3 Nephi 21:19 Textual Variants

It appears that all the conjuncts in this passage read in the plural. The 1830 edition gives such a consistent reading. The printer’s manuscript, on the other hand, has the singular priestcraft instead of the plural priestcrafts. In addition, scribe 2 of 𝓟 initially wrote strife, but then later (with somewhat heavier ink flow) he corrected the singular strife to strifes. This change shows that scribe 2 tended to write the singular even though his copytext apparently read in the plural. Here in 3 Nephi 21:19, the plural strifes is very likely the correct reading. For further examples of mixups between strife and strifes (including at least one more by scribe 2 of 𝓟), see under Alma 1:32. The case regarding priestcraft(s) is more complicated since 𝓟 reads in the singular and the

1830 edition is in the plural. But in all other cases where priestcraft(s) is conjoined with other nouns, all the conjuncts, where possible, are in the plural, including priestcraft(s):

• 2 Nephi 10:4
  • but because of priestcrafts and iniquities they at Jerusalem will stiffen their necks against him
• 3 Nephi 16:10 (hypocrisy occurs only in the singular in the Book of Mormon)
  • and shall be filled with all manner of lyings and of deceits and of mischiefs and all manner of hypocrisy and murders and priestcrafts and whoredoms and of secret abominations
• 3 Nephi 30:2 (wickedness occurs only in the singular form in the Book of Mormon)
  • turn all ye Gentiles from your wicked ways and repent of your evil doings of your lyings and deceivings and of your whoredoms and of your secret abominations and your idolatries and of your murders and your priestcrafts and your envyings and your [strife >+ strifes 1|strifes ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] and from all your wickedness and abominations

Notice that in the last example scribe 2 of 𝓟 once more initially wrote strife instead of the correct strifes. The consistency of the plural priestcrafts with all the other plural conjuncts argues that in 3 Nephi 21:19 the original text read in the plural (and probably 𝓞 did too). Scribe 2 of 𝓟 seems to have accidentally omitted the plural s when he copied priestcrafts from 𝓞 into 𝓟.