4 Nephi 1:17 Textual Variants

The 1874 RLDS edition has murders in place of murderers. This change seems to be a simple visual misreading of the copytext. The 1892 RLDS edition followed this error, but the 1908 RLDS edition restored the correct murderers. The original manuscript here undoubtedly read murderers, but it is theoretically possible that the original text itself could have read murders. Yet elsewhere the text always combines murderers (not murders) with other agents (such as robbers, plunderers, and thieves):

• Helaman 2:10 this band of robbers and secret murderers
• Helaman 6:18 those murderers and plunderers
• Helaman 6:18 Gaddianton’s robbers and murderers
• Mormon 2:10 the thieves and the robbers and the murderers

Thus murderers is undoubtedly correct in 4 Nephi 1:17 because it is conjoined with robbers.