Ether 14
Ether 14:1–2
1 And 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.
2 Wherefore 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.
Comments
This chapter was part of a single chapter that included our chapters 13–15. Therefore, it could easily be missed that these verses are meant to reflect the statement in Ether 13:26 that “there were robbers, and in fine, all manner of wickedness upon all the face of the land.”
There is a strong probability that these particular words are due to Moroni’s reading of the record, rather than a quotation from it. Compare the descriptions of these two verses to what Mormon wrote about the time leading up to the Nephite demise:
But I did remain among them, but I was forbidden to preach unto them, because of the hardness of their hearts; and because of the hardness of their hearts the land was cursed for their sake. And these Gadianton robbers, who were among the Lamanites, did infest the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof began to hide up their treasures in the earth; and they became slippery, because the Lord had cursed the land, that they could not hold them, nor retain them again (Mormon 1:17–18).
Moroni is making sure that the parallels of the two destructions are evident.
Coriantumr Versus Gilead
Ether 14:3–6
3 And 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.
4 And 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.
5 And 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.
6 And he came forth to the land of Moron, and placed himself upon the throne of Coriantumr.
Comments
Even though Moroni is highlighting aspects of the final wars of the Jaredites in order to link them to the destruction of the Nephites, there are clear differences between the two sets of events. Jaredite wars are always indicated as family affairs. The winds of change blew frequently, and there were different people rising to the throne during the lifetime of a single man (in this case Coriantumr): he was the king, he was then taken captive, he once again became king, and finally he was defeated with an army in exile. That pattern differs from anything we have seen in the Nephite record.
Ether 14:7–10
7 And 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.
8 Now the brother of Shared, whose name was Gilead, also received great strength to his army, because of secret combinations.
9 And it came to pass that his high priest murdered him as he sat upon his throne.
10 And 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.
Comments
Being a Jaredite king was a tenuous position. It was even more so when the secret combinations were involved. In verse 9 we find them doing what they did among the Nephites, they murder a king as he sat on his throne. Verse 9 certainly speaks of the death of Gilead, but it is unclear if somehow verse 10 refers to that event, or to the subsequent death of the high priest who killed Gilead. It is possible that the high priest mentioned in verse 9 was the one who killed him. The specifics are less important than the presence of the secret combinations, which continue to be shown as destroyers of kings, and of peoples.
Coriantumr Versus Lib
Ether 14:11–16
11 And it came to pass that in the first year of Lib, Coriantumr came up unto the land of Moron, and gave battle unto Lib.
12 And 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.
13 And it came to pass that Coriantumr pursued him; and Lib gave battle unto him upon the seashore.
14 And it came to pass that Lib did smite the army of Coriantumr, that they fled again to the wilderness of Akish.
15 And 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.
16 And 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.
Comments
The final Jaredite wars have no easy victors or defined defeats. The wars move back and forth over the land, with each side prevailing at different times. These verses describe the battles between Coriantumr and Lib and conclude with a shift in the combatants when Lib is killed. In spite of the loss of Lib, Lib’s brother takes over and causes Coriantumr to flee the scene. This again differs from incidents seen in Nephite history where the death or capture of the leader of the enemy army might signal the end of the conflict.
Coriantumr Versus Shiz
Ether 14:17–20
17 Now 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.
18 And 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!
19 And it came to pass that the people began to flock together in armies, throughout all the face of the land.
20 And 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.
Comments
Shiz is the final leader to oppose Coriantumr. He is apparently a fearsome warrior, having driven off Coriantumr’s army and, apparently, successfully taking over numerous cities. Moroni does not want him to be seen in any kind of favorable light, however, so he mentions that “he did slay both women and children, and he did burn the cities.”
The final days are set with a people divided into two separate and conflicting loyalties.
Ether 14:21–23
21 And 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.
22 And 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.
23 And 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.
Comments
The comment that the war was “swift and speedy” is the reason that “there was none left to bury the dead.” Rather than stopping the war to perform rites for the dead, the destruction continued, and the dead were left on the land. It is possible that the conquering army did bury those of their own people who had died, but this devastation was certainly committed upon the enemy.
Sadly, Moroni would have been all too familiar with “the scent thereof.”
Ether 14:24–27
24 Nevertheless, 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.
25 And 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.
26 And 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.
27 And 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.
Comments
After fleeing before Shiz’s army, Coriantumr’s army are finally driven to a location where they must make a stand, and they fought with a vengeance that caused enough destruction among Shiz’s armies that it was Shiz’s turn to retreat. As they retreat, they apparently kill any of the people they meet who will not join their army. That is a level of destruction against non-combatants that confirms that we are to see them as the worse of the two armies, though neither was considered righteous.
Ether 14:28–31
28 And 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.
29 And 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.
30 And 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.
31 Now 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.
Comments
The destruction continues, and Coriantumr is wounded so badly that he had to be carried from the field of battle “as though he were dead.” Perhaps that allowed a short respite, but there is a temporary break in the devastation.
This is not the end of a chapter in the 1830 edition. The story of the destruction continues in the next, and final, chapter of the book of Ether.
