In 2 Nephi 19, which is a reproduction of Isa 9, there are some interesting
variants between the Book of Mormon and the KJV. This post will address two
such variants:
Isa 9:3//2 Nephi 19:3
Thou hast multiplied
the nation and not increased the
joy: the joy before thee according to the joy in the harvest, and as men
rejoice when they divide the spoil. (Isa 9:3)
Thou hast multiplied
the nation, and increased the joy--they joy before thee according to the joy in
harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. (2 Nephi 19:3)
The Book of Mormon does not have the negation “not” as the KJV does.
Interestingly, in the Masoretic texts, there are some texts that, instead of
reading לא (“not” [the Ketib]) some read לו (“for him” [the Qere]) as does the Peshitta and Targum,
indicating that the negation may not be original to Isaiah. Indeed, many modern
translations omit the negation, just like the Book of Mormon, such as the
following:
You have multiplied the nation, you have
increased its joy . . . (NRSV)
You have magnified that nation, Have given it
great joy . . .(1985 JPS Tanakh)
You shall multiply the nation, You shall
increase their gladness . . . (NASB)
Isa 9:9-10//2 Nephi 19:9-10
And all the people shall know, even Ephraim
and the inhabitant of Samaria, that
say in the pride and stoutness of heart, the bricks are fallen down, but we
will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change
them into cedars. (Isa 9:9-10)
And all the people shall know, even Ephraim,
and the inhabitants of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of
heart: the bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones; the
sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. (2 Nephi 19:9-10)
The KJV (and MT) has the singular inhabitant
while the Book of Mormon has the plural inhabitants. Interestingly, the LXX has a
plural, not singular ("οι ἐγκαθήμενοι"). As Tvedtnes noted:
There is a great
likelihood that the original text had an abbreviated w- ywš, which could have been read
as either singular or plural. This is the very abbreviation found at this point
in IQisa! In any event, the sole difference between the singular and plural
construct forms would be the addition of the letter -y to the plural. This
smallest of all Hebrew letters could easily have been lost from the text. (John
A. Tvedntes, The Isaiah Variants in the
Book of Mormon [Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon
Studies, 1981], 46-47)
As Brant
Gardner noted:
Because this verse focuses on the people, “inhabitants”
is a better translation. “Inhabitant” is a possible reading but only if the
king represents the people. Such a reading, however, does not match the focus
within each stanza. (Brant A. Gardner, Second
Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of the Book of
Mormon, Volume 2: Second Nephi-Jacob [Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books,
2007], 273)
