The Book of Mormon

2 Nephi 28:22

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~559–545 BC

1830 Edition

And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them, I am no Devil, for there is none: and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.

Influences

Proverbs 5:22 (KJV)
His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.

Changes

And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them,: I am no Ddevil, for there is none: —and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.

Simple English

Others he tricks by saying nice things. He tells them there is no hell. He says: I am not the Devil. There is no Devil. He whispers in their ears until he grabs them with his terrible chains. They cannot escape.

Paraphrase

Others he flatters and lies to, telling them there’s no hell. He whispers, 'I’m no devil—there’s no such thing.' He whispers in their ears until he has them trapped in his terrible chains, with no way out.

Notes

28:22

Smith’s writings contain phrases that closely resemble those found in the Book of Mormon. In 2 Nephi 28:22 we read: “And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell;...” Then in the Doctrines and Covenants 10:26 we read: “And thus he flattereth them, and leadeth them along until he draggeth their souls down to hell;...”

See Mormon 3:20; 1 Nephi 1:1; 2 Nephi 26:15; and 2 Nephi 28:16 as other examples of Smith's common phrases.