Nephi has dropped story telling, historical parallels, and subtlety. He openly accuses his brothers of denying Yahweh, of causing their own afflictions through their hard-heartedness, and of being murderers in their hearts (v. 44). We still do not know whether Nephi has had a revelation concerning his brother’s intentions or if this is history rewritten from his later perspective. Nevertheless, Nephi is speaking in sorrow, not in anger. His words communicate powerful compassion and deep spiritual pain over his brothers.
His mention of becoming physically weak under the influence of the Spirit is a recurring theme in the scriptures. Later, the conversions of Alma2 (Mosiah 27:19) and King Lamoni (Alma 19:42) are examples of the Spirit so thoroughly overpowering the body that they appear dead. Joseph Smith also testified to the draining effect of spiritual manifestations (JS—H 1:20).
Reference:As Nephi describes Yahweh’s power, he notes: “and ye know that by his word he can cause the rough places to be made smooth, and smooth places shall be broken up.” This is an oblique reference to Isaiah 40:4: “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.” Nephi does not quote the passage precisely but rather references it and expands on it. He clearly expects that the reference will be understood.
Variant: The 1830 language has Nephi saying that “I am full of the Spirit of God, insomuch as if my frame had no strength.” Joseph made the change from as if to that. Skousen notes: “The resulting text says that Nephi was so full of the Spirit of God that his frame had no strength, which is not equivalent to saying that he was full of the Spirit so much that it was as if his frame had no strength.”