. I am Moroni, a leader of the Nephite people.

After Ammoron had received this letter, he was angry, and he wrote another letter to Moroni. These are the words he wrote:

I am Ammoron, the king of the Lamanites. I am the brother of Amalickiah, whom you murdered. I will avenge his blood on you and come against you with my armies, because I am not afraid of your threats. Your fathers wronged their brothers, robbing them of their right to the government when it rightly belonged to them.

Now, if you will lay down your weapons and submit to be governed by those to whom the government rightly belongs, then I will have my people lay down their weapons and be at war no more. You have breathed out many threats against me and my people, but we are not afraid of your threats.

Even so, I will gladly agree to exchange prisoners as you asked, so that I can save my food for my soldiers. And we will wage an eternal war, either to bring the Nephites under our authority or to destroy them forever.

As for that God you say we have rejected, we know of no such being, and neither do you. But if there is such a being, for all we know he made us as well as you. And if there is a devil and a hell, won't he send you there to live with my brother, whom you murdered and who, as you have hinted, has gone to such a place? But none of this matters.

I am Ammoron, a descendant of Zoram, whom your fathers forced out of Jerusalem and brought with them. And now, I am a bold Lamanite. This war has been waged to avenge their wrongs and to maintain and obtain their rights to the government. And I close my letter to Moroni.

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OriginalModern English

And now it came to pass in the commencement of the twenty and ninth year of the judges, that Ammoron sent unto Moroni desiring that he would exchange prisoners.

At the beginning of the twenty-ninth year of the judges, Ammoron sent word to Moroni asking to exchange prisoners.

Moroni was overjoyed at this request because he wanted the food that went to support the Lamanite prisoners to go to his own people instead, and he wanted his own people back to strengthen his army.

Now the Lamanites had taken many women and children, and there wasn't a single woman or child among all the prisoners Moroni had taken. So Moroni worked out a strategy to get back as many Nephite prisoners from the Lamanites as he possibly could.

Therefore he wrote an epistle, and sent it by the servant of Ammoron, the same who had brought an epistle to Moroni. Now these are the words which he wrote unto Ammoron, saying:

He wrote a letter and sent it back with Ammoron's servant, the same man who had brought the earlier letter to Moroni. These are the words he wrote:

Ammoron, I am writing to you about this war you have waged against my people, or rather the war your brother waged against them, and that you are still determined to carry on after his death.

I would tell you something about the justice of God and the sword of his almighty wrath, which hangs over you unless you repent and pull your armies back into your own lands, the land you possess, which is the land of Nephi.

I would tell you these things if you were capable of listening to them. I would tell you about that awful hell that waits to receive murderers like you and your brother, unless you repent, give up your murderous purposes, and return with your armies to your own lands.

But as ye have once rejected these things, and have fought against the people of the Lord, even so I may expect you will do it again.

But since you have already rejected all this and fought against the people of the Lord, I can only expect you to do it again.

Now we are ready to receive you. And unless you give up your purposes, you will bring down on yourselves the wrath of the God you have rejected, even to your utter destruction.

But as the Lord lives, our armies will come against you unless you withdraw, and you will soon meet death, because we will keep our cities and lands, and we will maintain our religion and the cause of our God.

And if you will not do this, I will come against you with my armies. I will even arm our wives and children and follow you into your own land, the land of our first inheritance. It will be blood for blood, life for life, and I will give you battle until you are destroyed from the face of the earth.

Now I close my epistle. I am Moroni; I am a leader of the people of the Nephites.

Now I close my letter. I am Moroni, a leader of the Nephite people.

Now it came to pass that Ammoron, when he had received this epistle, was angry; and he wrote another epistle unto Moroni, and these are the words which he wrote, saying:

After Ammoron had received this letter, he was angry, and he wrote another letter to Moroni. These are the words he wrote:

For behold, your fathers did wrong their brethren, insomuch that they did rob them of their right to the government when it rightly belonged unto them.

Your fathers wronged their brothers, robbing them of their right to the government when it rightly belonged to them.

Now, if you will lay down your weapons and submit to be governed by those to whom the government rightly belongs, then I will have my people lay down their weapons and be at war no more.

Behold, ye have breathed out many threatenings against me and my people; but behold, we fear not your threatenings.

You have breathed out many threats against me and my people, but we are not afraid of your threats.

As for that God you say we have rejected, we know of no such being, and neither do you. But if there is such a being, for all we know he made us as well as you.

And if there is a devil and a hell, won't he send you there to live with my brother, whom you murdered and who, as you have hinted, has gone to such a place? But none of this matters.

I am Ammoron, and a descendant of Zoram, whom your fathers pressed and brought out of Jerusalem.

I am Ammoron, a descendant of Zoram, whom your fathers forced out of Jerusalem and brought with them.

And behold now, I am a bold Lamanite; behold, this war hath been waged to avenge their wrongs, and to maintain and to obtain their rights to the government; and I close my epistle to Moroni.

And now, I am a bold Lamanite. This war has been waged to avenge their wrongs and to maintain and obtain their rights to the government. And I close my letter to Moroni.

OriginalModern English

And now it came to pass in the commencement of the twenty and ninth year of the judges, that Ammoron sent unto Moroni desiring that he would exchange prisoners. And it came to pass that Moroni felt to rejoice exceedingly at this request, for he desired the provisions which were imparted for the support of the Lamanite prisoners for the support of his own people; and he also desired his own people for the strengthening of his army. Now the Lamanites had taken many women and children, and there was not a woman nor a child among all the prisoners of Moroni, or the prisoners whom Moroni had taken; therefore Moroni resolved upon a stratagem to obtain as many prisoners of the Nephites from the Lamanites as it were possible.

Therefore he wrote an epistle, and sent it by the servant of Ammoron, the same who had brought an epistle to Moroni. Now these are the words which he wrote unto Ammoron, saying:

He wrote a letter and sent it back with Ammoron's servant, the same man who had brought the earlier letter to Moroni. These are the words he wrote:

Behold, Ammoron, I have written unto you somewhat concerning this war which ye have waged against my people, or rather which thy brother hath waged against them, and which ye are still determined to carry on after his death. Behold, I would tell you somewhat concerning the justice of God, and the sword of his almighty wrath, which doth hang over you except ye repent and withdraw your armies into your own lands, or the land of your possessions, which is the land of Nephi. Yea, I would tell you these things if ye were capable of hearkening unto them; yea, I would tell you concerning that awful hell that awaits to receive such murderers as thou and thy brother have been, except ye repent and withdraw your murderous purposes, and return with your armies to your own lands.

But as ye have once rejected these things, and have fought against the people of the Lord, even so I may expect you will do it again. And now behold, we are prepared to receive you; yea, and except you withdraw your purposes, behold, ye will pull down the wrath of that God whom you have rejected upon you, even to your utter destruction. But, as the Lord liveth, our armies shall come upon you except ye withdraw, and ye shall soon be visited with death, for we will retain our cities and our lands; yea, and we will maintain our religion and the cause of our God.

But behold, it supposeth me that I talk to you concerning these things in vain; or it supposeth me that thou art a child of hell; therefore I will close my epistle by telling you that I will not exchange prisoners, save it be on conditions that ye will deliver up a man and his wife and his children, for one prisoner; if this be the case that ye will do it, I will exchange. And behold, if you do not this, I will come against you with my armies; yea, even I will arm my women and my children, and I will come against you, and I will follow you even into your own land, which is the land of our first inheritance; yea, and it shall be blood for blood, yea, life for life; and I will give you battle even until you are destroyed from off the face of the earth.

Now it came to pass that Ammoron, when he had received this epistle, was angry; and he wrote another epistle unto Moroni, and these are the words which he wrote, saying:

After Ammoron had received this letter, he was angry, and he wrote another letter to Moroni. These are the words he wrote:

I am Ammoron, the king of the Lamanites; I am the brother of Amalickiah whom ye have murdered. Behold, I will avenge his blood upon you, yea, and I will come upon you with my armies for I fear not your threatenings. For behold, your fathers did wrong their brethren, insomuch that they did rob them of their right to the government when it rightly belonged unto them.

And now behold, if ye will lay down your arms, and subject yourselves to be governed by those to whom the government doth rightly belong, then will I cause that my people shall lay down their weapons and shall be at war no more. Behold, ye have breathed out many threatenings against me and my people; but behold, we fear not your threatenings.

And as concerning that God whom ye say we have rejected, behold, we know not such a being; neither do ye; but if it so be that there is such a thing, we know not but that he hath made us as well as you. And if it so be that there is a devil and a hell, behold will he not send you there to dwell with my brother whom ye have murdered, whom ye have hinted that he hath gone to such a place? But behold these things matter not.

I am Ammoron, and a descendant of Zoram, whom your fathers pressed and brought out of Jerusalem. And behold now, I am a bold Lamanite; behold, this war hath been waged to avenge their wrongs, and to maintain and to obtain their rights to the government; and I close my epistle to Moroni.