Literature: It is tempting to see these verses as a type of chiasm, but the verses have a subtle change of reference suggesting that the third verse builds upon the first rather than simply reflecting it. In verse 21 the message is: Repent and turn to Yahweh, or the people will be brought into bondage by their enemies.
This is the first part of the prophecy. It begins with a people who are not in bondage and offers them freedom from the threat of bondage if they will repent.
Verse 22 appears to indicate Yahweh’s foreknowledge that they would not repent and, hence, will suffer bondage and afflictions. In the model familiar from the Old Testament, Yahweh plays an active role in afflicting and chastening his unrepentant people. This claim should be seen as a rhetorical device, however, because the situation is obviously one, rather, of Yahweh’s nonintervention while the natural consequence of the people’s sinful behavior plays itself out.
In verse 23 Abinadi again mentions repentance; but rather than replicating the message of verse 21, this verse expresses different timing: You will be brought into bondage; only Yahweh will relieve you from that bondage.
While the language is parallel to that in verse 21, the theme is progressive through time, with the final pronouncement indicating Yahweh’s foreknowledge of their bondage and affliction. Despite the people’s willful rebellion and the chastisement of this pessimistic prophecy, Yahweh still holds hope before the people of Noah. When they repent, Yahweh will deliver them. We have already seen the fulfillment of this prophecy in the account of the public penance, repentance, and preparation for salvation that Limhi’s people engaged in after Ammon’s arrival (Mosiah 7:18–33).