3 Nephi 1:16 Textual Variants

Here the printer’s manuscript reads “the words of the prophets”, while the 1830 edition reads “the word of the prophets”. The 1905 LDS edition replaced word with words since the plural seemed more natural. The RLDS text adopted the plural reading in the 1908 edition, probably because 𝓟 had the plural. Either reading is theoretically possible, although elsewhere in the text, there are 13 occurrences of “the words of the prophets” but none of “the word of the prophets”. In fact, two of the examples of “the words of the prophets” are close by, including another one earlier in this same verse:

• 3 Nephi 1:16
  • and there were many which had not believed the words of the prophets fell to the earth
• 3 Nephi 1:20
  • and it had come to pass yea all things every whit according to the words of the prophets

Thus the original manuscript probably read words both times in 3 Nephi 1:16.

Oliver Cowdery sometimes mistakenly wrote words instead of word, but in every case where the evidence is unambiguous he caught his error:

• 1 Nephi 17:22 (initial error in 𝓟 virtually immediately corrected) and hath led us away because we would hearken unto his [word 0GHKPS|words > word 1|words ABCDEFIJLMNOQRT]
• Jacob 2:11 (initial error in 𝓟 immediately corrected by erasure) get thou up into the temple on the morrow and declare the [words >% word 1|word ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] which I shall give thee unto this people
• Alma 23:3 (initial error in 𝓞 immediately corrected by erasure)
• therefore he sent this proclamation throughout the land unto his people that the [words >% word 0|word 1ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] of God might have no obstruction
• Alma 32:42 (initial error in 𝓞 immediately corrected by erasure)
• and because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the [words >% word 0|word 1ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] in nourishing it …

On the other side of the argument, there is one case where the 1830 typesetter replaced words with word (thus providing support for 𝓟 as having the original reading in 3 Nephi 1:16):

• Jacob 3:11
  • O my brethren hearken unto my [words 1T|word ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS]

It should be noted that there are several more mix-ups of word and words in this part of the text where both 𝓟 and the 1830 edition are firsthand copies of 𝓞:

• 3 Nephi 3:16
  • and so great and marvelous were the [word 1|words ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] and prophecies of Lachoneus that they did cause fear to come upon all the people
• 3 Nephi 29:7
  • for he that doeth this shall become like unto the son of perdition for whom there was no mercy according to the [words 1|word ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] of Christ
• Mormon 2:17
  • and behold I had gone according to the [words >js word 1|word ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] of Ammaron and taken the plates of Nephi

In each of these cases, as here in 3 Nephi 1:16, there is sufficient evidence from transmission errors to support either the manuscript scribe or the 1830 typesetter as the source for the variation. This means that the critical text will essentially follow the reading that works best contextually—that is, the reading that is most consistent with usage elsewhere in the text.