In Isa 48:2
(KJV) we read:
For they call themselves of the holy city,
and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The Lord of hosts is his name.
In 1 Nephi 20:2, a quotation of Isa 48:2, we read the following:
Nevertheless they
call themselves of the holy city, but
they do not stay themselves upon the God of Israel, which is the Lord of
Hosts; yea, the Lord of Hosts is his name.
The portion
in bold is added by Nephi to Isaiah. While there is no manuscript evidence
(e.g., Dead Sea Scrolls) supporting this addition, it appears that Nephi may
have added it to make more sense of the Isaiah text; indeed, the addition of “but
they do not,” changing the verse from something positive to negative towards
the House of Israel, makes better sense of the context of Isa 48. As Brant
Gardner notes:
Clearly, the addition of “but they do not” changes
the meaning from a positive to a negative. However, in the context of the verse,
the negative fits better the intent of the text. Verse 1 describes a
hypocritical Israel that is not keeping its covenants. They should “stay
themselves upon the God of Israel” but do not. It improves the sense of the
text for the modern reader to indicate that they are currently not relying upon
the Lord, even though they should. (Brant Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of
Mormon, Volume 1: First Nephi [Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2007],
387)
