Ether 11:5 Textual Variants

Here we see the first of several cases in the book of Ether where Joseph Smith, in his editing for the 1837 edition, removed the do auxiliary. Besides this one here in Ether 11:5, there are three more:

• Ether 11:10
  • and he did do all manner of iniquity in his days in the which he [did cause >js did caused 1|did cause ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] the shedding of much blood
• Ether 11:14
  • and it came to pass that Moron did reign in his stead and Moron [did do >js did 1|did do A|did BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] that which was wicked before the Lord
• Ether 13:22
  • and the wars [did cease >js ceased 1|did cease A| ceased BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] not

For the example in Ether 11:10, Joseph added the past tense marker -d but forgot to delete the did, with the result that the 1837 edition missed implementing this change. The change in Ether 11:14, of did do to did, involves the main verb do. Attempts by Joseph to remove instances of did do can be found elsewhere in the text (see the discussion nearby under Ether 11:14).

Otherwise, the removal of the do auxiliary for other main verbs was fairly rare in Joseph Smith’s editing for the 1837 edition. Besides these examples at the end of Ether, there are only four more elsewhere in the entire text (here I exclude the cases of “do/did do” referred to under Ether 11:14):

• 1 Nephi 12:11
  • and I looked and beheld three generations [did 0A|did >js NULL 1| BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] pass away in righteousness 1 Nephi 12:12 and I Nephi also saw many of the fourth generation which [did paßs 0|did pass >js passed 1|did pass A| passed BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] away in righteousness
• 1 Nephi 19:7
  • they [do 0A|do >js NULL 1| BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] set him at naught
• Alma 32:23
  • little children doth have words given unto them many times which [doth 0A|doth >js do 1| BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] confound the wise and the learned

Note that three of these are in 1 Nephi, at the beginning of Joseph’s editing for the 1837 edition. Otherwise Joseph did not edit instances of “do/did pass” (10 cases), “do/did set” (3 cases), and “do/did confound” (7 cases). Similarly, with respect to the edited examples here in the book of Ether (again I exclude the case of “do/did do”), other instances in the text of “do/did cause” (48 cases) and “do/did cease” (17 cases) were left unchanged in Joseph’s editing for the 1837 edition.

In the critical text, of course, for each case of the do auxiliary we will follow the earliest reading. In each of these instances of idiosyncratic editing for the 1837 edition, the original do auxiliary will be restored.