1 Nephi 15:5 Textual Variants

Here scribe 2 of 𝓞 originally wrote “mine afflictions was”, then later in considerably heavier ink flow overwrote the as portion of was with ere, thus making the verb agree grammatically with the plural subject. This change was definitely not immediate and suggests later editing on the part of scribe 2.

Elsewhere the plural afflictions takes was rather than were in the earliest text:

• Mosiah 21:5
  • and now the afflictions of the Nephites [was >js were 1|was A|were BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] great
• Mosiah 24:10
  • and it came to pass that so great [was >js were 1|was A|were BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] their afflictions that they began to cry mightily to God
• Alma 4:3
  • and so great [was >js were 1|was A|were BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] their afflictions that every soul had cause to mourn

In all three of these cases, Joseph Smith made the grammatical change of was to were in his editing for the 1837 edition. Thus all the other examples in the earliest text support the original reading of “mine afflictions was” in 1 Nephi 15:5.

Another possibility for 1 Nephi 15:5 is that the plural afflictions is an early error for the singular affliction—that is, “mine affliction was great above all”. One could argue for the same possibility in the other three examples. The problem with this argument is that in three of the four cases, nearby sentences also use the plural afflictions:

• 1 Nephi 15:5
  • and it came to pass that I was overcome because of my afflictions for I considered that mine afflictions was great above all
• Mosiah 21:5–6
  • and now the afflictions of the Nephites was great … and it came to pass that the people began to murmur with the king because of their afflictions
• Mosiah 24:10, 13
  • and it came to pass that so great was their afflictions that they began to cry mightily to God … and it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions saying …

In each of these examples, the reference is to the same afflictions.