2 Nephi 21:15 Textual Variants

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and with his mighty wind he shall shake his hand over the river

Isaiah 11:15 (King James Bible) and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river

As noted under 2 Nephi 19:14, the Book of Mormon text will sometimes vary in word order from the corresponding Isaiah passage in the King James Bible. Here in 2 Nephi 21:15, the King James text has the modal auxiliary shall immediately following an initial adverbial phrase (“with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand”), but the Book of Mormon text has the more modern word order, with shall following the subject he.

The normal order in the biblical style is to place the first verb right after a sentence-initial adverbial phrase, as in the following nearby Book of Mormon examples that have the King James order shall he:

Nonetheless, the more modern word order he shall can be found after an initial adverbial phrase in both an Isaiah passage and its corresponding Book of Mormon quote:

Although the difference in word order for 2 Nephi 21:15 could be due to an error in the early transmission of the Book of Mormon text, this difference could also be intentional. Since the Book of Mormon order will work, the critical text will accept it.

Summary: Maintain in 2 Nephi 21:15 the word order he shall in “and with his mighty wind he shall shake his hand over the river”, even though this word order disagrees with the order in the corresponding King James passage (shall he).

Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part. 2

References