2 Nephi 25:16–17 Textual Variants

In this passage, after copying the text of the original manuscript into the printer’s manuscript, Oliver Cowdery decided to move the location of the conjunction and, from position 2 to position 3 as indicated above (verse 17 begins at position 3). The ink flow for this change is heavier and considerably darker than the original ink. The original manuscript is extant here and agrees with the original reading of the printer’s manuscript. Thus this change in the printer’s manuscript reflects later editing on the part of Oliver.

No matter how this passage is interpreted, the syntax is quite complex. In fact, verse 16 starts with an after-clause (see position 0 below) that fails to achieve closure. Instead of being completed, the after-clause is immediately followed by a when-clause (at position 1):

• 2 Nephi 25:16
  • and after that they have been scattered and the Lord God hath scourged them by other nations for the space of many generations yea even down from generation to generation until they shall be persuaded to believe in Christ the Son of God and the atonement which is infinite for all mankind and when that day shall come that …

In other words, this whole passage seems to be one more example of a very long complex argument that apparently got out of Nephi’s syntactic control. So it is not very surprising that Oliver Cowdery tried to sort it all out by moving the and to a place later on in the passage.

Perhaps the simplest solution here in 2 Nephi 25:16–17 would be to restore the original reading and treat the last clause of verse 16 (the part beginning at position 2 and ending just before position 3) as a parenthetical statement (by inserting dashes or parentheses to set off that clause), with the result that the first clause of verse 17 (beginning at position 3) would then complete the preceding when-clause (which begins at position 1):

• 2 Nephi 25:16–17 (with parenthetical punctuation)
  • and when that day shall come that they shall believe in Christ and worship the Father in his name with pure hearts and clean hands and look not forward any more for another Messiah
    (and then at that time the day will come that it must needs be expedient that they should believe these things)
    the Lord will set his hand again the second time to restore his people from their lost and fallen state

The problem with Oliver Cowdery’s emendation is that he created a rather odd redundancy. Basically, his revision says that “when the house of Israel will believe / then the time will come that they will believe / and the Lord will restore them”. The syntax of the original text attempted to use the parenthetical clause to summarize the previously stated list of three changes that would be necessary for the restoration of the house of Israel—in other words, they must become true followers of Christ in all those things. The entire verse 16 gives the conditions necessary for the restoration of Israel, which is then described in verse 17. From a logical point of view, this arrangement (as reflected by the original location of and ) makes for a more reasonable argument, but unfortunately the resulting syntax is especially difficult. The critical text will maintain the earliest reading (as found in 𝓞 and initially in 𝓟), with some indication that the then-clause is parenthetical.