1 NOW there was a place in Shemlon where the daughters of the Lamanites did gather themselves together to sing, and to dance, and to make themselves merry.

2 And it came to pass that there was one day a small number of them gathered together to sing and to dance.

3 And now the priests of king Noah, being ashamed [ Why would they have felt ashamed? If they were ashamed then they had at least some knowledge of what they were doing was wrong as they acted as priests. In essence they did not want to be held accountable to their sins, they did not want to change their ways - so they hide. Isn't interesting that hiding is one of the tactics of Satan - Adam and eve - hide yourselves you are naked; the wicked Priests of King Noah and us after we make a mistake - hide it from yourself - try to burry it deep with in, suppress the sin - it will go away... ] to return to the city of Nephi, yea, and also fearing that the people would slay them, [ Why would they have had fear for their lives? They had most likely done some things in their respective positions for a great number of people to mistrust and dislike them, so not that they had no authority they were in dire straits. ] therefore they durst not return to their wives and their children.

4 And having tarried in the wilderness, and having discovered the daughters of the Lamanites, they laid and watched them; [ so what was happening here? Were the priests watching the daughters with lustful intent? Since they could not return to their wives they were lonely.]

5 And when there were but few of them gathered together to dance, they came forth out of their secret places and took them and carried them into the wilderness; yea, twenty and four of the daughters of the Lamanites they carried into the wilderness. [ The priests of King Noah kidnap 24 daughters of the Lamanites why they were playing. Do you think that they were thinking very well. The priests right now have been left alone so to speak. They know that the people want to kill them and now they poked the hornets nest. How do the lusts of men get us to do really stupid things? We see that these very daughters plead for the safety of the priests in Mosiah 23:33. So there may be more to the story that we have here. Could the battle in the land have left no men available for them, were they just as carried away with the lustful activities and the attention? ]

6 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites found that their daughters had been missing, they were angry with the people of Limhi, for they thought it was the people of Limhi.

7 Therefore they sent their armies forth; yea, even the king himself went before his people; and they went up to the land of Nephi to destroy the people of Limhi.

8 And now Limhi had discovered them from the tower, even all their preparations for war did he discover; therefore he gathered his people together, and laid wait for them in the fields and in the forests.

9 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites had come up, that the people of Limhi began to fall upon them from their waiting places, [ The element of surprise in conjunction with the ability to attack the flank and rear of the Lamanites was probably a significant factor in the present Nephite success in the conflict.  Note in v. 19-20 Gideon states they will be wiped out if the Lamanites come against them in force.  Once they have lost the element of surprise and the Lamanites can regroup, this small group of Nephites hasn't got a chance. ] and began to slay them.

10 And it came to pass that the battle became exceedingly sore, for they fought like lions for their prey.

11 And it came to pass that the people of Limhi began to drive the Lamanites before them; yet they were not half so numerous as the Lamanites. But they fought for their lives, and for their wives, and for their children; therefore they exerted themselves and like dragons [ Typically refers to some kind of venomous snake or lizard, From the context, one would assume the imagery is intended to convey soldiers who inflict death at every quick strike they make, just as a poisonous serpent would strike and kill. ] did they fight.

12 And it came to pass that they found the king of the Lamanites among the number of their dead; yet he was not dead, having been wounded and left upon the ground, so speedy was the flight of his people.

13 And they took him and bound up his wounds, and brought him [ The King Of the Lamanites ] before Limhi, and said: Behold, here is the king of the Lamanites; he having received a wound has fallen among their dead, and they have left him; and behold, we have brought him before you; and now let us slay him.

14 But Limhi said unto them: Ye shall not slay him, but bring him hither that I may see him. And they brought him. And Limhi said unto him: What cause have ye to come up to war against my people? Behold, my people have not broken the oath that I made unto you; therefore, why should ye break the oath which ye made unto my people?

15 And now the king said: I have broken the oath because thy people did carry away the daughters of my people; therefore, in my anger [ How does he respond? In anger; suggesting that maybe he should have asked or dealt with it in another manner. How does our anger cause us to do things without thinking? What can we learn from this lesson about anger? The Lamanites lost a lot of men and the King of the Lamanites was wounded as well all because they got mad and started down a road of destruction with our bothering to ask first. All of this bloodshed could have been avoided if they had. ] I did cause my people to come up to war against thy people.

16 And now Limhi had heard nothing concerning this matter; therefore he said: I will search among my people and whosoever has done this thing shall perish. Therefore he caused a search to be made among his people.

[ This text seems to take the point of view of Gideon - so perhaps he kept as good records and it is what or parts of it are used by Mormon. vs 17-22]

17 Now when Gideon had heard these things, he being the king’s captain, he went forth and said unto the king: I pray thee forbear, and do not search this people, and lay not this thing to their charge.

18 For do ye not remember the priests of thy father, whom this people sought to destroy? And are they not in the wilderness? And are not they the ones who have stolen the daughters of the Lamanites? [ Before you jump to wrongful conclusions maybe think about this. The priests of your father are still missing in the wilderness. could they be responsible. Do you suppose that the thought ever crossed his mind; or had he become so hell bent on retribution that he let his emotions just get the best of him. ]

19 And now, behold, and tell the king of these things, that he may tell his people that they may be pacified towards us; for behold they are already preparing to come against us; and behold also there are but few of us. [ In other words we really do not have time to search everywhere before the army of the Lamanites attack us again. ]

20 And behold, they come with their numerous hosts; and except the king doth pacify them towards us we must perish.

21 For are not the words of Abinadi fulfilled, which he prophesied against us—and all this because we would not hearken unto the words of the Lord, and turn from our iniquities? [ The implicit message here is that if the Lamanites come against them again they will be annihilated as predicted by Abinadi in 12:8.  Gideon points out that all of his other predictions have been fulfilled, and this one will too if they don't choose slavery instead of death. ]

22 And now let us pacify the king, and we fulfil the oath which we have made unto him; for it is better that we should be in bondage than that we should lose our lives; therefore, let us put a stop to the shedding of so much blood.

23 And now Limhi told the king all the things concerning his father, and the priests that had fled into the wilderness, and attributed the carrying away of their daughters to them.

24 And it came to pass that the king was pacified [ Quell the anger of, the agitation, or excitement of the people. ] towards his people; and he said unto them: Let us go forth to meet my people, without arms; and I swear unto you with an oath that my people shall not slay thy people.

25 And it came to pass that they followed the king, and went forth without arms to meet the Lamanites. And it came to pass that they did meet the Lamanites; and the king of the Lamanites did bow himself down before them, [ Why would he need to bow himself before his people - after all he was their King? Do you suppose that this gives us an idea of the vengeance with which the Lamanites are coming to battle. They came last time and were defeated - this time they came with strength and they were mad; so the King in essence had to plead with them even though he was their king, because it was their brothers and sisters whom were slain and they wanted to revenge their death, ] and did plead in behalf of the people of Limhi.

26 And when the Lamanites saw the people of Limhi, that they were without arms, [ I suppose they had arms but not weapons...] they had compassion on them and were pacified [ To cause (someone who is angry or upset) to become calm or quiet : to allay the anger or agitation of : to restore to a tranquil state : to reduce to a submissive state. ] towards them, and returned with their king in peace to their own land.