Jacob 7:22 Textual Variants

The original manuscript is not extant here, but Oliver Cowdery’s erasure in 𝓟 of the final s indicates an immediate change, probably to the original reading. The preceding singular noun cry supports the singular reading prayer, especially in light of the consistent number agreement between cry/cries and prayer /prayers elsewhere in the text (although all these other examples are in the plural):

• Mosiah 9:18 and God did hear our cries and did answer our prayers
• Mosiah 23:10 the Lord did hear my cries and did answer my prayers
• Alma 9:26 quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers

One could argue that given the singular cry in Jacob 7:22, we expect the matching singular prayer. In any event, the singular prayer is the reading of the earliest textual sources.