Alma 47 | |
1 Now we will return in our record to Amalickiah and those who had fled with him into the wilderness; for, behold, he had taken those who went with him, and went up in the land of Nephi among the Lamanites, and did stir up the Lamanites to anger against the people of Nephi, insomuch that the king of the Lamanites sent a proclamation throughout all his land, among all his people, that they should gather themselves together again to go to battle against the Nephites. | 1 |
2 And it came to pass that when the proclamation had gone forth among them they were exceedingly afraid; yea, they feared to displease the king, and they also feared to go to battle against the Nephites lest they should lose their lives. And it came to pass that they would not, or the more part of them would not, obey the commandments of the king. | 2 |
3 | |
4 | |
5 And now he had got the command of those parts of the Lamanites who were in favor of the king; and he sought to gain favor of those who were not obedient; therefore he went forward to the place which was called Onidah, for thither had all the Lamanites fled; for they discovered the army coming, and, supposing that they were coming to destroy them, therefore they fled to Onidah, to the place of arms. | 5 1 The name of the place, "Onidah", in this verse shares the same pronunciation as that of the Oneida tribe of Native Americans which was part the Iroquois Confederacy and located in upstate New York. Compare the Book of Mormon pronunciation guide for "Onidah" with the Merriam Webster Dictionary pronunciation for "Oneida". Even if the Book of Mormon events really happened in somewhere in the Americas, to expect the pronunciation to not change as language evolves for 1,500 years is ridiculous. See also the usage of the word "Onidah" in Alma 32:4. |
6 | |
7 | |
8 | |
9 | |
10 1 The narrative found in verses 10-12,17-19 seems to share some similarities to the parable of the tenants in Luke 20:9-15. This includes the leader sending messengers four times with the first three times being unsuccessful in their objective and the last time leading to the death of someone (with the intention of usurping their job). | |
11 | |
12 And it came to pass that when Amalickiah found that he could not get Lehonti to come down off from the mount, he went up into the mount, nearly to Lehonti's camp; and he sent again the fourth time his message unto Lehonti, desiring that he would come down, and that he would bring his guards with him. | 12 |
13 And it came to pass that when Lehonti had come down with his guards to Amalickiah, that Amalickiah desired him to come down with his army in the night-time, and surround those men in their camps over whom the king had given him command, and that he would deliver them up into Lehonti's hands, if he would make him (Amalickiah) a second leader over the whole army. | 13 |
14 | |
15 | |
16 1 Verses 16,20 contain similarities to two verses found in consecutive chapters in the KJV Acts. Compare verse 16 with "contrary to the commands of the king" to Acts 17:7 "contrary to the decrees of Caesar". Note that the phrase "contrary to the decree" is unique within the KJV bible, while the phrase "contrary to the command" is not found. Also compare verse 20 with "which was the chief city" to Acts 16:12 with "which is the chief city". Note that the phrase "chief city" is unique within the KJV bible. | |
17 | |
18 | |
19 | |
20 1 Verses 16,20 contain similarities to two verses found in consecutive chapters in the KJV Acts. Compare verse 16 with "contrary to the commands of the king" to Acts 17:7 "contrary to the decrees of Caesar". Note that the phrase "[contrary to the decree](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/search.php?q=%22contrary+to+the+decree%22)" is unique within the KJV bible, while the phrase "[contrary to the command](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/search.php?q=%22contrary+to+the+command%22)" is not found. Also compare verse 20 with "which was the chief city" to Acts 16:12 with "which is the chief city". Note that the phrase "[chief city](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/search.php?q=%22chief+city%22)" is unique within the KJV bible. | |
21 | |
22 1 The narrative presented in verses 22-27 seems to strongly resemble certain parts of the story found in Judges 5:25-31. Notice how both have a leader being murdered, the king of the Lamanites / Sisera (the captain of the king's army), both mention a person that "bowed", both mention the leader being "stabbed" / "pierced", both state that "he fell", and both have people that "raised a cry" / "cried" out in response to the murder. The strongest parallel is the specific phrasing of the call to avenge the death. Compare verse 26 with the accusatory "they have fled" to Judges 5:30 with "Have they not sped?". Also compare verse 27 with "Whosoever loved the king, let him go forth, and pursue his servants that they may be slain" to Judges 5:31 with "So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might". | |
23 | |
24 | |
25 | |
26 | |
27 And it came to pass that Amalickiah commanded that his armies should march forth and see what had happened to the king; and when they had come to the spot, and found the king lying in his gore, Amalickiah pretended to be wroth, and said: Whosoever loved the king, let him go forth, and pursue his servants that they may be slain. | 27 |
28 | |
29 | |
30 | |
31 | |
32 | |
33 Therefore, when the queen had received this message she sent unto Amalickiah, desiring him that he would spare the people of the city; and she also desired him that he should come in unto her; and she also desired him that he should bring witnesses with him to testify concerning the death of the king. | 33 |
34 And it came to pass that Amalickiah took the same servant that slew the king, and all them who were with him, and went in unto the queen, unto the place where she sat; and they all testified unto her that the king was slain by his own servants; and they said also: They have fled; does not this testify against them? And thus they satisfied the queen concerning the death of the king. | 34 |
35 And it came to pass that Amalickiah sought the favor of the queen, and took her unto him to wife; and thus by his fraud, and by the assistance of his cunning servants, he obtained the kingdom; yea, he was acknowledged king throughout all the land, among all the people of the Lamanites, who were composed of the Lamanites and the Lemuelites and the Ishmaelites, and all the dissenters of the Nephites, from the reign of Nephi down to the present time. | 35 |
36 Now these dissenters, having the same instruction and the same information of the Nephites, yea, having been instructed in the same knowledge of the Lord, nevertheless, it is strange to relate, not long after their dissensions they became more hardened and impenitent, and more wild, wicked and ferocious than the Lamanites--drinking in with the traditions of the Lamanites; giving way to indolence, and all manner of lasciviousness; yea, entirely forgetting the Lord their God. | 36 |