Redaction: Nephi makes a transition between verses 7 and 8 as abrupt as that which introduced chapter 11. Verse 8 is the introduction to the Isaiah quotation that follows without a chapter break in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon.
Before the 1879 versification, the text that we have as 2 Nephi 11:1–8 was divided into just three paragraphs, each beginning with the phrase “And now.… ” The first paragraph corresponds to the modern verse 1, the second to verses 2–7, and the third to verse 8. Of course these divisions into paragraphs were created by the editor and were not technically part of the plate text. However, E. B. Grandin appears to have intuitively understood the organizational function of the “And now” introductory statement. (See Behind the Text, Chapter 5: “The Organization of the Plates,” for an explanation of the functions of “And now” and “And it came to pass.”)
The frequent repetition of “And now” at the beginning of conceptual paragraphs is an organizational tactic used when there is no convention of punctuation or paragraphs. In the Book of Mormon, it is a ligature in event lists or simply a tool to move the narrative from topic to topic. It is the structural equivalent of a paragraph marker. In the following examples, the verse before the “and now” phrase is given, and then the verse following it.
And it must needs be that the power of God must be with him, even unto his commanding you that ye must obey. But behold, it was not he, but it was the Spirit of the Lord which was in him, which opened his mouth to utterance that he could not shut it.
And now my son, Laman, and also Lemuel and Sam, and also my sons who are the sons of Ishmael, behold, if ye will hearken unto the voice of Nephi ye shall not perish. And if ye will hearken unto him I leave unto you a blessing, yea, even my first blessing.
But if ye will not hearken unto him I take away my first blessing, yea, even my blessing, and it shall rest upon him.
And now, Zoram, I speak unto you: Behold, thou art the servant of Laban; nevertheless, thou hast been brought out of the land of Jerusalem, and I know that thou art a true friend unto my son, Nephi, forever. (2 Ne. 1:27–30)
Verses 28 and 30 in this example begin with “and now” and mark a separation of the person being addressed. A more interesting series of these statements comes from Jacob’s discourse:
Nevertheless, I speak unto you again; for I am desirous for the welfare of your souls. Yea, mine anxiety is great for you; and ye yourselves know that it ever has been. For I have exhorted you with all diligence; and I have taught you the words of my father; and I have spoken unto you concerning all things which are written, from the creation of the world.
And now, behold, I would speak unto you concerning things which are, and which are to come; wherefore, I will read you the words of Isaiah. And they are the words which my brother has desired that I should speak unto you. And I speak unto you for your sakes, that ye may learn and glorify the name of your God.
And now, the words which I shall read are they which Isaiah spake concerning all the house of Israel; wherefore, they may be likened unto you, for ye are of the house of Israel. And there are many things which have been spoken by Isaiah which may be likened unto you, because ye are of the house of Israel.
And now, these are the words: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their faces towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
And now I, Jacob, would speak somewhat concerning these words. For behold, the Lord has shown me that those who were at Jerusalem, from whence we came, have been slain and carried away captive. (2 Ne. 6:3–8)
The first “and now” marks the transition from introduction to the topic of the discourse. The second declares that Jacob will read from Isaiah, whereupon the quotation is also introduced with a subject changing “and now.” The final “and now” introduces the commentary on that verse.
The companion phrase “and it came to pass” is related to movement in time rather than concept. Where “and now” marks movement of ideas, “and it came to pass” describes sequences. For instance, the following are all of the “and it came to pass” statements from 2 Nephi 5:
And it came to pass that the Lord did warn me, that I, Nephi, should depart from them and flee into the wilderness, and all those who would go with me. (2 Ne. 5:5)
And it came to pass that we began to prosper exceedingly, and to multiply in the land. (2 Ne. 5:13)
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did cause my people to be industrious, and to labor with their hands.
And it came to pass that they would that I should be their king.
But I, Nephi, was desirous that they should have no king; nevertheless, I did for them according to that which was in my power. (2 Ne. 5:17–18)
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did consecrate Jacob and Joseph, that they should be priests and teachers over the land of my people.
And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness.
And thirty years had passed away from the time we left Jerusalem.
And I, Nephi, had kept the records upon my plates, which I had made, of my people thus far.
And it came to pass that the Lord God said unto me: Make other plates; and thou shalt engraven many things upon them which are good in my sight, for the profit of thy people. (2 Ne. 5:26–30)
Each of these statements is an event, and they are sequenced by the “and it came to pass.” They do not occur simultaneously, nor during the same limited period. The distinction between conceptual movement and movement in time is the reason that “and it came to pass,” a phrase that is used so often in the Book of Mormon, appears only thirteen times in 2 Nephi. Those thirteen occurrences are concentrated in chapters 4 and 5. It also occurs where Isaiah uses the phrase in a context that similarly marks time: “And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham… ” (2 Ne. 17:1).
In contrast to its relatively sparse use in 2 Nephi, 1 Nephi uses the phrase 109 times. This difference results from the different nature of 1 Nephi and 2 Nephi, with 1 Nephi being more historical in focus. The two chapters with high concentrations of “and it came to pass” are precisely those that contain the historical data in 2 Nephi. Nephi also uses the combined phrase “and now it came to pass” (1 Ne. 16:1; 17:19, 48; 22:1; 2 Ne. 1:1) to mark the combination of a major change in topic as well as a different time.
In the current set of verses, the “and now” marks conceptual shifts and allows us to hypothesize some of the method that Nephi used in writing. For verse 8, no time passes, but the topic changes. The first “and now” in 2 Nephi 11:1 marks the shift in chapters and topic. It comes at the end of Nephi’s quotation from Jacob as an introduction of the next section, which will be Nephi’s inclusion of the Isaiah texts.
The second and third “and now” clauses (2 Ne. 11:2, 8) both introduce Nephi’s quotations from Isaiah. Why does he introduce this new topic twice? It appears that verses 2–7 are a personal exultation in Isaiah rather than the promised quotations. Therefore, Nephi apparently recognizes that he had interrupted his own original organization and repeats the opening clause by way of returning himself to his beginning point. The two verses (2 and 8) also end with the same theme, that Nephi’s people will live by the words in Isaiah (“liken his words” in v. 2, “liken them unto you” in v. 8).
Text: The chapter ends here in the 1830 edition.