The Robbers Leave Their Hiding Places
At the end of the eighteenth year, the robber armies got ready for battle. They came down from the hills, mountains, and wild places. They came out of their secret hiding places. They took over the lands in the south and the north. They took over all the lands and cities the Nephites had left empty. But there were no wild animals or game in the lands the Nephites had left. The robbers could only find game in the wild places. The robbers could only live in the wild places because they needed food. The Nephites had left their lands empty. They had gathered all their animals and belongings. They all stayed together in one place. The robbers had no way to steal food. They would have to fight the Nephites out in the open. The Nephites stayed together in one group. They had a large number of people. They had saved up food, horses, cattle, and animals of every kind. They had enough to live on for seven years. They hoped to destroy the robbers during that time. That’s how the eighteenth year ended.
Giddianhi Goes to Battle
In the nineteenth year, Giddianhi saw that he needed to go fight the Nephites. His people could not survive without stealing, robbing, and killing. They didn’t dare spread out across the land to grow grain. The Nephites would come and kill them. So Giddianhi told his armies to go fight the Nephites that year.
A Scary Army Comes
They came up to battle in the sixth month. It was a scary day when they came. They dressed like robbers. They wore lamb skins around their waists. They were covered in blood. Their heads were shaved. They wore metal plates on their heads. Giddianhi’s armies looked scary because of their armor and because they were covered in blood.
The Nephites Pray and Fight
When the Nephite armies saw Giddianhi’s army, they all fell to the ground. They cried out to the Lord their God. They asked him to save them from their enemies. When Giddianhi’s armies saw this, they began to shout loudly with joy. They thought the Nephites had fallen down because they were scared of their armies. But they were wrong. The Nephites were not scared of them. They were only scared of God. They asked him to protect them. So when Giddianhi’s armies rushed at them, they were ready. They fought in the Lord’s strength.
The battle started in the sixth month. It was a terrible battle. Many people were killed. There had never been such a big killing among all of Lehi’s people since he left Jerusalem. Even though Giddianhi had made threats and promises, the Nephites beat them. The robbers had to fall back.
The Death of Giddianhi
Gidgiddoni told his armies to chase them to the edge of the wild places. He said not to let anyone escape. So they chased them and killed them all the way to the wild places. They did everything Gidgiddoni said. Giddianhi had fought hard, but he ran away. He was tired from fighting so much. They caught him and killed him. That’s how Giddianhi the robber died.
Zemnarihah Surrounds the Nephites
The Nephite armies went back to their safe place. The nineteenth year ended. The robbers didn’t come to battle again. They didn’t come in the twentieth year either. In the twenty-first year, they didn’t come to battle. Instead, they came from all sides to surround the Nephites. They thought if they cut the Nephites off from their lands and trapped them on every side, and stopped them from getting anything from outside, they could make them give up.
They had chosen a new leader named Zemnarihah. It was Zemnarihah who set up this trap. But this helped the Nephites. The robbers could not surround them long enough to hurt them. The Nephites had stored up too much food. The robbers didn’t have much food. They only had meat to eat. They got this meat in the wild places.
The Robbers Start to Starve
The wild game started running out. The robbers were about to die from hunger. The Nephites kept marching out day and night. They attacked the robber armies. They killed them by the thousands. Zemnarihah’s people wanted to give up their plan. Too many of them were being killed day and night.
Gidgiddoni’s Trap
Zemnarihah told his people to stop the trap. He told them to march to the far north lands. Gidgiddoni knew their plan. He knew they were weak from lack of food. He knew many of them had been killed. So he sent his armies out at night. They blocked the way the robbers would run. They got in the way of their escape. They did this at night. They got ahead of the robbers. So the next morning, when the robbers started marching, Nephite armies met them in front and behind. The robbers in the south were also cut off from their escape. Gidgiddoni planned all of this.
The End of Zemnarihah
Many thousands of robbers gave themselves up as prisoners to the Nephites. The rest were killed. Their leader Zemnarihah was caught. They hung him on a tree, at the very top, until he was dead. When he was dead, they cut the tree down to the ground. They cried with a loud voice.
The People Praise God
They said: “May the Lord keep his people doing what is right and keep their hearts good. May they cut down all who try to kill them because of power and secret groups, just like this man was cut down.” They were happy and cried out together again. They said: “May the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob protect these people who do what is right, as long as they ask their God to protect them.” They all started singing and praising their God together. They thanked him for the great thing he had done. He had saved them from their enemies. They cried: “Hosanna to God Most High! Blessed be the name of the Lord God, God Most High.” Their hearts were so full of joy that many cried. They cried because God was so good to save them from their enemies. They knew he saved them because they had turned back to God and had been humble. He saved them from being destroyed forever.