Mosiah 21:1 - 21:5

Mosiah 21:1 And it came to pass that Limhi and his people returned to the city of Nephi, and began to dwell in the land again in peace.

Everyone returns to their own lands and there is peace.

Mosiah 21:2 And it came to pass that after many days the Lamanites began again to be stirred up in anger against the Nephites, and they began to come into the borders of the land round about.

However, the Lamanites are back at harassing the Nephites again after a little while. They started in the outskirts of the Nephite lands to make life miserable of Limhi’s people.

Mosiah 21:3 Now they durst not slay them, because of the oath which their king had made unto Limhi; but they would smite them on their cheeks, and exercise authority over them; and began to put heavy burdens upon their backs, and drive them as they would a dumb ass—

Since the Lamanite king had made a pack with the Nephites not to killed them if they kept the treaty they had entered into with the Lamanites, the Lamanites could just kill them at will. But they could made them work harder or force them to do things they did not want to do, but without killing them.

Mosiah 21:4 Yea, all this was done that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled.

This was allowed by the Lord to fulfill the prophecies of Abinadi that this would now happen to them because they would not repent when he commanded them too.
[Remember this was allow by the Lord. Their condition was not happenstance. It was deliberate by Him. He put into place circumstances that would cause this situation to happen to the Nephites. The Lord is in direct control of what situations we find ourselves in. They are all for teaching and we must not get angry about them but realized their potential for our good. They don’t seem that way while we in them, but we have to just bare them and let the Lord have His way with us.]

Mosiah 21:5 And now the afflictions of the Nephites were great, and there was no way that they could deliver themselves out of their hands, for the Lamanites had surrounded them on every side.

This was not an easy time for Limhi and his people. They could not escape the Lamanites and their cruelty. The Lamanite guards were on all sides and there was no way to flee their domination.