Nephi uses this word in the same sense the Old Testament writers which he had read used it, viz., “encompassed about,” or, “surrounded by.” See Judges 19:22; Ps.22:12, and Hos. 11:12. St. Paul, in his letter to the Hebrews, (12:1) compares sin to the weights and clinging garments which the contestants in a race must get rid of, if they want to win the prize, while the spectators are a “cloud” of witnesses,—for to the runners in the arena, in their swift progress toward the goal, they must have appeared just like one indistinct mass. Sin always is an obstacle to the contestants for the heavenly crown.
From the depressing contemplation of weaknesses and shortcomings, Nephi now directs his thoughts toward God. Then the depression vanishes. He counts the many blessings God has bestowed upon him from the day he accompanied his father out of Jerusalem. This section (vv. 20-25) is in the nature of an epic.