3 Nephi 6:26 Textual Variants

Here the printer’s manuscript has the redundant “their crime which they had done”, while the 1830 edition has the more acceptable “the crime which they had done”. Nonetheless, there are at least five passages in the Book of Mormon where the original text had a similar kind of redundant relative clause; in each of these passages, the possessive pronoun before the head noun could be replaced by the, thus making an easier reading:

• 1 Nephi 7:17 (not “according to the faith which is in me”)
  • O Lord / according to my faith which is in [𝓢③ me >– 𝓢② thee 0|thee 1ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren
• 2 Nephi 5:24 (not “because of the cursing which was upon them”)
  • and because of their cursing which was upon them they did become an idle people
• Alma 55:21 (not “the men which were with him”, at least originally)
  • and then he caused [his 01|the ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] men which were with him to withdraw a pace from them
• Mormon 6:10 (not “the ten thousand which were with me”)
  • and it came to pass that my men were hewn down yea or even my ten thousand which were with me
• Ether 2:15 (not “the brethren which were with him”)
  • and the brother of Jared repented him of the evil which he had done and did call upon the name of the Lord for his brethren which were with him

In the Alma 55:21 passage, the 1830 compositor changed the his to the. This change provides direct support for the hypothesis that here in 3 Nephi 6:26 the 1830 compositor could have made the same change from the redundant “their crime which they had done” to the expected phraseology, “the crime which they had done”.

The 1830 reading is, of course, what we expect in 3 Nephi 6:26. And usage elsewhere in the original (and current) text supports the definite article the in similar phrases referring to a crime that has been committed:

• Mosiah 29:15 (not “his crime which he hath committed”)
  • him have I punished according to the crime which he hath committed
• Alma 1:10 (not “his crime which he had committed”)
  • and the man who slew him was taken by the people of the church and was brought before Alma to be judged according to the crime which he had committed
• Alma 30:11 (not “his crimes which he had done”)
  • therefore a man was punished only for the crimes which he had done
• Helaman 8:1 (not “his crime which he hath done”)
  • why do ye not seize upon this man and bring him forth that he may be condemned according to the crime which he hath done

Consistent with these examples, one could argue that here in 3 Nephi 6:26 the original manuscript read “the crime which they had done” (the 1830 reading). Or contrarily, one could argue that this systematic usage elsewhere in the text led the 1830 compositor to make the change from an original but unexpected “their crime which they had done” to the expected “the crime which they had done”.

When we consider the cases where Oliver Cowdery permanently changed an original the to their and contrast them with the cases where the 1830 compositor changed an original their to the, we find a nearly equal amount of evidence for both types of change. Oliver permanently changed the to their in three cases, although in each instance there was a nearby their that seems to have prompted the change:

• 2 Nephi 7:2
  • I make [the 0|their 1ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] rivers a wilderness and their fish to stink
• 3 Nephi 2:12
  • yea and also to maintain their rights and [their 1ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQS|the RT] privileges of their church
• 3 Nephi 3:4
  • and knowing of their everlasting hatred towards you because of [their 1|the ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] many wrongs which ye have done unto them

In the second example, the original text apparently read “and the privileges of their church” (see the discussion under 3 Nephi 2:12). Here in 3 Nephi 6:26 there is no following their, so there is no direct motivation to change an original the to their. But one could argue that the following they in “which they had done” could have prompted the change.

Here are two instances where the 1830 compositor set the in place of a correct their:

• Mosiah 22:7
  • and we will pass through the secret pass on the left of [their 1PST|the ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOQR] camp when they are drunken and asleep
• Alma 1:26
  • and when [their 1|the ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] priests left their labor to impart the word of God unto the people the people also left their labors to hear the word of God

Overall, either variant in 3 Nephi 6:26 is possible from the viewpoint of textual transmission. But because the 1830 compositor made the specific change from his to the in Alma 55:21, we have direct evidence that the compositor could have made the specific change from their to the here in 3 Nephi 6:26. The critical text will therefore restore the difficult reading here, the redundant “to be judged of their crime which they had done”. Usage elsewhere in the text supports this kind of redundancy, although not in this particular expression.