The Book of Mormon

Helaman 5:23

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~30 BC

1830 Edition

And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi were encircled about as if by fire, even insomuch that they durst not lay their hands upon them for fear, lest they should be burned. Nevertheless, Nephi and Lehi were not burned; and they were as standing in the midst of fire, and were not burned.

Influences

John 8:9 (KJV)
And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

Changes

And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi were encircled about as if by fire, even insomuch that they durst not lay their hands upon them for fear, lest they should be burned. Nevertheless, Nephi and Lehi were not burned; and they were as standing in the midst of fire, and were not burned.

Simple English

Nephi and Lehi were surrounded by something like fire. The people were afraid to touch them. They thought they would be burned. But Nephi and Lehi were not burned. They stood in the middle of fire and were not burned.

Paraphrase

But Nephi and Lehi were surrounded by what looked like fire. The guards were too afraid to touch them—they thought they’d be burned. Yet Nephi and Lehi weren’t burned at all. They stood in the middle of the fire, completely unharmed.

Notes

5:23

"The Book of Mormon also borrows from Old Testament books written after 600 B.C. For instance, the Book of Daniel seems to have had some influence on the Book of Mormon. When Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego were cast into the 'fiery furnace,' they were seen 'walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt;...' (Daniel 3:25). The Book of Mormon tells that Nephi and Lehi 'were encircled about as if by fire,' and they were 'as standing in the midst of fire, and were not burned' (Helaman 5:23). Later in the Book of Mormon it tells of Nephites who 'were cast into a furnace' and also, like Daniel, thrown into 'a den of wild beasts' (3 Nephi 28:21-22). In the book of Daniel we read that a hand wrote upon the wall and that Daniel interpreted the writing (Daniel 5:5). In the Book of Mormon we read that Aminadi 'interpreted the writing which was upon the wall of the temple, which was written by the finger of God' (Alma 10:2)." -Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon, p. 20.