4 For behold, all ye that doeth iniquity, stay yourselves and wonder, for ye shall cry out, and cry; yea, ye shall be drunken but not with wine, ye shall stagger but not with strong drink.9 Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.5 For behold, the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep. For behold, ye have closed your eyes, and ye have rejected the prophets; and your rulers, and the seers hath he covered because of your iniquity. [2 Nephi 27:4–5]10 For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. [Isaiah 29:9–10]
The Book of Mormon retains an introduction to the KJV verse 9—”For behold, all ye that doeth iniquity”—designating that it was the iniquitous people who would “cry out.” The 2 Nephi rendition of the next verse shows that these iniquitous people had closed their own eyes and rejected the prophets, and that the Lord had covered their rulers and seers because of their iniquity. The KJV reads as though the Lord were responsible for these problems, but the Book of Mormon shows that it was the people’s choices that had brought upon them their conditions.