This chapter remains the same as it did in the 1830 edition. After finishing with the history of his people up to 40 years after the departure from Jerusalem, Nephi had added one of Jacob’s sermons, multiple chapters from Isaiah, and then his expansion on both Isaiah and his earlier vision showing the future. He now declares that he can only write a few more words. He chooses to write them about the coming atoning Messiah, which he calls the doctrine of Christ.
Nephi declares that he will speak plainly. Perhaps this emphasis on plainness is a reaction to the high poetry of Isaiah. Nephi understands that poetic form, and appreciates it, but chooses to speak in forms that are less complex and more universally understandable.
The important declaration is that the Lord “speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding.” When the Lord intends His children to have His word and will, it comes in the ways that will make sense to them. One is, certainly, in their language. The Old Testament came in the Hebrew of the day, and according to the language of the particular prophet. Isaiah and Jeremiah were both prophets, but handled language differently.
In our day, we will receive God’s will according to our own language, not just in the words that we can understand, but in the cultural and social contexts that make God’s will relevant to us. Although Nephi does not say it here, he has previously taught that when we read God’s will given to other peoples in other languages and other contexts, that we should liken that to our own language and context. Even when scripture is given in a different language, its meaning can be relevant for different peoples and different times.