11 And now king Noah was about to release him, for he
feared his word; for he feared that the judgments of God would come upon him.
12 But the priests lifted up their voices against him,
and began to accuse him, saying: He has reviled the king. Therefore the king was stirred up in anger
against him, and he delivered him up that he might be slain.
13 And it came to pass that they took him and bound
him, and scourged his skin with faggots, yea, even unto death.
14 And now when the flames began to scorch him, he
cried unto them, saying:
15 Behold, even as ye have done unto me, so shall it
come to pass that thy seed shall cause that many shall suffer the pains that I
do suffer, even the pains of death by fire; and this because they believe in
the salvation of the Lord their God.
16 And it will come to pass that ye shall be afflicted
with all manner of diseases because of your iniquities.
17 Yea, and ye shall be smitten on every hand, and
shall be driven and scattered to and fro, even as a wild flock is driven by
wild and ferocious beasts.
18 And in that day ye shall be hunted, and ye shall be
taken by the hand of your enemies, and then ye shall suffer, as I suffer, the
pains of death by fire.
19 Thus God executeth vengeance upon those that
destroy his people. O God, receive my
soul.
20 And now, *when Abinadi had said these
words, he fell, having suffered death by fire; yea, having been put to death
because he would not deny the commandments of God, having sealed the truth of
his words by his death.
Mosiah 17:11-20
Having had his say after Noah
pronounced sentence, the words of Abinadi began to cause him to have second
thoughts. What if Abinadi was
right? He was ready to let Abinadi go free.
But, the priests would have
none of this. They began to make
accusations against Abinadi. “He has reviled the king.” They succeeded in angering the king and he
forgot about his fears. Abinadi must
die.
“While Noah appears to be in
charge of the court, functioning as its sole voice and ultimate decision maker,
in the end he was deeply influenced by the opinions of the priests (Mosiah
17:11–12). The role of these priests was not merely advisory. They were
actively involved in the trial, conducting the direct examination of the
accused (12:19–20) and seeking a basis whereby ‘they might have
wherewith to accuse him’ (v. 19; emphasis added) … ‘[Noah] said unto him:
Abinadi, we have found an accusation against thee’ (17:6–7;
emphasis added). After Abinadi rebuffed that charge, Noah himself was ‘about to
release’ Abinadi, but it was the priests who ‘lifted up their voices against
[Abinadi]’ … Ultimately, it was the priests themselves who fashioned and conducted
the execution of Abinadi … In the end, therefore, it was ‘the priests who
caused that he should suffer death by fire’ (Alma 25:9). They were the more
blameworthy (Mosiah 7:28) after Noah released Abinadi and ‘delivered him up [to
the priests] that he might be slain’ (17:12).”[1]
Nebuchadnezzar
“And
whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the
midst of a burning fiery furnace” (Daniel 3:6).
“Take,
my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an
example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
“Behold,
we count them happy which endure. Ye
have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the
Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (James 5:10-11).
“They don’t really burn him
at the stake, as I see it. It says in Mosiah 17:13 that they scourge
him with faggots, which probably means they have burning sticks with which they
jab him. And then he falls to the earth and suffers death by fire.”[2]
Having been condemned to
death, Abinadi was bound and scourged with faggots. This would end in his death.
What is a faggot? “Death by burning, [figuratively] referred to
by the faggots which fuel the fire.”[3] “They don’t really burn him at the stake, as
I see it. It says in Mosiah 17:13 that they scourge him with faggots,
which probably means they have burning sticks with which they jab him. And then
he falls to the earth and suffers death by fire.”[4]
Royal Skousen raises
questions about the use of “scourged.”
Abinadi being scourged (beaten with whips) does not fit in with the
verse as well as the remaining scriptures in Mosiah 17. He has identified possible errors made by
Oliver Cowdery during transcription.
The solution to these
problems is to emend the word scourged in Mosiah 17:13 to
scorched. In the very next verse
(Mosiah 17:14), the text specifically refers to the flames scorching Abinadi (‘the
flames began to scorch him’). In fact, the word scorch is
precisely in accord with Book of Mormon usage. This verb is always used to
refer to burning the surface of something.[5]
Abinadi called out as he was
dying. He made the following prophesies
before he died. Their descendants will cause others to suffer death by fire
because of their faith.
“And
it came to pass that those rulers who were the remnant of the children of
Amulon caused that [Lamanites who accepted the gospel] should be put to death,
yea, all those that believed in these things.
“Now
this martyrdom caused that many of their brethren should be stirred up to
anger; and there began to be contention in the wilderness; and the Lamanites
began to hunt the seed of Amulon and his brethren and began to slay them; and
they fled into the east wilderness.
“And
behold they are hunted at this day by the Lamanites. Thus the words of Abinadi were brought to
pass, which he said concerning the seed of the priests who caused that he
should suffer death by fire” (Alma 25:7-9).
They will be afflicted with
diseases because of their sins.
They will be scattered and
driven “to and fro.”
They will suffer pains of
death by fire.
“And
[Noah] commanded them that they should not return; and they were angry with the
king, and caused that he should suffer, even unto death by fire” (Mosiah 19:20).
“And
behold they are hunted at this day by the Lamanites. Thus the words of Abinadi were brought to
pass, which he said concerning the seed of the priests who caused that he
should suffer death by fire” (Alma 25:7-9).
Having said his last words,
he died. Mormon tells us, “And now
Abinadi was the first that suffered death by fire because of his belief in God;
now this is what he meant, that many should suffer death by fire, according as
he had suffered” (Alma 25:11).
[1] The
Trial of Abinadi, Maxwell Institute.
[2] Abinadi:
The Message and the Martyr (Part 2), Todd Parker, Maxwell Institute.
[3] Wikipedia,
Faggot.
[4] Abinadi:
The Message and the Martyr (Part 2), Todd Parker, Maxwell Institute.
[5] ‘Scourged’
vs. ‘Scorched’ in Mosiah 17:13, Royal Skousen, Maxwell Institute.
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