This conclusion seems abrupt and confusing. Limhi praises Yahweh—and well might he, at the realization that the seer, the interpreters, and the plates in an unknown tongue will shortly come together. But why does Limhi then lament the tendency of human beings to become a scattered flock, devoured by beasts?
Limhi contrasts the “marvelous… works of the Lord” with the “blind and impenetrable… understandings of the children of men.” These concepts should be read together to create contrasting elements. For Limhi, the focal point is the “blind and impenetrable… understandings.” Limhi positions himself as one of blind and impenetrable understanding, since he has the physical plates, but their meaning is impenetrable. On his own, Limhi might as well be blind, for he can understand nothing of what he assumes to be the “great mystery” they contain. In contrast are the “marvelous… works of the Lord” manifest in one who can read and these texts and reveal their meaning. Through this process, Yahweh reveals his wisdom.
The parallel contrast (wise and revealing Yahweh/blind and not understanding man) is further elaborated in verse 21 by expanding the description of man. Limhi’s extra sentence of lament for human blindness continues to praise Yahweh through the unstated but understood contrast to Yahweh’s wisdom. The structure implies that praise, even though it is not directly stated.
Verse 21 compares man without Yahweh’s wisdom to a “wild flock which fleeth from the shepherd, and scattereth, and are driven, and are devoured by the beasts of the forest.” The shepherd, like Yahweh, provides wisdom and order. However, the “wild flock” runs from that source of wisdom and perishes.
In the context this conversation, Limhi accepts Mosiah, sight unseen, as a seer who can reveal Yahweh’s will, “a great benefit to his fellow beings” (v. 18). Mosiah, by revealing Yahweh’s will, can provide the wisdom Yahweh’s children require to move safely through life.
Vocabulary: Verse 20 correctly portrays wisdom as female: “They will not seek wisdom, neither do they desire that she should rule over them.” Biblical wisdom refers to true divine wisdom rather than earthly understanding. Wisdom was traditionally personified as female (Prov. 1–9). Job 28:20–28 places wisdom in the beginning with God. When Ammon laments to Limhi that men do not allow wisdom to rule over them, he understands wisdom as a divine quality.
Translation: Verse 21 uses the phrase: “wild flock which fleeth from the shepherd, and scattereth, and are driven.” This is a fascinating mix of pastoral metaphors, as we have a shepherd, but a “wild flock which… scattereth.” This will be the same problem we will see in the story of Ammon at the Waters of Sebus. (See commentary accompanying Alma 17:27.) The term “shepherd” suggests that we are speaking of a flock of sheep, but sheep are herding animals who do not tend to scatter when they flee. The intent of this phrase creates tension with the word “shepherd” that is used in the translation. I suggest that the intent of the phrase authentically replicates the animals with which Limhi was familiar, but that the term “shepherd” is an artifact of translation influence by the numerous references to a shepherd in the Bible. (See commentary accompanying Alma 5:59.)