Isaiah 29:17 (King James Bible) is it not yet a very little while and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field
The Book of Mormon text is in the form of a statement (“it is not yet a very little while”), whereas the King James reading takes the form of a question (“is it not yet a very little while”). The 1879 LDS edition deleted the not (“it is yet a very little while”) in order to avoid the multiple negative involving not and little. The original Book of Mormon statement actually means that ‘it will be a very little while and Lebanon will be turned into a fruitful field’, not that ‘it will be a long time before Lebanon will be turned into a fruitful field’. On the other hand, the negative not is perfectly acceptable in a yes-no question that expects a positive answer (as in a yes-no question like “Isn’t it true that Angie is coming?”).
A similar kind of editing involving multiple negation is found in Alma 58:5, where not originally occurred with the adjective little:
For a related example, see 1 Nephi 14:28; for a more general discussion, see negation in volume 3.
One might wonder here if the Book of Mormon word order (as a statement) might not be the result of an early error in the transmission of the text. Yet elsewhere in the Book of Mormon text, there are no examples in the manuscripts of errors in word order that replace a yes-no question with a declarative statement or vice versa. There has, however, been some minor tendency in individual printed editions for such switches in word order to occur:
But the manuscript scribes themselves show no evidence of ever confusing “it is” with “is it”. Thus the occurrence of the declarative word order “it is not yet a very little while” in 2 Nephi 27:28 should be accepted. The original not should also be accepted since the Book of Mormon text is quoting Isaiah 29:17, which has the not. The original text here in 2 Nephi 27:28 has a multiple negative (“not yet a very little while”), which appears to be fully intentional.
Summary: Restore in 2 Nephi 27:28 the not of “it is not yet a very little while”, the original reading of the Book of Mormon text; the not is found in the corresponding King James passage, although there is a difference in the word order.