The Book of Mormon

Jacob 5:63

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~544–420 BC

1830 Edition

Graft in the branches: begin at the last, that they may be first, and that the first may be last, and dig about the trees, both old and young, the first and the last, and the last and the first, that all may be nourished once again for the last time.

Influences

Matthew 19:30 (KJV)
But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Changes

Graft in the branches:; begin at the last, that they may be first, and that the first may be last, and dig about the trees, both old and young, the first and the last,; and the last and the first, that all may be nourished once again for the last time.

Simple English

'Plant the branches. Start with the last ones so they can be first. Make the first ones last. Dig around all the trees, old and young, first and last, last and first. Feed them all once more for the last time.'

Paraphrase

'Graft the branches back in. Start with the last so they can be first, and the first can be last. Dig around all the trees—young and old, first and last—so everything gets nourished one more time.'

Notes

5:1-77

In Jacob chapter 5 and 6, an allegory of the tame and wild olive trees is attributed to an ancient prophet named Zenos, who supposedly lived before Lehi’s journey to the New World. The allegory, however, closely mirrors material from multiple biblical sources: Apostle Paul’s discussion of olive trees in Romans 11:17–24, Jesus’ parable of the unfruitful fig tree in Luke 13:6–9, and imagery from Isaiah 5:1–7 concerning a vineyard. In the Book of Mormon, these sources are expanded into an allegory spanning over six pages. As Jerald and Sandra Tanner note, “It is probably the most repetitious part of the Book of Mormon. It gives the impression that the author is deliberately trying to use up as much space as possible. It is very hard to resist the idea that it is merely filler material." -Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon, p. 165.

Similarly, Wesley P. Walters observes, “For a grand finale of his work, however, he returned to this olive tree illustration [given by Apostle Paul] and worked it into a mind-boggling allegory, combining it with Jesus' parable about the unfruitful fig tree (Lk. 13:6–8) and working in the words from Isaiah 5:1–5 about God's disappointment with his grape vineyard. The result is a staggering conglomeration that would perplex a horticulturalist and bewilder an exegete” -Wesley P. Walters, "The Use of the Old Testament in the Book of Mormon," (Master's thesis, St. Louis: Covenant Theological Seminary, April 1981), pp. 152-153.