The Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 18:20

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~591–589 BC

1830 Edition

and there was nothing, save it were the power of God, which threatened them with destruction, could soften their hearts; wherefore, when they saw that they were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea, they repented of the thing which they had done, insomuch that they loosed me.

Influences

Matthew 22:29 (KJV)
Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

Changes

aAnd there was nothing, save it were the power of God, which threatened them with destruction, could soften their hearts; wherefore, when they saw that they were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea, they repented of the thing which they had done, insomuch that they loosed me.

Simple English

Nothing could soften their hearts except God’s power, which threatened them with destruction. So when they saw they were about to be swallowed up in the deep sea, they repented of what they had done. They untied me.

Paraphrase

Only the threat of God’s power destroying them could change their minds. When they saw they were about to be swallowed by the sea, they finally repented and untied me.

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.