Alma 16:13 Textual Variants

and Alma and Amulek went forth preaching repentance [unto 1A|to BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] the people in their temples and in their sanctuaries and also in their synagogues

Here the 1837 edition accidentally changed the preposition from unto to to. Elsewhere in the Book of Mormon text we have six occurrences of “to preach repentance unto someone”, but none of “to preach repentance to someone”:

Mosiah 18:7 and he did teach them and did preach unto them repentance
Mosiah 25:15 preaching unto the people repentance and faith on the Lord
Alma 13:18 but Melchizedek … did preach repentance unto his people
Alma 37:33 preach unto them repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ
Helaman 13:2 he did preach many days repentance unto the people
3 Nephi 7:23 and he did preach unto them repentance and remission of sins

The preferred preposition in this construction is definitely unto. The critical text will restore the original preposition unto here in Alma 16:13.

Summary: Restore in Alma 16:13 the original preposition unto in “preaching repentance unto the people”; elsewhere the text consistently has the preposition unto in the construction “to preach repentance unto someone”.

Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part. 3

References