ספר נפי השני

    2 NEFI

    THE SECOND BOOK OF NEFI

    An account of the death of Lechi. Nefi’s brothers rebel against him. yhwh warns Nefi to depart into the wilderness. His journeyings in the wilderness, and so forth.

    THE SECOND BOOK OF NEFI Chapter 1

  1. And now it came to pass after I, Nefi, had made an end of teaching my brothers, our father Lechi also spoke many things unto them and rehearsed unto them how great things yhwh had done for them in bringing them out of the land of Yerushalayim.1 And he spoke unto them concerning their rebellions2 upon the waters, and the mercies of Elohim in sparing their lives, that they were not swallowed up in the sea. And he also spoke unto them concerning the land of promise which they had obtained, how merciful yhwh had been in warning us that we should flee out of the land of Yerushalayim. For behold, said he, I have seen a vision in the which I know that Yerushalayim is destroyed; and had we remained in Yerushalayim, we should also have perished. But, said he, despite our afflictions, we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands, a land which Adonai yhwh has covenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yes, yhwh has consecrated this land unto me and to my children for ever, and also all they who should be led out of other countries by the hand of yhwh. Wherefore, I, Lechi, prophesy according to the workings of the spirit which is in me, that there shall none come into this land except they shall be brought by the hand of yhwh. Wherefore, this land is consecrated3 unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the mitzvot which he has given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them. Wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity. For if iniquity shall abound, cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed for ever. And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations; for behold, many nations would overrun this land, that there would be no place for an inheritance.
  2. Wherefore, I, Lechi, have obtained a promise that inasmuch as those whom Adonai yhwh shall bring out of the land of Yerushalayim shall keep his mitzvot, they shall prosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other nations,4 that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall keep his mitzvot, they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them nor to take away the land of their inheritance, and they shall dwell safely for ever. But behold, when the time comes that they shall dwindle in unbelief, after they have received so great blessings from the hand of yhwh, having a knowledge of the creation of the earth and all men, knowing the great and marvelous works of yhwh from the creation of the world, having power given them to do all things by faith, having all the mitzvot from the beginning, and having been brought by his infinite goodness into this precious land of promise, behold, I say, if the day shall come that they will reject HaKodesh of Isra’el, the true Mashiach, their Redeemer and their Elohim, behold, the judgments of him that is just shall rest upon them. Yes, he will bring other nations unto them, and he will give unto them power, and he will take away from them the lands of their possessions, and he will cause them to be scattered and slain. Yes, as one generation passes to another, there shall be bloodsheds and great visitations among them.
  3. Wherefore, my sons, I would that you would remember; yes, I would that you would hearken unto my words. Oh that you would awake, awake from a deep sleep, yes, even from the sleep of She’ol, and shake off the awful chains5 by which you are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe. Awake and arise from the dust, and hear the words of a trembling parent, whose limbs you must soon lay down in the cold and silent grave, from which no traveler can return; a few more days and I go the way of all the earth. But behold, yhwh has redeemed6 my soul from She’ol — I have beheld his glory,7 and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love. And I desire that you should remember to observe the statutes and the judgments of yhwh; behold, this has been the anxiety of my soul from the beginning. My heart has been weighed down with sorrow from time to time, for I have feared, that because of the hardness of your hearts, yhwh your Elohim should come out in the fulness of his wrath upon you, that you be cut off and destroyed for ever, or that a cursing should come upon you8 for the space of many generations, and you are visited by sword9 and by famine,10 and are hated, and are led according to the will and captivity of HaSatan. O my sons, that these things might not come upon you, but that you might be a choice and a favored people of yhwh.
  4. But behold, his will be done, for his ways are righteousness for ever. And he has said that inasmuch as you shall keep my mitzvot, you shall prosper in the land;11 but inasmuch as you will not keep my mitzvot, you shall be cut off from my presence.12 And now, that my soul might have joy in you, and that my heart might leave this world with gladness because of you, that I might not be brought down with grief and sorrow to the grave — arise from the dust my sons, and be men. And be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things, that you may not come down into captivity, that you may not be cursed with a sore cursing,13 and also that you may not incur the displeasure of a just Elohim upon you unto the destruction — yes, the Eternal destruction — of both soul and body. Awake my sons, put on the armor of righteousness,14 shake off the chains with which you are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust. Rebel no more against your brother, whose views have been glorious, and who has kept the mitzvot from the time we left Yerushalayim, and who has been an instrument in the hands of Elohim in bringing us forth into the land of promise; for were it not for him, we must have perished with hunger15 in the wilderness. Nevertheless, you sought to take away his life; yes, and he has suffered much sorrow because of you. And I exceedingly fear and tremble because of you, for fear that he shall suffer again. For behold, you have accused him that he sought power and authority over you, but I know that he has not sought for power nor authority over you, but he has sought the glory of Elohim and your own eternal welfare. And you have murmured because he has been plain unto you. You say that he has used sharpness, you say that he has been angry with you. But behold, his sharpness was the sharpness of the power of the word of Elohim which was in him, and that which you call anger was the truth according to that which is in Elohim, which he could not restrain, manifesting boldly concerning your iniquities. And it must necessarily be that the power of Elohim must be with him, even unto his commanding you that you must obey. But behold, it was not him, but it was the spirit of yhwh which was in him which opened his mouth to utterance, that he could not shut it.
  5. And now my son Laman, and also L’mu’el, and Sam, and also my sons who are the sons of Yishma’el, behold, if you will hearken unto the voice of Nefi, you shall not perish. And if you will hearken unto him, I leave unto you a blessing, yes, even my first blessing. But if you will not hearken unto him, I take away my first blessing — yes, even my blessing — and it shall rest upon him. And now Tzuram,16 I speak unto you: Behold, you are the servant of Lavan; nevertheless, you have been brought out of the land of Yerushalayim, and I know that you are a true friend unto my son Nefi for ever. Wherefore, because you have been faithful, your seed shall be blessed with his seed, that they dwell in prosperity long upon the face of this land. And nothing, except it shall be iniquity among them, shall harm or disturb their prosperity upon the face of this land for ever. Wherefore, if you shall keep the mitzvot of yhwh, yhwh has consecrated this land for the security of your seed with the seed of my son.
  6. And now Ya’akov, I speak unto you: You are my first born in the days of my tribulation in the wilderness. And behold, in your childhood you have suffered afflictions and much sorrow because of the rudeness of your brothers. Nevertheless, Ya’akov, my first born in the wilderness, you know the greatness of Elohim; and he shall consecrate your afflictions for your gain. Wherefore, your soul shall be blessed, and you shall dwell safely with your brother Nefi, and your days shall be spent in the service of your Elohim. Wherefore, I know that you are redeemed because of the righteousness of your Redeemer, for you have beheld that in the fulness of time he comes to bring salvation unto men. And you have beheld17 in your youth his glory; wherefore, you are blessed, even as they unto whom he shall minister in the flesh; for the spirit is the same yesterday, today, and for ever, and the way is prepared from the Fall of man, and salvation is free. And men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil. And the Torah is given unto men; and by the Torah no flesh is justified, or by the Torah men are cut off. Yes, by the temporal Torah18 they were cut off, and also by the spiritual Torah they perish from that which is good and become miserable for ever. Wherefore, redemption comes in and through the Holy Mashiach, for he is full of grace and truth. Behold, he offers himself a sacrifice for sin,19 to answer the ends of the Torah unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit,20 and unto none else can the ends21 of the Torah be answered. Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of Elohim, except it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Mashiach, who lays down his life according to the flesh and takes it again by the power of the spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise. Wherefore, he is the firstfruits22 unto Elohim, inasmuch as he shall make intercession23 for all the children of men, and they that believe in him shall be saved. And because of the intercession for all, all men come unto Elohim. Wherefore, they stand in the presence of him, to be judged of him according to the truth and holiness which is in him.
  7. Wherefore, the ends of the Torah which HaKodesh has given, unto the inflicting24 of the punishment which is affixed, which punishment that is affixed is in opposition to that of the happiness which is affixed, to answer the ends of the atonement — for it must necessarily be that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad; wherefore, all things must necessarily be a compound in one. Wherefore, if it should be one body, it must necessarily remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility. Wherefore, it must necessarily have been created for a thing of nothing; wherefore, there would have been no purpose in the end of its creation. Wherefore, this thing must necessarily destroy the wisdom of Elohim and his eternal purposes, and also the power, and the mercy, and the justice of Elohim.25 And if you shall say there is no Torah, you shall also say there is no sin.26 And if you shall say there is no sin, you shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness, there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness, there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not, there is no Elohim. And if there is no Elohim, we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away.
  8. And now my sons, I speak unto you these things for your profit and learning; for there is an Elohim and he has created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon.27 And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man — after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the air,28 and in short, all things which are created — it must necessarily be that there was an opposition, even the forbidden29 fruit30 in opposition to the tree of life,31 the one being sweet and the other bitter.32 Wherefore, Adonai yhwh gave unto man that he should act for himself; wherefore, man could not act for himself except it should be that he were enticed by the one or the other.
  9. And I, Lechi, according to the things which I have read, must necessarily suppose that an angel of Elohim, according to that which is written, had fallen from Heaven.33 Wherefore, he became a demon, having sought that which was evil before Elohim. And because he had fallen from Heaven and had become miserable for ever, he sought also the misery of all mankind. Wherefore, he said unto Havah— yes, even that old serpent which is HaSatan, which is the father of all lies — wherefore, he said, Partake of the forbidden fruit and you shall not die, but you shall be as Elohim, knowing good and evil.34 And after Adam and Havah had partaken of the forbidden fruit, they were driven out from the Garden of Eden to till the earth.35 And they have brought forth children, yes, even the family of all the earth. And the days of the children of men were prolonged according to the will of Elohim, that they might repent while in the flesh. Wherefore, their state became a state of probation,36 and their time was lengthened, according to the mitzvot which Adonai yhwh gave unto the children of men. For he gave mitzvah that all men must repent, for he showed unto all men that they were lost because of the transgression of their parents.
  10. And now behold, if Adam had not transgressed, he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the Garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state which they were after they were created; and they must have remained for ever and had no end. And they would have had no children. Wherefore, they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy for they knew no misery, doing no good for they knew no sin. But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knows all things. Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy.37 And the Mashiach comes in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the Fall.38 And because that they are redeemed from the Fall, they have become free for ever —knowing good from evil — to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, except it be by the punishment of the Torah at the great and last day, according to the mitzvot which Elohim has given. Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh, and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and Eternal life through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death according to the captivity and power of HaSatan, for he seeks that all men might be miserable like unto himself.
  11. And now my sons, I would that you should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great mitzvot, and be faithful unto his words, and choose Eternal life according to the will of his Holy Spirit, and not choose Eternal death according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which gives the spirit of HaSatan power to captivate, to bring you down to Gehinnom, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom. I have spoken these few words unto you all, my sons, in the last days of my probation; and I have chosen the good part according to the words of the prophet. And I have no other object except it be the everlasting welfare of your souls. Amen.