Ether 14
People in this chapter
Ether 14 is hard to read, and it is meant to be. Moroni has told us why these things are written: that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you (Ether 8:23). This chapter shows what happens when they do.
Tap any highlighted phrase to jump to the commentary that unpacks it.
Ether 14:1-2Every Man Did Cleave unto That Which Was His Own
1And now there began to be a great curse upon all the land because of the iniquity of the people, in which, if a man should lay his tool or his sword upon his shelf, or upon the place whither he would keep it, behold, upon the morrow, he could not find it, so great was the curse upon the land. 2Wherefore every man did cleave unto that which was his own, with his hands, and would not borrow neither would he lend; and every man kept the hilt of his sword in his right hand, in the defence of his property and his own life and of his wives and children.
A curse came on the land because of the people's wickedness. If someone put down a tool or a sword, it would be gone the next day. So everyone held on to what they had and kept a hand on their sword.
Ether 14:3-10Murdered as He Sat upon His Throne
3And now, after the space of two years, and after the death of Shared, behold, there arose the brother of Shared and he gave battle unto Coriantumr, in which Coriantumr did beat him and did pursue him to the wilderness of Akish. 4And it came to pass that the brother of Shared did give battle unto him in the wilderness of Akish; and the battle became exceedingly sore, and many thousands fell by the sword. 5And it came to pass that Coriantumr did lay siege to the wilderness; and the brother of Shared did march forth out of the wilderness by night, and slew a part of the army of Coriantumr, as they were drunken. 6And he came forth to the land of Moron, and placed himself upon the throne of Coriantumr. 7And it came to pass that Coriantumr dwelt with his army in the wilderness for the space of two years, in which he did receive great strength to his army.
Shared's brother kept fighting Coriantumr. He attacked Coriantumr's army at night while they were drunk, and then took Coriantumr's throne.
8Now the brother of Shared, whose name was Gilead, also received great strength to his army, because of secret combinations. 9And it came to pass that his high priest murdered him as he sat upon his throne. 10And it came to pass that one of the secret combinations murdered him in a secret pass, and obtained unto himself the kingdom; and his name was Lib; and Lib was a man of great stature, more than any other man among all the people.
Shared's brother, Gilead, grew strong through secret combinations. Then his own high priest murdered him on his throne, and a man named Lib murdered the high priest and took the kingdom.
Ether 14:11-20Who Can Stand before the Army of Shiz?
11And it came to pass that in the first year of Lib, Coriantumr came up unto the land of Moron, and gave battle unto Lib. 12And it came to pass that he fought with Lib, in which Lib did smite upon his arm that he was wounded; nevertheless, the army of Coriantumr did press forward upon Lib, that he fled to the borders upon the seashore. 13And it came to pass that Coriantumr pursued him; and Lib gave battle unto him upon the seashore. 14And it came to pass that Lib did smite the army of Coriantumr, that they fled again to the wilderness of Akish. 15And it came to pass that Lib did pursue him until he came to the plains of Agosh. And Coriantumr had taken all the people with him as he fled before Lib in that quarter of the land whither he fled. 16And when he had come to the plains of Agosh he gave battle unto Lib, and he smote upon him until he died; nevertheless, the brother of Lib did come against Coriantumr in the stead thereof, and the battle became exceedingly sore, in the which Coriantumr fled again before the army of the brother of Lib.
Coriantumr fought Lib. They chased each other back and forth, and Coriantumr was wounded, but finally he killed Lib. Then Lib's brother came against him.
17Now the name of the brother of Lib was called Shiz. And it came to pass that Shiz pursued after Coriantumr, and he did overthrow many cities, and he did slay both women and children, and he did burn the cities. 18And there went a fear of Shiz throughout all the land; yea, a cry went forth throughout the land—Who can stand before the army of Shiz? Behold, he sweepeth the earth before him! 19And it came to pass that the people began to flock together in armies, throughout all the face of the land. 20And they were divided; and a part of them fled to the army of Shiz, and a part of them fled to the army of Coriantumr.
Lib's brother was named Shiz. He destroyed cities and killed women and children, and everyone in the land was afraid of him.
People gathered into armies all over the land. Some joined Shiz and some joined Coriantumr.
Ether 14:21-25The Fulness of His Wrath
21And so great and lasting had been the war, and so long had been the scene of bloodshed and carnage, that the whole face of the land was covered with the bodies of the dead. 22And so swift and speedy was the war that there was none left to bury the dead, but they did march forth from the shedding of blood to the shedding of blood, leaving the bodies of both men, women, and children strewed upon the face of the land, to become a prey to the worms of the flesh. 23And the scent thereof went forth upon the face of the land, even upon all the face of the land; wherefore the people became troubled by day and by night, because of the scent thereof.
The war lasted so long and moved so fast that no one buried the dead. Bodies covered the land, and the people were troubled day and night.
24Nevertheless, Shiz did not cease to pursue Coriantumr; for he had sworn to avenge himself upon Coriantumr of the blood of his brother, who had been slain, and the word of the Lord which came to Ether that Coriantumr should not fall by the sword. 25And thus we see that the Lord did visit them in the fulness of his wrath, and their wickedness and abominations had prepared a way for their everlasting destruction.
Shiz kept chasing Coriantumr to avenge his brother, but the Lord had said Coriantumr would not die by the sword. Moroni says the people's own wickedness had prepared the way for their destruction.
Ether 14:26-31Carried Away as Though He Were Dead
26And it came to pass that Shiz did pursue Coriantumr eastward, even to the borders by the seashore, and there he gave battle unto Shiz for the space of three days. 27And so terrible was the destruction among the armies of Shiz that the people began to be frightened, and began to flee before the armies of Coriantumr; and they fled to the land of Corihor, and swept off the inhabitants before them, all them that would not join them. 28And they pitched their tents in the valley of Corihor; and Coriantumr pitched his tents in the valley of Shurr. Now the valley of Shurr was near the hill Comnor; wherefore, Coriantumr did gather his armies together upon the hill Comnor, and did sound a trumpet unto the armies of Shiz to invite them forth to battle. 29And it came to pass that they came forth, but were driven again; and they came the second time, and they were driven again the second time. And it came to pass that they came again the third time, and the battle became exceedingly sore. 30And it came to pass that Shiz smote upon Coriantumr that he gave him many deep wounds; and Coriantumr, having lost his blood, fainted, and was carried away as though he were dead. 31Now the loss of men, women and children on both sides was so great that Shiz commanded his people that they should not pursue the armies of Coriantumr; wherefore, they returned to their camp.
The armies fought again and again. Shiz wounded Coriantumr so badly that he was carried off as if dead. So many men, women, and children had died that Shiz stopped chasing him.
Research trail
Sources & further study
These references support the historical, linguistic, manuscript, and contextual notes in this chapter. Scripture remains the primary text; external sources are provided so readers can inspect the research directly.
- Secret CombinationsBackground for the combinations that strengthened Gilead's army and gave Lib the kingdom (vv. 8-10).
- WarWhat the scriptures teach about war, peace, and the causes of bloodshed.
- JareditesAn overview of the Jaredite people, from the tower to the final war.
- CoriantumrThe last Jaredite king, kept alive by the word of the Lord (v. 24).
Where this echoes in Scripture
Every Man Did Cleave unto That Which Was His Own
- Helaman 13:34-36We lay a tool here and on the morrow it is gone... all things are become slippery, and we cannot hold them.Samuel's prophecy of the same curse.
- Mormon 2:10No man could keep that which was his own.
- 3 Nephi 12:42Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn thou not away.
- 4 Nephi 1:3They had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor.
Murdered as He Sat upon His Throne
- Ether 8:15-16The oaths which were given by them of old who also sought power, which had been handed down even from Cain, who was a murderer from the beginning.
- Ether 9:11-12The sons of Akish did offer them money... And there began to be a war between the sons of Akish and Akish.The first combination turned on its founder.
- John 8:44He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth.
- Moses 5:31Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain.
Who Can Stand before the Army of Shiz?
- Mormon 6:7With that awful fear of death which fills the breasts of all the wicked, did they await to receive them.
- Ether 10:18-19Lib also did that which was good in the sight of the Lord.A different, earlier Lib.
- Matthew 12:25Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation.
- Mormon 8:8The whole face of this land is one continual round of murder and bloodshed; and no one knoweth the end of the war.Moroni's own land, as he writes.
The Fulness of His Wrath
- Ether 2:9The fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.
- Ether 11:6Their bones should become as heaps of earth upon the face of the land except they should repent.
- Jeremiah 25:33They shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.
- Alma 30:60Thus we see that the devil will not support his children at the last day.Another "thus we see" from an abridger.
Carried Away as Though He Were Dead
- Ether 13:21Every soul should be destroyed save it were Coriantumr.Why Coriantumr cannot die here.
- Mormon 4:5It is by the wicked that the wicked are punished; for it is the wicked that stir up the hearts of the children of men unto bloodshed.
- Isaiah 2:4They shall beat their swords into plowshares... neither shall they learn war any more.The opposite of this chapter, under the Prince of Peace.
- D&C 98:16Renounce war and proclaim peace.