1 Nephi 20:12–13 Textual Variants

Isaiah 48:12–13 (King James Bible)

I am he
( 1 ) I am the first
(2 ) I also am the last mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth
(3 ) and my right hand hath spanned the heavens
(4 ) when I call unto them
(5 ) they stand up together

In this passage we have two examples (identified as 1 and 4) where the original Book of Mormon text has an and that Joseph Smith deleted in his editing for the 1837 edition. Perhaps he felt that there were just too many and ’s in this passage. For both of these cases, the corresponding Isaiah passage does not have the and (see 1 and 4 above). On the other hand, Joseph did leave two other examples of and (identified as 2 and 5) for which the Isaiah text does not have any and (see 2 and 5 above). In only one case, identified as 3 /3 , do both the Book and Mormon and the King James Bible have the and.

Unlike the King James text for Isaiah, the original Book of Mormon text uses all these and ’s to create a more connected text. Joseph Smith’s editing for the 1837 edition restores, in part, some of the disconnected style found in the King James version of Isaiah. The critical text will maintain all of the original and ’s, in accord with the reading of the earliest textual sources.