Isaiah 6:5 (King James Bible) woe is me
As noted in the discussion for 2 Nephi 13:14, the Book of Mormon text frequently omits the linking verb be when it is italicized in the King James Bible (and therefore lacking in the original Hebrew text). Here in 2 Nephi 16:5, the original Book of Mormon text read “woe me”, without the is that is italicized in the corresponding King James passage. Such usage appears to be intended since it occurs fairly often (see the list under 2 Nephi 13:14). Yet not every be verb form that is italicized in the King James Bible is omitted in the original Book of Mormon text. For instance, out of 37 cases of italicized is in Isaiah 2–14, there are 27 that have retained the is in the corresponding Book of Mormon quotation, including two in a nearby verse in this chapter:
In later editing, the omitted be verb has been supplied in nine out of the ten other cases (the only exception is in 2 Nephi 17:8) and always in agreement with the King James text except for here in 2 Nephi 16:5. In this case, in his editing for the 1837 edition, Joseph Smith did more than supply the is found in the King James Bible: he also added the preposition unto. Such usage is partially consistent with usage elsewhere in the Book of Mormon. For instance, whenever we have “woe be”, we get a following unto (“woe be unto X”), with 24 occurrences (such as “woe be unto the Gentiles” in 1 Nephi 14:6). In addition, we have 47 occurrences of “woe unto X”—that is, without any be verb at all (such as “woe unto the rich” in 2 Nephi 9:30). Thus the use of unto is highly expected after woe. However, there is one example of woe in the original Book of Mormon text that takes is as the form of the be verb, and in that one case, we get no preposition at all. And for this one instance, the complement is the object pronoun me, just like in the King James reading for 2 Nephi 16:5:
In the King James Bible, excluding the example in Isaiah 6:5, we have six examples of “woe is me”, all in the Old Testament. Interestingly, there is a single example in the King James Bible of “woe is unto me”, but it occurs in the New Testament:
Thus the Old Testament usage consistently supports “woe is me”, while the single New Testament occurrence supports “woe is unto me”.
Interestingly, the Hebrew original for Isaiah 6:5 literally reads “woe unto me”, which means that Joseph Smith’s emendation to “woe is unto me” is consistent with the Hebrew. Nonetheless, if the text in 2 Nephi 16:5 is to be revised, then only the is should be added. The two main reasons are (1) the only other instance in the Book of Mormon of “woe is (unto) me” reads “woe is me” (Mormon 2:19), and (2) the King James reading that corresponds to 2 Nephi 16:5 (namely, Isaiah 6:5) reads “woe is me”. The critical text will, of course, omit the is as well as the unto.
Summary: Maintain the earliest text in 2 Nephi 16:5 (“woe me”), which corresponds to the King James text except that the italicized is is omitted.