Isa 14:32 in the KJV reads:
What shall one then answer the
messengers of the nation? That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor
of his people shall trust in it.
When this verse is quoted in 2 Nephi 24:32, it reads nations:
What shall the answer the
messengers of the nations? That the Lord that founded Zion, and the poor
of his people shall trust in it.
The Masoretic text is singular (מַלְאֲכֵי־ג֑וֹי “messengers
of the nation”) as does 1QIsaa at Col. XIII, line 4 (מלכי גוי “kings
of a nation”).
However, the LXX has a plural. The Göttingen text reads:
καὶ τί ἀποκριθήσονται βασιλεῖς ἐθνῶν;
ὅτι κύριος ἐθεμελίωσε Σιων, καὶ διʼ αὐτοῦ σωθήσονται οἱ ταπεινοὶ τοῦ λαοῦ.
And what will the kings of the
nations answer? That the Lrod founded Zion, and through him the low among the
people will be saved. (Lexham English Septuagint 2d ed.)
There is no textual variant concerning εθνων at this verse, per a consultation of the critical apparatus of Göttingen.
The Targum
Jonathan for Isa 14:32 reads also “nations” or “Gentiles” (same word in Hebrew
and Aramaic):
וּמָא יְבַסְרוּן אִזגַדֵי עַמְמַיָא אְרֵי יוי שַכלְלַה לְצִיֹון וּבַה יִתרַחְצוּן וְיִחדֹון
חַשִיכֵי עַמָא
And what will the messengers of the Gentiles
announce as good news? For the LORD has founded Zion, and in her the needy
of his people will trust and rejoice. (The Isaiah Targum [trans.
Bruce D. Chilton; The Aramaic Bible 11; Collegeville, Minn.: The Liturgical
Press, 1990], Logos Bible Software edition)
The
Peshitta also reads a plural. The following is taken from Leiden Peshitta
(Leiden: Peshitta Institute Leiden, 2008), Logos Bible Software edition:
One can transliterate the above thusly:
naʿnānā le‑malakā d‑ʿammāyā d‑maryā metqān štāśyāh d‑ṣahyōn
ū‑beh nistatrōn b‑yišyē d‑ʿammāh
The phrase d‑ʿammāyā means “of the nations.” One potential translation of the above is:
Given answer to the messenger of the Lord’s nations, who has ordained
Zion’s disgrace; and in that calamity they shall hide themselves among the ruins
of her people.
