EVIDENCE: Absence of “Without a Cause” in 3 Nephi 12:22

Ed J. Pinegar, Richard J. Allen

In Matthew 5:22, we read, “Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” But the words without a cause are absent from most early Greek manuscripts of the New Testament—as they are from the Book of Mormon record concerning the Savior’s instructions on overcoming anger. When he translated 3 Nephi 12:22, Joseph Smith probably did not realize that the phrase without a cause did not originally belong in this passage, as textual criticism of the Bible was very limited in 1829 America. (See Echoes, 333–335.)

Commentaries and Insights on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 2

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