1a [1:1a]
I, Nephia, was born of nobleb parents, and from them I learned not only the lettersc and skills, but the weight of memory, the wisdom of my father, and the sacred inheritance of our people.
1b [1:1b]
My days have known affliction and trial, yet the hand of יהוה YHVH has been upon me; I have been favoredd beyond my knowing.
1c [1:2a]
I, having tasted the goodnesse of Ha’Elohimf, and also having glimpsed the hidden mysteries, I set my days in order and make a record of my journeys.
1d [1:2b]
I write in the tongueg of my father, the learning of the Bnei Yisraelh, woven with the language of Mitzrayimi, for truth must be clothed in many garments to endure across generations.
2 [1:3]
I know this record is true, and I write it with my own handa, according to the light and knowledge givenb me.
3a [1:4a]
¶ In the first year of Tzidkiyahua, king of Judah, my father Lehib dwelt in Yerushalayimc, as he had all his days.
3b [1:4b]
And in that year, many prophets rose, crying aloud to the people: Turn back, teshuvahd, repent, or the great city would fall!
4 [1:5]
And my father went out among the people, and his heart was pierceda in prayer; He poured out his soul before יהוה YHVH for the sake of his people.
5a [1:6a]
¶ And as he prayed, a pillar of fire descendeda and rested upon a rock before him.
5b [1:6b]
He saw, he heard; and the weight of the vision shook him; his body trembled before the nearness of the Holy.
6 [1:7]
¶ And He returned to his house and fell upon his bed, overcome by Ruach Elohima, by all that he had seen.
7a [1:8a]
And being overcome with the Breatha, he was carried away in a vision, the heavensb were opened.
7b [1:8b]
And he saw, by his spiritual eyes, El Elyonc enthroned in glory, surrounded by countless hosts, mal’akhimd without number, singing and praising their Elohime.
8 [1:9]
¶ And then he saw One descending from the midst of heaven, whose radiance outshone the sun at its height.
9a [1:10]
Twelve others followed Him, their brilliance surpassing the stars,
9b [1:11a]
and they came down and walked in the lands of Judah.
10 [1:11b]
And the First One approached my father, placing a book in his hands, asking him to read it.
11a [1:12]
¶ As he read, the Ruach of יהוה YHVH filled him, and the words burned,
11b [1:13a]
and he read, saying: Woe, woe unto Yerushalayim! for I have seen your evil ways!
12a [1:13b]
He read many things of the city’s fall, of sword and exile, of captivity in Bavela.
13a [1:14a]
¶ When my father had read and beheld these great and terrible wonders, he lifted his voice and cried unto יהוה YHVH:
13b [1:14b]
How Great and marvelous are Your works, O יהוה YHVH, Elohim Shaddai!
13c [1:14c]
Your throne is high in the heavens, and Your power, goodness, and mercya flow over all the earth.
13d [1:14d]
Because You are merciful, You will not allow those who come unto You to be utterly lost!
14a [1:15a]
Thus did my father praise his Elohim.
14b [1:15b]
His soul rejoiced, his heart overflowed with what יהוה YHVH had revealed.
15 [1:16a]
And I, Nephi, do not record all that my father wrote, for he saw many visions, dreamed many dreams.
16a [1:16b]
And he spoke many prophecies to his children, but I will not write them all down here.
16b [1:17a]
Instead, I record my own path.
17a [1:17b]
I am making an abridgment of my father’s record upon plates fashioned by my own hands.
17b [1:17c]
After I finish his account, I will speak of my own life and the dealings of Ha’Elohim with me.
18a [1:18a]
¶ And know this: After יהוה YHVH revealed these marvels to my father, concerning the destruction of Yerushalayim,
18b [1:18b]
He went among the people and testified of all he had seen and heard.
19 [1:19a]
¶ And the people of Yehudima mocked him, they hardened their hearts because he spoke out boldly of all their wickedness and all their evil ways.
20 [1:19b]
And he testified that the words of the book revealed the coming of a Mashiyacha and the redemption of the world.
21 [1:20a]
¶ At this, they grew angry, as they had with the prophets of old whom they cast out, stoned, and slew.
22 [1:20b]
And they sought my father’s life, seeking to kill him.
23a [1:20c]
But I, Nephi, will show you this truth: The tender mercies of יהוה YHVH are over all whom He has chosen.
23b [1:20d]
Because of faith, יהוה YHVH makes them mighty, even unto the power of deliverance.
24 [2:1a]
¶ And behold, יהוה YHVH spoke to my father, not with thunder, but in the still language of a dreama, saying: You are blessed, Lehib, because you have done what I asked.
25 [2:1b]
Because you were faithful, and declared My Worda without fear, they now seek your life.
26 [2:2]
¶ Wherefore, HaKol, the Voicea, instructed him, saying: Take your household, rise up, and depart into the wildernessb.
27 [2:3]
And my father listened; he did not delay, he did not bargain, but he obeyed the Word of יהוה YHVH.
28 [2:4a]
¶ And my father left to live in the wilderness.
29 [2:4b]
He left Yerushalayima behind: his house, his inheritance, his gold and silver, all precious things, and took nothing with him save us, his family, provisions, and the fragile shelter of tents.
30 [2:5a]
And so, we went down by the borders of the Red Sea,
31 [2:5b]
journeying through wild places, walking the narrow edgea between water and desolation.
33 [2:6]
¶ And after three days in the wilderness, my father pitched his tent in a valley beside a river.
34 [2:7]
There he raised an altar of stones and offered thanksgiving to יהוה YHVH, the Elohim of our fathers.
35 [2:8]
And he named the river Lamana, and it flowed into the Red Sea; and there was a valley in the borders near the mouth of the river.
36 [2:9]
¶ And seeing the waters run without ceasing, my father said to my brother, Laman: O that you might be like this river, ever flowing into the Fountain of Righteousnessa.
37 [2:10]
And to Lemuel he said: O that you might be like this valley; firm, steadfast, unmoved in keeping the mitzvotha of יהוה YHVH.
38b [2:11b]
They murmured against him, calling him a visionary, accusing him of folly; they said he had led them away from wealth and comfort to perish in the wilderness.
39 [2:11c]
They said he was following the imaginations of his heart.
40 [2:12a]
They went on like this, speaking against our father.
41 [2:12b]
And they murmured because they did not know the ways of Ahyeh Asher Ahyeha who created them.
42 [2:13a]
They did not believe that Yerushalayim could fall, as the prophets had said.
43 [2:13b]
They were like those in the city who sought my father’s life.
44 [2:14a]
¶ But in the valley of Lemuel, my father spoke with power, the Breatha of יהוה YHVH filled him, and his words shook their frames.
45 [2:14b]
Then my father confounded them, and they dared not speak against him; and they did as he instructed them.
46 [2:15]
And my father dwelt in a tenta.
47 [2:16a]
¶ Now I, Nephia, was young, yet strong in body, and burning with desire to know the mysteriesb of יהוה YHVH.
48a [2:16b]
I cried unto יהוה YHVH, and He visited me; He softened my heart, and I believed all that my father spoke.
48b [2:16c]
And I did not rebel as my brothers had.
49 [2:17a]
I spoke to Sam, and told him what His Holy Breatha had revealed to me.
50 [2:17b]
¶ And Sam believed.
51 [2:18a]
But Laman and Lemuel, they would not listen.
52 [2:18b]
And their hearts were hardened, and I grieved for them and cried unto יהוה YHVH on their behalf.
53a [2:19a]
¶ יהוה YHVH answered me, saying: Nephi, you have been blessed because of your faith.
53b [2:19b]
You have sought Me diligently, with humility of hearta.
54 [2:20]
And if you will keep My mitzvotha, you will prosper; I will lead you to a land of promise, a land prepared for you, choice above all other lands.
55 [2:21]
If your brothers rebel, they will be cut off from My Presencea.
56 [2:22]
But if you remain faithful, you will be made a guide and a teacher over them.
57 [2:23]
When they rebel against Me, I will place a curse upon them; they will not have any power over your seed, unless your seed also rebel.
58 [2:24]
And if they do, your brothers will become a scourge to your seed; not to destroy, but to awaken remembrance, to turn My people back to Me.
59 [3:1]
¶ I, Nephi, returned from speaking with יהוה YHVH to the tent of my father.
60 [3:2]
And my father said to me: Behold, I have dreamed a dream! יהוה YHVH has asked that you and your brothers return to Yerushalayim.
61 [3:3]
Labana holds the records, the writings of Yehudimb, and the genealogy of our fathers, engraved upon plates of brass.
62 [3:4]
יהוה YHVH has asked that you and your brothers go to the house of Laban, seek the records, and bring them down into the wilderness.
63a [3:5a]
But your brothers have complained, saying: This is a hard thing.
63b [3:5b]
Yet I have not required it of them! It is the mitsvaha of יהוה YHVH.
64 [3:6]
Go, my son, because you have not grumbled, יהוה YHVH will favor you.
65a [3:7a]
¶ And I answered my father, saying: I will go and do the things which יהוה YHVH has asked.
65b [3:7b]
For I know this truth: Elolauma will not give any mitzvoth without first preparing a way that His Word may be fulfilled.
66 [3:8]
¶ And when my father heard me say these words, his heart rejoiced, as he knew I had been blessed of יהוה YHVH.
67 [3:9]
And we took our tents and journeyed through the wilderness, ascendinga again to the land of Yerushalayim.
68a [3:10]
¶ When we arrived, we counseled together and cast lotsa to choose who would enter the house of Laban.
69 [3:11b]
The lot fell upon Laman; he went in and spoke with Laban as he sat in his house.
70 [3:12]
And Laman asked for the records engraved on the Plates of Brass, the genealogy of our father.
71 [3:13a]
¶ But Laban grew angry, and he cast Laman out and refused him the records.
72 [3:13b]
He said: You are a robber, I will have you killed!
73 [3:14a]
Laman fled and told us what had happened.
74 [3:14b]
And we were filled with sadness, and my brothers desired to returna to our father in the wilderness.
75 [3:15]
But I said to them: As יהוה YHVH lives, and as we live, we will not return until we accomplish what יהוה YHVH has asked of us.
76 [3:16a]
Let us be faithful.
77 [3:16b]
Let us go down to the land of our inheritance; for our father left behind gold and silver and riches of every kind,
78a [3:16c]
and he did this not by desire, but by obedience.
78b [3:17]
He knew Yerushalayim would fall in their wickedness.
79 [3:18a]
¶ The people have rejected the prophets.
80 [3:18b]
Had he remained, he would have perished with them.
81 [3:18c]
It was wisdom that he fled.
82 [3:19]
And it is wisdom in El Olama that we obtain these records, that we may preserve for our children the language of our fathers,
83 [3:20]
And the words of the holy prophets, spoken by Ruach HaKodesha from the beginning of the world until now.
84 [3:21]
¶ In this way, I was able to persuade my brothers to keep the mitzvoth of יהוה YHVH.
85 [3:22]
We gathered our gold, our silver, and our precious things,
86 [3:23]
and we returned again to the house of Laban.
87 [3:24]
¶ We offered him our wealth in exchangea for the Plates of Brass.
88 [3:25]
¶ But when Laban saw our riches, his heart was seized by desirea; he drove us out and sent his servants to slay us, so that he could take our goods.
89 [3:26]
We fled before them, leaving behind all we owned, and our property fell into Laban’s hands.
90 [3:27]
¶ And so we ran into the wilderness and hid ourselves in the hollow of a rock.
91 [3:28a]
Then Laman grew angry with me, and with our father, and Lemuel joined him.
92 [3:28b]
They spoke harsh words against us, their younger brothers, and struck us with a rod.
93 [3:29a]
¶ As they smote us, an angel of יהוה YHVH appeared and stood before them, saying: Why do ye smite your younger brother?
94 [3:29b]
Know ye not that יהוה YHVH has chosen him to be a ruler and a teachera over you because of your iniquities?
95 [3:29c]
Go then, return again to Yerushalayim, and יהוה YHVH will deliver Laban into your hands.
96 [3:30]
When the angel finished speaking, he departed.
97 [3:31a]
Yet even then, Laman and Lemuel began to complaina, saying: How is it possible?
98 [3:31b]
Laban is a mighty man! He commands fifty, he can slay fifty, why not us?
99a [4:1a]
¶ Then I spoke, and said to my brothers: Let us go up again to Yerushalayima; let us be faithful to the mitzvot of יהוה YHVH.
99b [4:1b]
And we know that יהוה YHVH is strongerb than all the earth, stronger than Labanc, stronger than his fifty, stronger than tens of thousands.
100a [4:2a]
Let us be strong, like Mosesa; did he not speak to the watersb of the Sea, and they parted to the right and to the left?
100b [4:2b]
And our fathers passed through on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaoh followed, and the waters returned upon them.
101 [4:3a]
You know these things are true! You know an angel has spoken to you, why then do you doubt?
102 [4:3b]
Let us go upa! יהוה YHVH is able to deliver us, as יהוה YHVH delivered our fathers, and to bring downb Laban, as יהוה YHVH brought down Mizraim (Egypt).
103 [4:4]
¶ Though I spoke these words, they continued to be angry and to murmur; still, they followed me until we came outside the walls of Yerushalayim.
104 [4:5a]
It was night; I caused them to hide themselves beyond the city, and after they were hidden, I, Nephi, entered alone.
105 [4:5b]
I crept into the city and made my way toward the house of Laban.
106 [4:6]
Led by the Ruacha, not knowing beforehand what I should do, I went forward in faith.
107 [4:7]
As I drew near, I saw a man fallen in the street; he lay upon the ground, overcome with wine.
108 [4:8]
When I came closer, I saw that it was Laban!
109a [4:9a]
I saw his sworda, and I drew it from its sheath.
109b [4:9b]
Its hilt was of pure gold, the craftsmanship exquisite, and the bladeb was forged of the finest steel.
110 [4:10a]
¶ And then the Ruach HaKodesh pressed upon me that I should slaya Laban.
111 [4:10b]
But I said within my heart: Never have I shed the blood of a man! I recoiled, not wanting to do this thing.
112a [4:11a]
And the Ruach spoke again, saying: See, יהוה YHVH has delivereda him into your hands.
112b[4:11b]
And I remembered that he soughtb your life, that he would not obey the mitzvoth of יהוה YHVH, and that he stolec our property.
113 [4:12]
¶ Again, the Ruach said: Slay him, יהוה YHVH has delivered him into your hands.
115 [4:13b]
It is better that one person perisha than a nation dwindle and die in unbelief.
116 [4:14]
¶ And when I heard this, I remembered the words יהוה YHVH spoke to me in the wilderness: If your children will keep My mitzvoth, they will prospera in the land of promise.
117 [4:15]
And I understood that the Toraha of Moses cannot be kept without the Torah itself,
118 [4:16]
and I knew that the Torah is engraved on the Plates of Brass.
119 [4:17]
I understood then that this was the reason Laban had been delivered into my hands: that I might obtain the records according to the will of יהוה YHVH.
120a [4:18a]
So I obeyed the Voicea of the Ruach.
120b [4:18b]
I took Laban by the hair and struck off his head with his own sword.
121 [4:19]
¶ Afterward, I took his garments and dresseda myself in them, every part; I securedb his armor upon myself.
122 [4:20a]
And after this, went to the treasury of Laban.
123 [4:20b]
As I approached, I saw his servant, the keeper of the keys.
124a [4:20c]
I instructed him in the voice of Laban to follow me into the treasury.
124b [4:21]
He believed me to be his master, seeing the garments, and the sword at my side.
125 [4:22]
He spoke to me of the eldersa of the Yehudim, for he knew that Laban had been among them that night.
126 [4:23]
And I answered him as though I were Laban.
127 [4:24]
I told him that I must carry the engravings upon the Plates of Brass to my elder brothers who waited outside the walls.
128 [4:25]
I instructed him to follow me.
129 [4:26]
And believing my words, he did.
130 [4:27]
As we went, he spoke often of the elders of the Yehudim.
131 [4:28a]
¶ When my brothers saw me, they were filled with fear, Laman, Lemuel, and Sam.
132 [4:28b]
And they fled; they thought I was Laban, that I, Nephi, had been slain, and now Laban sought their lives as well.
133 [4:29]
¶ But I called after them, and when they heard my voice, they stopped and returned.
134 [4:30]
When the servant saw my brothers, he trembled and turned to flee back to Yerushalayim.
135 [4:31]
¶ But I, Nephi, being strong in body and strengthened by יהוה YHVH, seized him and held him fast.
136 [4:32]
¶ I said to him: As יהוה YHVH lives, and as I live, if you will listen to our words, your life will be spared.
137 [4:33]
I swore to him that he need not fear, that he would be a free man like us if he would come with us into the wilderness.
138 [4:34a]
I said: Surely יהוה YHVH has instructed us to do this; will we not be diligent in keeping the mitzvoth of יהוה YHVH?
139 [4:34b]
If you will go down to my father, you will be given a placea among us.
140 [4:35a]
¶ At these words, the servant took courage.
141 [4:35b]
This servant’s name was Zorama, and He promised to go with us into the wilderness,
142 [4:35c]
and he swore an oatha to remain with us from that day forward.
143 [4:36]
This is what we wanted, so the Yehudim might not learn of our flight and pursue us to destroy us.
144 [4:37]
¶ When Zoram had sworn to us, our fear concerning him ceased.
145 [4:38]
And then we took the Plates of Brass and Zoram, and departed into the wildernessa, traveling back to the tent of our father.
146a [5:1a]
¶ When we came down into the wilderness to the tent of our father, his heart overflowed with joy.
146b [5:1b]
And my mother, Sariah, was filled with joy, as she had mourned deeply for us.
146c [5:2a]
She had believed that we had perished in the wilderness.
147a [5:2b]
In her grief, she had spoken against my father, saying: You are a visionary mana.
147b [5:2c]
You have led us away from the land of our inheritance; now my sons are gone and we shall all perish in the wilderness.
148 [5:3]
She had poured out her sorrow like this, complaining against my father.
149a [5:4a]
¶ But my father spoke to her gently and said: I know that I am a visionary man.
149b [5:4b]
Had I not seen the things of El Elyon in vision, I would not have known the goodness of יהוה YHVH!
149c [5:4c]
I would have remained in Yerushalayim and would have perished with my people.
150 [5:5a]
But look! I have been given a land of promisea, and in this my soul rejoices.
151 [5:5b]
And I know that יהוה YHVH will deliver my sons out of the hands of Laban and bring them safely back to us here in the wilderness.
152 [5:6]
In this way my father, Lehi comforted my mother, Sariah, while we journeyed to Yerushalayim to obtain the record of Yisrael.
153 [5:7]
¶ When we returned to my father’s tent, their joy was complete, and my mother’s heart was healed.
154 [5:8a]
She said: Now I know, with certainty, that יהוה YHVH instructed my husband to flee into the wilderness.
155 [5:8b]
And I know, and testify, that יהוה YHVH protected my sons, delivered them from the hand of Laban, and gave them the power to accomplish the thing He required of them.
156 [5:8c]
And in this way, she bore her witness.
157 [5:9]
¶ Then our parents rejoiced exceedingly, and they offered sacrifices and burnt offerings to יהוה YHVH and gave thanks to Ve’Daiyan Yisraela.
158 [5:10]
And after they had given thanks, my father took the Plates of Brass and searched them from the beginning.
159 [5:11a]
And he saw that they contained the Five Booksa of Moses, which gave an account of the the account of the creation of the world,
160 [5:11b]
and of Adam and of Evea, our first parents.
161 [5:12]
They held the record of Yisrael from the beginning to the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah.
162 [5:13a]
They preserved the wordsa of the holy prophets,
163 [5:13b]
and many prophecies spoken by Jeremiaha.
164 [5:14a]
¶ My father also found upon the plates the genealogya of his fathers,
165 [5:14b]
And he knew that he was a descendant of Josepha the son of Jacoba, who was soldc into Egypt, yet preserved by the hand of יהוה YHVH to saved his father and all his household from famine.
166 [5:15]
That same Elohim who preserved Joseph also led Yisrael outa of captivity, out of the land of Egypt.
167 [5:16a]
Thus my father discovered the lineage of his soul.
168 [5:16b]
And Laban, too, was a descendant of Joseph; therefore the records had been entrusted to his house.
169a [5:17]
¶ When my father beheld all these things, he was filled with the Ruacha, and he began to prophesy concerning his seed.
169b [5:18]
He declared that the Plates of Brassb would go forthc to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples of his lineage.
170 [5:19a]
He said they would never perish, nor would they be dimmed by time.
171 [5:19b]
And he prophesied many things yet to come.
172 [5:20]
¶ Thus far, my father and I had kept the mitzvoth יהוה YHVH had given us.
173a [5:21a]
We obtained the records He required, searched them, and found them exceedingly precious, of great worth,
173b [5:21b]
and through them we could preserve the Torah of יהוה YHVH for our children.
174 [5:12]
It was wisdoma in יהוה YHVH that we should carry them with us as we journeyed through the wilderness toward the land of promise.