Isa 9:2 (v. 1 in the Hebrew) reads:
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. (KJV)
This verse is quoted by Nephi in the Book of Mormon. 2 Nephi 19:2 reads thusly:
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
As one can see, there are no differences between the KJV and Book of Mormon versions of this verse. Furthermore, with respect to the Book of Mormon, there are no textual variants for this verse.
Dr. David P. Wright, one of the more scholarly critics of the Book of Mormon charged the text with following a KJV translation error. In his study of the Isaiah variants of the Book of Mormon he wrote:
Isaiah 9:2 (=Hebrew 9:1)//2 Nephi 19:2: "Shadow of death." The Hebrew term צַלְמָוֶת which this translates should be simply "darkness." It is not connected with the term מָוֶת "death."
The Hebrew term צַלְמָוֶת, while it does mean "shadow" also carries with it, contra Wright, the subtext of "death." The LXX translated צַלְמָוֶת as σκιᾷ θανάτου ("shadow of death"). The New English Translation of the Septuagint reads:
O you people who walk in darkness, see a great light! O you who live in the country and in the shadow of death, light will shine on you!
Indeed, even sources that call into question the translation of "shadow of death" boils down to a question of how to vocalise the consonantal text, which can be rather subjective. The NET of Isa 9:2 reads:
The people walking in darkness see a bright light; light shines on those who live in a land of deep darkness.
The note for this verse reads:
Traditionally צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet) has been interpreted as a compound noun, meaning "shadow of death" (so KJV, ASV, NIV), but usage indicates that the word, though it sometimes refers to death, means "darkness." The term should probably be repointed as an abstract noun צַלְמוּת (tsalmut).
Many lexical sources list צַלְמָוֶת as a death-like shadow:
צַלְמָוֶת (ṣalmāwet), darkness, shadow of death (#7516) (New International Dictionary of the Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, vol. 3, ed. Willem A. VanGemeren [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1997], 810)
In the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT), the term is associated with death/Sheol/Hades:
ƒalm¹wet. Deep darkness. (ASV prefers "the shadow of death" and also has "thick darkness, " "thick gloom"; RSV prefers "deep darkness" and also has "gloom.") Some treat it as a combination of ƒal¹mu "be dark" (Akkadian, also Arabic) plus ût as an abstract ending. Most versions understand it as combination of "shadow" and "death." D. W. Thomas accepts the latter, but convincingly argues that mût possesses superlative force: "very deep shadow, " "thick darkness." M. Dahood agrees, vocalizing it ƒalmawet and citing other compound nouns in Ugaritic (Psalms I, AB, p. 147). It describes the darkness of eyelids tired from weeping (Job 16:16), the thick darkness present in a mine shaft (Job 28:3), the darkness of the abode of the dead (Job 10:21ff; Job 38:17), and the darkness prior to creation (Amos 5:8). Emotionally it describes the internal anguish of one who has rebelled against God (Psa 107:10-14; cf. Psa 44:19 ff [H 20f]). Thus it is the strongest word in Hebrew for darkness.
As we can see, Wright is wrong in charging the Book of Mormon with a KJV translation “error” in 2 Nephi 19:2.
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