Alma 5:36 Textual Variants

For the 1837 edition, Joseph Smith replaced the singular hath with the plural have after the same, but left the singulars bringeth and doeth that follow whosoever. As discussed under Mosiah 5:10, the generic pronoun whosoever can be considered either singular or plural. Here in Alma 5:36, all three verb forms take the third person singular -(e)th. (This inflectional ending is frequently used in the plural as well as in the singular in the original Book of Mormon text, so its use three times in this passage does not necessarily indicate that whosoever and the same are singulars.) In this instance, the critical text will follow the earliest reading: “bringeth ... doeth ... hath”. For a general discussion, see under infl al endings in volume 3. For specific discussion regarding doeth rather than doth, see under Mosiah 4:18.