1 AND now, I, Nephi, speak concerning the prophecies of which my father hath spoken, concerning Joseph, who was carried into Egypt.

2 For behold, he truly prophesied concerning all his seed. And the prophecies which he [ Joseph who was sold into Egypt. ] wrote, there are not many greater. [ So Joseph is another one that can be listed as seeing the happenings that will occur in the latter days. ] And he prophesied concerning us, and our future generations; and they are written upon the plates of brass. [ Can you image Lehi about to die, going over this with his children and grand children. We don't have them in written form with us today. Too bad. While there is more written in Genesis on Joseph that almost any other one person, and yet there is so much that we do not know, as Lehi says that his prophecies were among the best ever written. ]

3 Wherefore, after my father had made an end of speaking concerning the prophecies of Joseph, he called the children of Laman, his sons, and his daughters, [ Lehi is now going to continue in the same manner that he has in the previous chapters. That is to bless his grand children, to make sure that they understand the covenant blessings given to them. ] and said unto them: Behold, my sons, and my daughters, who are the sons and the daughters of my first-born, [ So Lehi is switching his focus here of who he is going to address. He is going to make sure that the children and grand children of Laman his first born are addressed. He knows maybe that there is little he can do at this point for Laman, he does hope maybe that he can help his children. ] I would that ye should give ear unto my words.

4 For the Lord God [ Hebrew - Yahweh ( or Jehovah which means "to become" or "to exist") translated as Lord; Elohim translated as God ("the Gods") which together the words mean "He will cause Gods to be". ] hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper [ Means to have God's presence with them. ] in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.. [ We often read this as a threat from the Lord - that he is going to do sometime because we do not keep the commandments, but rather this is a simple heeding. That suggests if we do not do the things the way he would do them then we are moving ourselves further and further away from him until as an end result we will not recognize him nor will we even want to. IN essence it is the natural progression of things. If one reads the reverse of that statement we get an idea of what the Nephites were really worried about "Ye shall be cut off if ye will not keep my commandments". So the point here is that you get to control how much you prosper or not. (1 Ne. 17:35) ]

5 But behold, my sons and my daughters, I cannot go down to my grave save I should leave a blessing upon you; for behold, I know that if ye are brought up in the way ye should go ye will not depart from it. [ Old testament language - "If you train up a child in the way that they should go, they shall not depart from it. " Most likely taken from the brass plates. This does not apply only to this life, but the teachings, the things that they learn in this life will lead to them thinging of those things in the next life remembering what they were taught. ]

6 Wherefore, if ye are cursed, behold, I leave my blessing upon you, that the cursing may be taken from you and be answered upon the heads of your parents. [ (D&C 68:25-29, Moses 7:37) You don't get the 2,000 stripling warriors without parents who teach their children right, and you usually do not end up with children who understand the scriptures when the parents never teach them. ]

7 Wherefore, because of my blessing the Lord God [ Hebrew - Yahweh ( or Jehovah which means "to become" or "to exist") translated as Lord; Elohim translated as God ("the Gods") which together the words mean "He will cause Gods to be". ] will not suffer that ye shall perish; wherefore, he will be merciful unto you and unto your seed forever.

8 And it came to pass that after my father had made an end of speaking to the sons and daughters of Laman, he caused the sons and daughters of Lemuel to be brought before him.

9 And he spake unto them, saying: Behold, my sons and my daughters, who are the sons and the daughters of my second son; behold I leave unto you the same blessing which I left unto the sons and daughters of Laman; wherefore, thou shalt not utterly be destroyed; but in the end thy seed shall be blessed.

10 And it came to pass that when my father had made an end of speaking unto them, behold, he spake unto the sons of Ishmael, yea, and even all his household.

11 And after he had made an end of speaking unto them, he spake unto Sam, saying: Blessed art thou, and thy seed; for thou shalt inherit the land like unto thy brother Nephi. And thy seed shall be numbered with his seed; and thou shalt be even like unto thy brother, and thy seed like unto his seed; and thou shalt be blessed in all thy days.

12 And it came to pass after my father, Lehi, had spoken unto all his household, [ Interesting that we don't have Nephi and his families blessing. Why? To sacred, or can we just assume what it might have been and Nephi did not want to gloat] according to the feelings of his heart and the Spirit of the Lord which was in him, he waxed old. And it came to pass that he died, and was buried.

13 And it came to pass that not many days after his death, Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael were angry with me because of the admonitions of the Lord. [ This shows their real character. They are angry at Nephi because of what God tells them through Lehi their father and prophet. ]

14 For I, Nephi, was constrained to speak unto them, according to his word; for I had spoken many things unto them, and also my father, before his death; many of which sayings are written upon mine other plates; for a more history part are written upon mine other plates.

15 And upon these [ The small plates. ] I write the things of my soul, [ Those things that stirred up his soul, the religious things. ] and many of the scriptures which are engraven upon the plates of brass. For my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, [ Notice what part of the body he uses to ponder the scriptures, his heart, not his head, the heart is the source of feelings, of testimoney, of witness from the spirit. ] and writeth them for the learning and the profit of my children.

16 Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.

17 Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, [ This phrase "marvelous work" included the following definitions of what it means: 1) Events that God will use to sift the world( 1 Ne. 14:7); 2) Bare forth the arm of the Lord (1 Ne.22:8); 3)Two latter day Messiahs - One real and one fake( 2 Ne. 25:17-18); 4)The marvelous work will cause the wisdom of the world to perish (2 Ne. 27:26); 5)All of the records of Israel will testify of these things (2 Ne. 29:1,3,7,13,14); 6) Will bear record that Gos is the same yesterday, today, and forever(3 Ne.21:9); 7)The three Nephites and John The Beloved have a role to play in the marvelous work of the last days (3 Ne. 28:31,29,33) ] my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.

18  I am encompassed about, [ Here's Nephi in a dark place. His dad has died. He is grieving with the feelings that comes from losing a close parent. He is dealing with the adversity of his siblings and now the death of his father. He's probably feeling down and inadequate. ] because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me. [ Did he loose his temper with his brothers saying enough is enough? We do not know but this is really the first time that we have seen that Nephi is human almist, nothing has really bothered him up to this point. He is writing this after the fact as well, some time has passed, so you have to wonder what has happened. Does Nephi feel some guilt for things that he has done, or that he could have handled differently. We can always look back and see things differently. ]

19 And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, [ In spite of all of the darkness that I am in ] I know in whom I have trusted. [ Trusted because he has a covenant relationship with God, they are partners. He is going to begin here to show us that covenant relationship starting with verse 20 through 27. ]

20 My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions [ To strike down or cast down - being downcast  or brought low humbled in body~ mind~ or spirit  including tribulation~ adversity~ calamity~ distress~ grief~ trouble~ trial or sorrow- evidence of divine chastisement] in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.

21  He hath filled me with his love, [ The story of his vision of the tree of life, seeing the earth through its history the same as Lehi, Mormon, Moroni, Daniel, Isaiah, John the Revelator the list goes on ] even unto the consuming of my flesh.

22 He hath confounded mine enemies, [ Most likely his brothers. We see the stories of each one of these. A few times the angels of the Lord makes the earth quake when his brothers were not behaving. ] unto the causing of them to quake before me.

23 Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time.

24 And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down [What kind of person do we need to be to have angels visit? see Moroni 7:30-31] and ministered unto me.

25 And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away upon exceedingly high mountains. [ This is the same thing that happened about the same time to Ezekiel (scholars believe that Ezekiels vision (Ez 40:2) was written about 593 - 571 BC), or about the same time frames as Nephi's 600 - 592 BC. THe difference is the Ezekiels was about Jerusalem and what would happen there and Nephi's was about the America's and what would happen there. So when the two stick are combined they will provide a complete reference and scope for both the old and the new worlds. ] And mine eyes have beheld great things, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I should not write them.

26 O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions? [ To strike down or cast down - being downcast  or brought low humbled in body~ mind~ or spirit  including tribulation~ adversity~ calamity~ distress~ grief~ trouble~ trial or sorrow- evidence of divine chastisement. ]

27 And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? [ This is a very good series of questions. As we try to become better we often find that we have more failings than we previously supposed and we wonder why is it so hard to be good when that is what you want to do? Is that not in part the purpose of this life to see how we will respond to temptation, to see what and how we will react when we are no in Gods presence, for us to be proven as to how we will respond. ] Why am I angry because of mine enemy? [ Who is the enemy here? Is it his enemies in life or rather is he saying why do I allow satan to bring me to the point of being disappointed, or depressed with myself because I am not doing better? Here we have Nephi who has seen angels, had all kinds of miracles in his life and yet he like everyone else struggles with issues of self worth. ]

28  Awake, my soul! [ Nephi is going to remind himself of his part of the covenant relationship. I shouldn't be drooping in sin. I need to be rejoicing. Nephi, get a handle on your anger, you do not need lay around feeling sorry for yourself. I must recommit to the obedience part. I have a part in this. ] No longer droop [ (Latin , from the root of drop.) 1. To sink or hang down; to lean downwards, as a body that is weak or languishing. Plants droop for want of moisture; the human body droops in old age or infirmity. 2. To languish from grief or other cause. 3. To fail or sink; to decline; as, the courage or the spirits droop 4. To faint; to grow weak; to be dispirited; as, the soldiers droop from fatigue. ] in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.

29 Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions. [ To strike down or cast down - being downcast  or brought low humbled in body~ mind~ or spirit  including tribulation~ adversity~ calamity~ distress~ grief~ trouble~ trial or sorrow- evidence of divine chastisement. ]

30 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

31 O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin? [ We see the character traits of Nephi here, what he really wants out of this life. ]

32 May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that [ "Because that" How could Joseph Smith have known? Biblical Hebrew begins subordinate clauses with prepositions plus a word that translates as that, such as in Ezekiel 40:1: "after that the city was smitten." Such a use of that in English is awkward and therefore rare. Yet it appears frequently in the Book of Mormon, another evidence of Hebrew influence. It was even more frequent in the 1830 edition, but many of the thats were dropped from later editions to read more smoothly.(The Maxwell Institute - Hebrew Background of the Book Of Mormon; John A. Tvedtnes) ] my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite! O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!

33 O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! [ Hebrew: Kaphar - "to cover, wrap, to forgive" Arabic: Kafara - "tight squeeze, or to draw a thing close" Egyptian: Hapet - "ritual embrace" Latin: Capto - "robe and hood embracing the body" Aramaic: Kafat "close embrace" Persian: Kaftan - "a garment to embrace the body" Kaphar is the same word that is used for atonement in Hebrew. It is the same word used for the coats of skin when God covered Adams nakedness. The “robe of thy righteousness” is a “robe of zedek”—a sacred garment associated with priesthood and temple correctness. This is a phrase used so rarely in the scriptures that we can quote them all here. The oldest is in Job when he recalls the time when he was both king and priest: 14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem (Job 29:14). Isaiah uses the phrase when he describes the marriage ceremony at the conclusion of the temple ceremony. 10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels (Isaiah 61:10). Jacob uses it to describe the clothing of the righteous when they come before the Lord to be judged. 14 …and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness (2 Nephi 9:14). The Doctrine and covenants uses it to describe the eternal condition of the Twelve Apostles: 12 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, and it hath gone forth in a firm decree, by the will of the Father, that mine apostles, the Twelve which were with me in my ministry at Jerusalem, shall stand at my right hand at the day of my coming in a pillar of fire, being clothed with robes of righteousness, with crowns upon their heads, in glory even as I am, to judge the whole house of Israel, even as many as have loved me and kept my commandments, and none else (D&C 29:12). It also uses it to describe the clothing of those who “reap eternal joy.” 76 That our garments may be pure, that we may be clothed upon with robes of righteousness, with palms in our hands, and crowns of glory upon our heads, and reap eternal joy for all our sufferings (D& 109:76). Nephi’s prayer, “O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness!” brings all those ideas together into one concept. ] O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way—but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy.

34 O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. [ President Nelson. said, "Committed children of the covenant remain steadfast even in the midst of adversity. When that doctrine, the covenant doctrine, is deeply implanted in our hearts, even the sting of death is soothed and our spiritual stamina is strengthened." ] I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.

35 Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. [ Why must we even ask? He already knows what we need. Because God wants it to come from us, it has to be our choice sometimes what he does bless us with in order to not destroy our agency. ] Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; [ I think this is often overlooked. I find it interesting that Nephi has accounted for all of the times in which he has seen the hand of the lord in his life because of his covenant relationship with God. Now we see him actually calling on God to bless him further because he does have a covenant relationship with God. ] therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; [ I will ask thee in prayer. ] yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. [ Remember back around verse 18 he was in a dark place, and now by recapping for himself how the hand of the Lord has blessed his life, because he understands that he is in a covenant relationship with God, and he can ask for what he needs and the Lord will bless him, he is already in a better place because of that. ] Amen.