1 NephiChapter16

And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.

When I, Nephi, had finished speaking to my brothers, they said to me, "You've told us hard things, more than we can bear."

And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.

I told them that I knew I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth, and that I had defended the righteous and testified that they would be lifted up at the last day. That is why the guilty find the truth hard: it cuts them to the very core.

And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us.

And I said, "Now, my brothers, if you were righteous, and willing to listen to the truth and take it to heart so that you could walk uprightly before God, then you wouldn't complain because of the truth and say, 'You speak hard things against us.'"

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did exhort my brethren, with all diligence, to keep the commandments of the Lord.

And I, Nephi, urged my brothers with all diligence to keep the commandments of the Lord.

And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord; insomuch that I had joy and great hopes of them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness.

And they humbled themselves before the Lord, so much that I felt joy and great hope for them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness.

Now, all these things were said and done as my father dwelt in a tent in the valley which he called Lemuel.

Now, all these things were said and done while my father was living in a tent in the valley he called Lemuel.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also, my brethren took of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife.

Then I, Nephi, married one of the daughters of Ishmael; my brothers also married daughters of Ishmael, and Zoram married the oldest.

And thus my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord which had been given unto him. And also, I, Nephi, had been blessed of the Lord exceedingly.

And so my father had fulfilled all the commandments the Lord had given him. And I, Nephi, had been greatly blessed by the Lord.

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord spake unto my father by night, and commanded him that on the morrow he should take his journey into the wilderness.

Then the voice of the Lord spoke to my father by night, and commanded him to take his journey into the wilderness the next day.

And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness.

When my father got up in the morning and went to the tent door, to his great amazement, he saw a round brass ball lying on the ground, finely crafted. Inside the ball were two spindles, and one of them pointed the way we should go into the wilderness.

And it came to pass that we did gather together whatsoever things we should carry into the wilderness, and all the remainder of our provisions which the Lord had given unto us; and we did take seed of every kind that we might carry into the wilderness.

So we gathered up everything we would need to carry into the wilderness, along with all the provisions the Lord had given us that were left, and we took seed of every kind to carry with us.

And it came to pass that we did take our tents and depart into the wilderness, across the river Laman.

And we took our tents and set out into the wilderness, across the river Laman.

And it came to pass that we traveled for the space of four days, nearly a south-southeast direction, and we did pitch our tents again; and we did call the name of the place Shazer.

We traveled for four days, in nearly a south-southeast direction, and pitched our tents again; and we called the place Shazer.

And it came to pass that we did take our bows and our arrows, and go forth into the wilderness to slay food for our families; and after we had slain food for our families we did return again to our families in the wilderness, to the place of Shazer. And we did go forth again in the wilderness, following the same direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders near the Red Sea.

And we took our bows and arrows and went out into the wilderness to hunt food for our families; and after we had gotten food for our families, we returned to them in the wilderness, to the place Shazer. Then we went on through the wilderness, following the same direction, keeping to the most fertile parts, in the borders near the Red Sea.

And it came to pass that we did travel for the space of many days, slaying food by the way, with our bows and our arrows and our stones and our slings.

We traveled for many days, hunting food along the way with our bows and arrows and our stones and slings,

And we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness.

and we followed the directions of the ball, which led us through the more fertile parts of the wilderness.

And after we had traveled for the space of many days, we did pitch our tents for the space of a time, that we might again rest ourselves and obtain food for our families.

After we had traveled for many days, we pitched our tents for a while, so we could rest again and get food for our families.

And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine steel; and after I did break my bow, behold, my brethren were angry with me because of the loss of my bow, for we did obtain no food.

But while I, Nephi, was out hunting food, I broke my bow, which was made of fine steel. And after I broke my bow, my brothers were angry with me about it, because we got no food.

And it came to pass that we did return without food to our families, and being much fatigued, because of their journeying, they did suffer much for the want of food.

We returned to our families without food, and being worn out from their traveling, they suffered a great deal from the lack of food.

And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael did begin to murmur exceedingly, because of their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness; and also my father began to murmur against the Lord his God; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did murmur against the Lord.

Then Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael began to complain bitterly because of their sufferings and hard times in the wilderness, and even my father began to complain against the Lord his God. They were all so full of sorrow that they complained against the Lord.

Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, having been afflicted with my brethren because of the loss of my bow, and their bows having lost their springs, it began to be exceedingly difficult, yea, insomuch that we could obtain no food.

Now I, Nephi, had suffered along with my brothers over the loss of my bow, and their bows had lost their spring, so things got extremely difficult, and we couldn't get any food at all.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did speak much unto my brethren, because they had hardened their hearts again, even unto complaining against the Lord their God.

And I, Nephi, said much to my brothers, because they had hardened their hearts again, to the point of complaining against the Lord their God.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my father: Whither shall I go to obtain food?

So I, Nephi, made a bow out of wood, and an arrow out of a straight stick; and I armed myself with a bow and an arrow, a sling and stones. Then I said to my father, "Where should I go to get food?"

And it came to pass that he did inquire of the Lord, for they had humbled themselves because of my words; for I did say many things unto them in the energy of my soul.

And he asked the Lord, because they had all humbled themselves because of my words; I had said many things to them with all the energy of my soul.

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came unto my father; and he was truly chastened because of his murmuring against the Lord, insomuch that he was brought down into the depths of sorrow.

The voice of the Lord came to my father, and he was truly rebuked for complaining against the Lord, so much that he was brought down into deep sorrow.

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord said unto him: Look upon the ball, and behold the things which are written.

And the voice of the Lord said to him, "Look at the ball, and see what is written."

And it came to pass that when my father beheld the things which were written upon the ball, he did fear and tremble exceedingly, and also my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and our wives.

When my father saw what was written on the ball, he feared and trembled greatly, and so did my brothers and the sons of Ishmael and our wives.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them.

And I, Nephi, saw that the pointers in the ball worked according to the faith and diligence and attention we gave them.

And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.

There was also a new writing on them, plain to read, which gave us understanding about the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence we gave it. And so we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the directions which were given upon the ball.

Then I, Nephi, went up to the top of the mountain, following the directions given on the ball,

And it came to pass that I did slay wild beasts, insomuch that I did obtain food for our families.

and I killed wild animals, and got food for our families.

And it came to pass that I did return to our tents, bearing the beasts which I had slain; and now when they beheld that I had obtained food, how great was their joy! And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord, and did give thanks unto him.

I returned to our tents carrying the animals I had killed, and when they saw that I had gotten food, how great was their joy! And they humbled themselves before the Lord and gave thanks to him.

And it came to pass that we did again take our journey, traveling nearly the same course as in the beginning; and after we had traveled for the space of many days we did pitch our tents again, that we might tarry for the space of a time.

Then we set out on our journey again, traveling nearly the same course as at the beginning; and after we had traveled for many days, we pitched our tents again, to stay for a while.

And it came to pass that Ishmael died, and was buried in the place which was called Nahom.

And Ishmael died, and was buried in the place called Nahom.

And it came to pass that the daughters of Ishmael did mourn exceedingly, because of the loss of their father, and because of their afflictions in the wilderness; and they did murmur against my father, because he had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, saying: Our father is dead; yea, and we have wandered much in the wilderness, and we have suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and after all these sufferings we must perish in the wilderness with hunger.

The daughters of Ishmael mourned deeply over the loss of their father, and over their hard times in the wilderness; and they complained against my father because he had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, saying, "Our father is dead, and we have wandered so long in the wilderness, and we have suffered so much: hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. And after all this suffering, we're going to die of hunger in the wilderness."

And thus they did murmur against my father, and also against me; and they were desirous to return again to Jerusalem.

That was how they complained against my father, and against me too; and they wanted to go back to Jerusalem.

And Laman said unto Lemuel and also unto the sons of Ishmael: Behold, let us slay our father, and also our brother Nephi, who has taken it upon him to be our ruler and our teacher, who are his elder brethren.

And Laman said to Lemuel and to the sons of Ishmael, "Let's kill our father, and our brother Nephi too, who has taken it upon himself to be our ruler and our teacher, when we are his older brothers.

Now, he says that the Lord has talked with him, and also that angels have ministered unto him. But behold, we know that he lies unto us; and he tells us these things, and he worketh many things by his cunning arts, that he may deceive our eyes, thinking, perhaps, that he may lead us away into some strange wilderness; and after he has led us away, he has thought to make himself a king and a ruler over us, that he may do with us according to his will and pleasure. And after this manner did my brother Laman stir up their hearts to anger.

Now, he says the Lord has talked with him and that angels have ministered to him. But we know he's lying to us. He tells us these things, and he works many things by his cunning tricks, to deceive our eyes, thinking maybe he can lead us away into some strange wilderness; and after he has led us away, he plans to make himself a king and a ruler over us, so he can do with us whatever he wants." That was how my brother Laman stirred up their hearts to anger.

And it came to pass that the Lord was with us, yea, even the voice of the Lord came and did speak many words unto them, and did chasten them exceedingly; and after they were chastened by the voice of the Lord they did turn away their anger, and did repent of their sins, insomuch that the Lord did bless us again with food, that we did not perish.

But the Lord was with us; the voice of the Lord came and spoke many words to them and rebuked them severely. And after they were rebuked by the voice of the Lord, they turned away their anger and repented of their sins; and the Lord blessed us again with food, so we did not die.