24 For shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives delivered?
This is another verse that makes more sense in my mind the
way it is recorded in the Bible. And the only real difference is that the Bible
leaves off the word “for” at the beginning of the verse. It also begins a new
paragraph. The significance of this is that it now looks more like what I think
it probably is, which is Israel’s response in this conversation with the Lord.
From their perspective, all they see is oppression and captivity, yet they have
just received some amazing promises. So they ask how this can come about, and
the Lord answers their question in the next couple of verses.
The Book of Mormon version could also be understood that way,
but the way it is written could take us a completely different, and harder to
grasp direction. Including the word “for” at the beginning would indicate that
this is a continuation of the thought in verse 23, which refers to those who
are helping Israel, not their enemies. So it doesn’t make sense that the Lord
would fight against His covenant people, or that those covenant people would
oppress or hold captive the house of Israel. Or it could simply be a rhetorical
question from the Lord, which would also make complete sense, and would have
the same meaning as if Israel were to ask the question.
