2 Nephi 1:1 Textual Variants

Royal Skousen
Nephi’s brethren [rebelleth 01ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQS|rebel RT] against him

The original text of the Book of Mormon frequently used the third person singular present-tense ending -eth with plural subjects, as here in the preface to 2 Nephi. This inflectional ending was removed in the 1920 LDS edition. The critical text will restore such usage. For complete discussion, see infl al endings in volume 3.

Summary: In accord with the earliest textual sources, the original -eth ending in the preface to 2 Nephi should be maintained; this verbal ending, characteristic of the biblical style, frequently occurs with plural subjects in the original text.

Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part. 1

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