| 10:1 And now I, Jacob, speak unto you again, my
beloved brethren, concerning this righteous branch of
which I have spoken. |
|
| 10:2 For behold, the promises which we have obtained
are promises unto us according to the flesh; wherefore,
as it has been shown unto me that many of our children
shall perish in the flesh because of unbelief,
nevertheless, God will be merciful unto many; and our
children shall be restored, that they may come to that
which will give them the true knowledge of their
Redeemer. |
|
| 10:3 Wherefore, as I said unto you, it must needs be
expedient that 1Christ--for in the last night the angel spake unto me
that this should be his name--should come among the Jews,
among those who are the more wicked part of the world;
and they shall crucify him--for thus it behooveth our
God, and there is none other nation on earth that would
crucify their God. |
[1] The is the first
appearance of the title "Christ" in the modern
Book of Mormon. In the 1830 version, the word was
actually used first at I Nephi
12:18. This word was changed to Messiah in
later versions to remove the contradiction with this
verse. |
| 10:4 For should the mighty miracles be wrought among
other nations they would repent, and know that he be
their God. |
|
| 10:5 But because of priestcrafts and iniquities,
they at Jerusalem will stiffen their necks against him,
that he be crucified. |
|
| 10:6 Wherefore, because of their iniquities,
destructions, famines, pestilences, and bloodshed shall
come upon them; and they who shall not be destroyed shall
be scattered among all nations. |
|
| 10:7 But behold, thus saith the Lord God: When the
day cometh that they shall believe in me, that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with their fathers that
they shall be restored in the flesh, upon the earth, unto
the lands of their inheritance. |
|
| 10:8 And it shall come to pass that they shall be
gathered in from their long dispersion, from the isles of
the sea, and from the four parts of the earth; and the
nations of the Gentiles shall be great in the eyes of me,
saith God, in carrying them forth to the lands of their
inheritance. |
|
| 10:9 Yea, the 1kings of the Gentiles shall be nursing fathers
unto them, and their queens shall become nursing mothers;
wherefore, the promises of the Lord are great unto the
Gentiles, for he hath spoken it, and who can dispute? |
Isaiah 49:23 And kings shall
be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing
mothers... This part of Isaiah was not written until at
least fifty years after Lehi left Jerusalem. See the note
at I Nephi 20:1.
|
| 10:10 But behold, this land, said God, shall be a
land of thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be
blessed upon the land. |
|
| 10:11 And this land shall be a land of liberty unto
the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land,
who shall raise up unto the Gentiles. |
|
| 10:12 And I will fortify this land against all other
nations. |
|
| 10:13 And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish,
saith God. |
|
| 10:14 For he that raiseth up a king against me shall
perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be
their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that
hear my words. |
|
| 10:15 Wherefore, for this cause, that my covenants
may be fulfilled which I have made unto the children of
men, that I will do unto them while they are in the
flesh, I must needs destroy the secret works of darkness,
and of murders, and of abominations. |
|
| 10:16 Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, both 1Jew and
Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall
perish; for they are they who are the whore of all the
earth; for they who are 2not for me are against me, saith our God. |
[1] Galatians 3:28: ...neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor
female...
[2] Matthew 12:30: He
that is not with me is against me... |
| 10:17 For I will fulfil my promises which I have made
unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while
they are in the flesh-- |
|
| 10:18 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, thus saith our
God: I will afflict thy seed by the hand of the Gentiles;
nevertheless, I will soften the hearts of the Gentiles,
that they shall be like unto a father to them; wherefore,
the Gentiles shall be blessed and numbered among the
house of Israel. |
|
| 10:19 Wherefore, I will consecrate this land unto thy
seed, and them who shall be numbered among thy seed,
forever, for the land of their inheritance; for it is a
choice land, saith God unto me, above all other lands,
wherefore I will have all men that dwell thereon that
they shall worship me, saith God. |
|
| 10:20 And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our
merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning
these things, let us remember him, and 1lay
aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are
not cast off; nevertheless, we have been driven out of
the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a
better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and
we are upon an isle of the sea. |
[1] Hebrews 12:1: ...let us lay aside...the sin
which doth so easily beset us... |
| 10:21 But great are the promises of the Lord unto
them who are upon the isles of the sea; wherefore as it
says isles, there must needs be more than this, and they
are inhabited also by our brethren. |
|
| 10:22 For behold, the Lord God has led away from time
to time from the house of Israel, according to his will
and pleasure. And now behold, the Lord remembereth all
them who have been broken off, wherefore he remembereth
us also. |
|
| 10:23 Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember
that ye are free to act for yourselves--to choose the way
of everlasting death or the way of eternal life. |
|
| 10:24 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile
yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the
devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are
reconciled unto God, that it is only in and 1through
the grace of God that ye are saved. |
[1] Ephesians 2:8: For by grace are ye saved
through faith...it is the gift of God: |
| 10:25 Wherefore, may God raise you from death by the
power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting
death by the power of the atonement, that ye may be
received into the eternal kingdom of God, that ye may
praise him through grace divine. Amen. |
|
