The Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 18:15

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~591–589 BC

1830 Edition

And it came to pass that we were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the Sea. And after that we had been driven back upon the waters for the space of four days, my brethren began to see that the judgment of God was upon them, and that they must perish, save that they should repent of their iniquities; wherefore, they came unto me and loosed the bands which was upon my wrists, and behold, they had much swolen, exceedingly; and also, mine ancles were much swollen, and great was the soreness thereof.

Influences

1 Corinthians 15:54 (KJV)
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
Acts 26:20 (KJV)
But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

Changes

And it came to pass that we were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the Ssea. And after that we had been driven back upon the waters for the space of four days, my brethren began to see that the judgments of God wasere upon them, and that they must perish, save that they should repent of their iniquities; wherefore, they came unto me, and loosed the bands which wasere upon my wrists, and behold, they had much swollen, exceedingly; and also, mine anckles were much swollen, and great was the soreness thereof.

Simple English

We were about to be swallowed up in the deep sea. After we had been blown back on the waters for four days, my brothers began to see that God’s judgment was on them. They would die unless they repented of their sins. So they came to me and untied the ropes on my wrists. My wrists had swollen very much. My ankles were also very swollen and very sore.

Paraphrase

We were about to sink. After four days of being driven backward, my brothers finally realized God was judging them and they’d die if they didn’t repent. So they came and untied me. My wrists were badly swollen, and my ankles were swollen and extremely painful.

Notes

18:6-21

"In the Book of Mormon many of the stories appear to be biblical stories retold in a new setting. In 1 Nephi we read about a great storm that the Israelites encountered on the way to America. Interestingly, the story bears a remarkable resemblance to an incident mentioned in the New Testament concerning Jesus (see Mark 4:37-39). Both stories use identical language when speaking of the storm. In 1 Nephi 18:13 we read: 'there arose a great storm...' Mark 4:37 also says: 'there arose a great storm...'

In both cases people in the boat become concerned that they are about to 'perish' and seek help from their spiritual leader. In both cases, after the leader comes forth, the storm ceases.

Almost identical wording appears in both accounts concerning the calming of the sea. 1 Nephi 18:21 states: 'the winds did cease... and there was a great calm.' In Mark 4:39 we read: 'the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.'

It seems obvious that the author of the Book of Mormon borrowed from the gospel of Mark. The close parallels certainly show a dependence on the King James account. Lehi's family, of course, would not have had access to the books of the New Testament, which were written hundreds of years after they left Jerusalem." -Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon, p. 13.