2 Nephi 23:11 Textual Variants

Royal Skousen
and I will punish the world for evil and the wicked for their iniquity

Isaiah 13:11 (King James Bible) and I will punish the world for their evil and the wicked for their iniquity

The earliest extant Book of Mormon text is missing the italicized their of the corresponding King James passage. The following their in “the wicked for their iniquity” is maintained (this second their is not set in italics in the King James Bible). The Book of Mormon text thus follows the Hebrew original (where the first their is supplied in the King James translation). In the Hebrew the word for world is in the singular while the wicked is a plural form. Some modern translations (such as the Revised Standard Version and the New International Version) supply the possessive pronoun its for the singular world: “I will punish the world for its evil”. In any event, the Book of Mormon translation follows the literalism of the Hebrew text by omitting the possessive pronoun before world. The critical text will follow the reading of the earliest extant source (here the printer’s manuscript).

Summary: Maintain the reading of the earliest text for 2 Nephi 23:11 (“and I will punish the world for evil”), which omits the italicized their of the King James reading.

Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part. 2

References