Mosiah 12:17-24

17 And it came to pass that king Noah caused that Abinadi should be cast into prison; and he commanded that the priests should gather themselves together that he might hold a council with them what he should do with him.

18 And it came to pass that they said unto the king: Bring him hither that we may question him; and the king commanded that he should be brought before them.

19 And they began to question him, that they might cross him, that thereby they might have wherewith to accuse him; but he answered them boldly, and withstood all their questions, yea, to their astonishment; for he did withstand them in all their questions, and did confound them in all their words.

20 And it came to pass that one of them said unto him: What meaneth the words which are written, and which have been taught by our fathers, saying:

21 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings; that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good; that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth;

22 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion;

23 Break forth into joy; sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem;

24 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God?

Mosiah 12:17-24

The people had brought Abinadi to the king.  Noah cast him into prison.  The next action he took was to call his priests together so decisions could be made about what to do with Abinadi.

“Noah put Abinadi in prison pending trial (Mosiah 12:17). Prisons had limited use in the administration of justice in ancient Israel and in the ancient Near East … Their main function in Israel seems to have been the holding of accused persons pending trial or judgment, particularly when the laws or procedural rules were uncertain … While Abinadi was being held, Noah met with his priests to discuss what should be done (Mosiah 12:17–18). In light of the fact that Alma was soon able to attract a sizable group of converts to follow him and the teachings of Abinadi, Noah and his priests must have had reason to worry about the threat of Abinadi’s growing popularity.”[1]

It was decided to bring Abinadi before the priests.  They would question him.  Their ultimate goas was to confuse him and get him to give them evidence with which they could accuse him.  Ah, the best laid schemes of mice and men.

“King Noah cast Abinadi into prison and called his priests to a council to decide his fate. At a certain point in the proceeding, agents brought Abinadi before the priests, who began to question Abinadi, trying to ‘cross him’ so they could find evidence with which to accuse him. But he “answered them boldly and withstood all their questions” and “did confound them in all their words” (Mosiah 12:19).[2]

Having brought Abinadi before them, a priest asks Abinadi what is meant by the words spoken in Isaiah.  He then quotes Isaiah 52:7-10.

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

“Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion [HEB “returns to Zion” or “restores Zion”].

“Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places [OR ruins] of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

“The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (Isaiah 52:7-10).

Why might they have asked Abinadi about these particular scriptures from Isaiah?

“[I]t’s obvious why they ask it … What he is asking is this: If you are a true prophet, why don’t you bring us this good news. Why don’t you teach us to rejoice; that’s what prophets teach. This is the kind of message you should deliver—good tidings that publisheth good and salvation, that bring joy and comfort to the people. Why aren’t you bringing comfort and joy if you are a real prophet? That was a logical thing to ask because they believed that we should enjoy ourselves and teach people what they want to hear. If you were a prophet like this, you would bring us good news.”[3]

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[1] The Trial of Abinadi, Maxwell Institute.

[2] “What Meaneth the Words That Are Written?” Abinadi Interprets Isaiah, Ann Madsen, Maxwell Institute.

[3] Lecture 34: Mosiah 12-14 – Abinadi’s Message, Maxwell Institute.