The phrase “hedge up their ways” echoes the language from Hosea 2:6. Hosea was a prophet from the brass plates, and Limhi appears to expect that many in the audience will associate that phrase with scripture. This continues to link their experience to scripture and to Jehovah’s covenant with them.
The parallelism in verses 30 and 31 also uses phrases from scripture. The chaff in the whirlwind probably echoes Hosea 13:3. There is a similar phrase in Isaiah 17:13, but since Hosea was the previous reference, it is probably the reference here as well.
The east wind is an Old Testament phrase indicating the source of misfortune. Dr. Kerry Hull examined that metaphor and found that it would also resonate with Mesoamerican peoples. This was not a dead metaphor, but one that would continue to hold a similar meaning.
Verses 32 and 33 provide a contrasting parallel, but one that has both sides of the contrast being supported by the statement that “the promise of the Lord is fulfilled.” The first is that the people are “smitten and afflicted,” because they have not been faithful. The reversal is that the Lord will deliver them, if the people “put [their] trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind.”
The original chapter did not end here, but continued immediately to the next verse, now separated into Chapter 8.