Alma 14:19 Textual Variants

Here in Alma 14:19, the ungrammatical use of the subject pronoun form ye in the earliest textual sources may be due to the influence of the preceding ye, which is grammatically correct since there the ye occurs in subject position: “know ye not”. Moreover, Oliver Cowdery sometimes wrote ye in object position, but in all other cases he caught his error, as in the following instances:

• 2 Nephi 26:14 I prophesy unto [ ye > you 1]
• Mosiah 2:15 I might accuse [ ye > you 1]
• Alma 32:10 I say unto [ ye > you 0]
• Alma 37:6 I say unto [ you 0|ye > you 1]
• Helaman 9:24 I shewed unto [ ye > you 1] this sign
• 3 Nephi 27:5 ye must take upon [ ye > you 0|you 1] the name of Christ

Note, in particular, that in the last instance the preceding ye (“ye must take upon you”) could have prompted Oliver to initially write “ye must take upon ye” in 𝓞. In one other passage, there has been considerable variation between ye and you, including one more momentary error in 𝓟 of ye in object position (marked below with an arrow):

• Alma 54:9
  •   and now behold we are prepared to receive you
      yea and except [ you 01ABCDEFIJLMNOQRT|ye GHKPS] withdraw your purposes
      behold [ ye 0ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST|you > ye 1] will pull down
      the wrath of that God
      whom [ ye > you 0|you > ye > you 1|you ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST]
      have rejected
    → upon [NULL >– you 0|you > ye > you 1|you ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST]

Thus it is quite possible that the 1920 LDS emendation in Alma 14:19 to “I have power to deliver you up unto the flames” may actually be the original text.

On the other hand, this instance in Alma 14:19 of ye in object position did survive into the printed editions (and is still found in the RLDS text). This perseverance argues that the earliest reading with ye is possibly the original reading. Note further that there are instances in the earliest text of other subject pronoun forms occurring in object position:

• 1 Nephi 7:6 (“against I Nephi”)
  • behold Laman and Lemuel and two of the daughters of Ishmael and the two sons of Ishmael and their families did rebel against us yea against [i 0|I 1ABCDEGIJLNP|me > I F|me HKOQRST|I > me M] Nephi and Sam and their father Ishmael and his wife and his three other daughters
• 1 Nephi 17:44 (“unto they”)
  • and ye are like unto [they 0A|they >js them 1|them BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST]
• Jacob 2:33 (“unto they of old”)
  • for they shall not commit whoredoms like unto [they >js them 1|they A|them BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] of old

Thus the earliest reading for Alma 14:19 is possible (although the possibility remains that the second ye is an error for you). The critical text will restore this use of the subject pronoun form ye even though it occurs in object position.