Monday, January 13, 2020

Mosiah 14:6 using Plural "Iniquities" vs. Isaiah 53:6 using the Singular "Iniquity"


Isa 53:6 reads:

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (KJV)

The Book of Mormon reads slightly differently:

All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all. (Mosiah 14:6)

As John Tvedtnes noted:

MT as cwn which, while singular in form, may be used in a collective sense. Note that LXX has the plural (tais amartias), agreeing with BM. (John A. Tvedtnes, The Isaiah Variants in the Book of Mormon [Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1981], 92)

As an aside, there are instances elsewhere in Scripture where a plural is used in a collective sense, such as the use of plural “sacrifices” in Heb 9:23. For a discussion in response to Roman Catholic apologists (e.g., Robert Sungenis, Not By Bread Alone) using such as evidence for the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Mass, see: