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Mosiah 17


Chapter 17

Alma believes and writes the words of Abinadi—Abinadi suffers death by fire—He prophesies disease and death by fire upon his murderers. About 148 B.C.

And now it came to pass that when Abinadi had finished these sayings, that the king commanded that the priests should take him and cause that he should be put to death.

But there was one among them whose name was Alma, he also being a descendant of Nephi. And he was a young man, and he believed the words which Abinadi had spoken, for he knew concerning the iniquity which Abinadi had testified against them; therefore he began to plead with the king that he would not be angry with Abinadi, but suffer that he might depart in peace.

But the king was more wroth, and caused that Alma should be cast out from among them, and sent his servants after him that they might slay him.

But he fled from before them and hid himself that they found him not. And he being concealed for many days did write all the words which Abinadi had spoken.

And it came to pass that the king caused that his guards should surround Abinadi and take him; and they bound him and cast him into prison.

And after three days, having counseled with his priests, he caused that he should again be brought before him.

And he said unto him: Abinadi, we have found an accusation against thee, and thou art worthy of death.

For thou hast said that God himself should come down among the children of men; and now, for this cause thou shalt be put to death unless thou wilt recall all the words which thou hast spoken evil concerning me and my people.

Now Abinadi said unto him: I say unto you, I will not recall the words which I have spoken unto you concerning this people, for they are true; and that ye may know of their surety I have suffered myself that I have fallen into your hands.

10 Yea, and I will suffer even until death, and I will not recall my words, and they shall stand as a testimony against you. And if ye slay me ye will shed innocent blood, and this shall also stand as a testimony against you at the last day.

11 And now king Noah was about to release him, for he feared his word; for he feared that the judgments of God would come upon him.

12 But the priests lifted up their voices against him, and began to accuse him, saying: He has reviled the king. Therefore the king was stirred up in anger against him, and he delivered him up that he might be slain.

13 And it came to pass that they took him and bound him, and scourged his skin with faggots, yea, even unto death.

14 And now when the flames began to scorch him, he cried unto them, saying:

15 Behold, even as ye have done unto me, so shall it come to pass that thy seed shall cause that many shall suffer the pains that I do suffer, even the pains of death by fire; and this because they believe in the salvation of the Lord their God.

16 And it will come to pass that ye shall be afflicted with all manner of diseases because of your iniquities.

17 Yea, and ye shall be smitten on every hand, and shall be driven and scattered to and fro, even as a wild flock is driven by wild and ferocious beasts.

18 And in that day ye shall be hunted, and ye shall be taken by the hand of your enemies, and then ye shall suffer, as I suffer, the pains of death by fire.

19 Thus God executeth vengeance upon those that destroy his people. O God, receive my soul.

20 And now, when Abinadi had said these words, he fell, having suffered death by fire; yea, having been put to death because he would not deny the commandments of God, having sealed the truth of his words by his death.

      • afflicted (adjective)

        Suffering grief or pain.

      • all manner of (adjective phrase)

        Every kind of.

      • as (adverb)

        Like.

      • B.C. (noun)

        Before the birth of Christ.

      • because of (conjunction)

        By reason of; through.

      • before (preposition)

        In front of; from.

      • before (preposition)

        In front of.

      • behold (interjection, archaic)

        Look! See! In fact.

      • cast out, cast off, cast away (verb)

        To throw out; to chase away.

      • caused that he should again be brought (phrase)

        Had him brought again.

      • cause that someone (or something) shall (phrase)

        Make it so someone (or something) will.

      • caused that someone should (phrase)

        Had someone.

      • caused that someone should be (phrase)

        Had someone.

      • cause (adverb phrase)

        Reason.

      • children of men (noun)

        All people.

      • it came to pass (verb phrase)

        It happened; it took place.

      • command (verb)

        To give a law, order, or binding instruction.

      • commandment (noun)

        Law; order; binding instruction (especially from God).

      • concerning (preposition)

        About.

      • cry (verb)

        To call; to shout; to exclaim.

      • day (noun)

        Period; time.

      • deliver (verb)

        To give; to hand over; to put into someone’s power.

      • depart (verb)

        To leave.

      • descendant (noun)

        One’s children, their children, theirs, and so on.

      • destroy (verb)

        To kill; to thwart.

      • did, didst (verb, archaic)

        A term used before verbs to make them past tense.

      • even (adverb)

        In fact.

      • even unto (adverb)

        To the point of; up until.

      • even (adverb)

        In the same way.

      • fall into the hands of (verbal phrase)

        Been conquered or captured by.

      • ferocious (adjective)

        Fierce; violent; cruel.

      • flee, fled (verb)

        To run away; to escape.

      • flock (noun)

        A group of animals, such as sheep or goats.

      • for (conjunction)

        Because.

      • God (proper noun)

        God the Father or His Son, Jesus Christ. God the Father rules all things with perfect justice, mercy, and love. Jesus Christ often speaks and acts for His Father. He suffered so that we could be forgiven of our sins and be resurrected. The Father and Son are separate individuals but are united in purpose.

      • hide, hide up (verb)

        To conceal; to place out of sight.

      • hunt (verb)

        To look for people to try to kill them.

      • iniquity (noun)

        Wickedness; evil.

      • judgment (noun)

        Punishment from God for evil acts.

      • king (noun)

        Ruler or leader of a country. Kings are usually the son of the previous king.

      • Lord (noun)

        A term of respect for God the Father or Jesus Christ.

      • man (noun)

        Adult male human being.

      • may (verb)

        Can; could.

      • might (verb)

        Can; could.

      • Nephi (proper noun)

        A prophet, fourth son of Lehi; author of the first two books of the Book of Mormon.

      • O (interjection, archaic)

        A word placed before the name of someone being addressed, often to show strong feeling.

      • one (pronoun)

        Someone.

      • priest (noun)

        A man authorized by God to teach, lead, and perform ordinances like baptism; a leader in one of the apostate churches in the Book of Mormon.

      • prophesy (verb)

        To deliver a message or predict future events by inspiration from God.

      • salvation (noun)

        Being saved by God from death and the effects of sin; being saved by God from enemies or other physical danger.

      • seed (noun)

        Posterity; descendants.

      • send (verb)

        To cause someone to go to someone or someplace or to do something.

      • servant (noun)

        Someone who serves or works for someone else.

      • shall, should (verb)

        Will, would.

      • shall, should (verb)

        Will, would.

      • should (verb)

        May; must; ought to.

      • shed innocent blood (verb phrase)

        Kill or injure an innocent person.

      • slay (verb)

        To kill.

      • soul (noun)

        Spirit; the part of us that exists before birth, that continues after death, and that has awareness and the ability to choose.

      • stir up (verb)

        To excite; to provoke to action.

      • suffer (verb, archaic)

        To allow; to permit.

      • suffer (verb)

        To endure; to have something bad happen.

      • testify (verb)

        To state that something is true.

      • testimony (noun)

        A statement by someone with personal knowledge that something is true.

      • that (conjunction)

        In order that; so that.

      • that (conjunction)

        Who.

      • thee (pronoun, archaic)

        You.

      • therefore (adverb)

        For this reason.

      • thou art (phrase)

        You are.

      • thou hast (phrase, archaic)

        You have.

      • thou shalt (phrase, archaic)

        You will.

      • thou wilt (phrase, archaic)

        You will.

      • thus (adverb)

        In this way.

      • thy (pronoun, archaic)

        Your.

      • unto (preposition)

        To.

      • unto (preposition)

        To.

      • with (preposition)

        Through; by means of.

      • word (noun)

        Message; teachings.

      • wroth (adverb)

        Angry.

      • ye (pronoun, archaic)

        You.

      • yea (interjection, archaic)

        Indeed; yes. This is pronounced “yay.”