Redaction: This phrase: “the blood of the saints shall cry” is virtually unique to the Book of Mormon. (See also 2 Ne. 28:10, 3 Ne. 9:11, Morm. 8:27, Ether 8:22. See commentary accompanying Alma 1:13–14 for implications of the phrase in the Mesoamerican context.) The phrase also appears in Doctrine and Covenants 87:7, most likely due to the Book of Mormon’s influence. While the phrase itself is unique to the Book of Mormon, the idea that blood can be an active agent is not. When Cain murders Abel, God interrogates Cain: “What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground” (Gen. 4:10). The phrasing in the Book of Mormon is probably due to the Genesis verse.