The variant commandments in the 1888 LDS large-print edition makes one wonder if the singular commandment is an error—perhaps an s is missing or perhaps commandment should be immediately preceded by the indefinite article a. Actually the phrase “to give commandment” without any intervening word between the verb give and the singular direct object commandment occurs elsewhere in the scriptures. We have five examples of this precise construction in the King James Bible (such as “and Moses gave commandment” in Exodus 36:6). In the Book of Mormon, we have three more examples:
Summary: Maintain the singular commandment in the phrase “he gave commandment” (in 2 Nephi 2:21); the phrase “to give commandment” is found in various places in the King James Bible and in the Book of Mormon.