2 Nephi 31:10–11 Textual Variants

Here in 2 Nephi 31:10–11, we have two instances of the present-tense saith. Throughout the larger passage in 2 Nephi 31, the text uses the present tense intermingled with the past tense to describe Christ’s baptism:

• 2 Nephi 31:6–9
  • and now I would ask of you my beloved brethren wherein the Lamb of God did fulfill all righteousness in being baptized by water know ye not that he was holy but notwithstanding he being holy he showeth unto the children of men that according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments wherefore after that he was baptized with water the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove and again it sheweth unto the children of men the straitness of the path and the narrowness of the gate by which they should enter he having set the example before them

The following two verses use the present tense to refer to two specific commandments of the Lord that relate to Christ’s baptism:

• 2 Nephi 31:10
  • and he saith unto the children of men follow thou me
• 2 Nephi 31:11
  • and the Father saith repent ye repent ye and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son

Joseph Smith edited both of these instances of the present-tense saith to said. One can view these two statements as instances of the historical present tense for the verb say, which Joseph Smith typically edited from saith to said (see the discussion under 1 Nephi 2:1 and more generally under historical present in volume 3).

The language in the first case of saith (in verse 10) reminds us of Christ’s frequent admonition to his disciples (expressed numerous times in the New Testament) to follow him. Sometimes the King James Bible uses the historical-present saith when Christ gives this commandment, but other times the past-tense form said is used:

• Matthew 4:19 and he saith unto them : follow me
• Matthew 8:22 but Jesus said unto him: follow me
• Matthew 9:9 and he saith unto him: follow me
• Mark 2:14 and said unto him: follow me
• Luke 5:27 and he said unto him: follow me
• Luke 9:59 and he said unto another : follow me
• John 1:43 and saith unto him: follow me
• John 21:19 he saith unto him: follow me

There is even one biblical example where thou appears as part of the command (just as in 2 Nephi 31:10):

• John 21:22 (Christ speaking to Peter, referring to John)
  • Jesus saith unto him if I will that he tarry till I come what is that to thee follow thou me

All of these King James passages involving saith are found within a past-tense narrative.

For the second case of saith (in verse 11), there is no specific biblical source for the Father giving the commandment to repent and be baptized in the name of the Son. The closest biblical language to this phraseology is found in Peter’s declaration on the day of Pentecost: “repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38). In an earlier discourse in 2 Nephi, Jacob referred to this commandment as coming from the Son:

• 2 Nephi 9:21–23
  • and he cometh into the world … for behold he suffereth the pains of all men … and he commandeth all men that they must repent and be baptized in his name

Ultimately this commandment would come from the Father, as is suggested in Joseph Smith’s “New Translation” of the Bible where Enoch reports that God the Father spoke the following to Adam:

• Moses 6:52
  • if thou wilt turn unto me and hearken unto my voice and believe and repent of all thy transgressions and be baptized even by water in the name of mine Only Begotten Son which is full of grace and truth which is Jesus Christ the only name which shall be given under heaven whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men …

The text here represents the original reading of this passage, now canonized in the Pearl of Great Price. See pages 101 and 612 of Scott H. Faulring, Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004).

Thus passages elsewhere in the scriptures suggest that the two instances of saith in 2 Nephi 31:10–11 may represent the eternal present rather than the historical present. Both of these commandments are eternal, so here Nephi may not be specifically referring to any one time that the Lord gave either of these commandments. As far as the critical text is concerned, it makes no difference whether these two instances of saith are cases of the historical present or the eternal present. The earliest text reads saith in both instances; thus the critical text will restore the saith in each instance. For two other examples where there is some question of whether saith should be interpreted as the historical present or the eternal present, see 1 Nephi 17:53 and 2 Nephi 6:11.