The Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 20:5

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~588–570 BC

1830 Edition

and I have, even from the beginning, declared to thee; before it came to pass I shewed them thee; and I shewed them for fear lest thou shouldst say, Mine idol hath done them; and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

Influences

Isaiah 48:5 (KJV)
I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

Changes

aAnd I have, even from the beginning, declared to thee; before it came to pass I sheowed them thee; and I sheowed them for fear lest thou shouldst say, —Mine idol hath done them;, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

Simple English

From the beginning I told you these things. Before they happened I showed them to you. I did this so you wouldn’t say: 'My idol did these things. My carved statue or metal statue commanded them.'

Paraphrase

So I declared these things to you from the beginning. I showed them to you before they happened, so you couldn’t say, 'My idol did this,' or 'My carved god made it happen.'