It isn’t my purpose to
compare all the verses in these two chapters, but rather the verses that have
the largest differences. I like to
examine them to see what meaning can be derived from those differences, even if
they are very subtle.
Why do this? Well, partially because I have a
curious mind and sometimes I find intriguing things that I want to share. I realize that not everybody is going
to be as interested as I am, but I hope that in some way this helps people see
what can be done to study the scriptures.
KJV Isaiah 51
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2 Nephi 8
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Comments
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1 Hearken
to me,
ye
that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the
Lord:
look
unto the rock whence ye are hewn,
and
to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
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1 Hearken unto me,
ye that follow after
righteousness.
Look unto the rock from whence ye are hewn,
and to the hole of the pit
from whence ye are digged.
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It may seem that 2 Nephi
has lost an elaborative phrase here, but following after righteousness and
seeking the Lord could be considered different things. Following after righteousness
describes the disciple who has already found the Lord. Seeking the Lord describes those who
haven’t found the right way yet.
For the phrase “ye that
seek the Lord” to be missing, it suggests that this is directed to those who
are determined disciples of Christ.
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2 Look unto Abraham your father,
and unto Sarah that bare you:
for I called him alone, and blessed
him, and increased him. . . .
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2 Look unto Abraham, your father,
and unto Sarah, she that bare you;
for I called him alone,
and blessed him. . . .
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So far it seems that 2
Nephi 8 has had more removed than added, which is very curious.
It is possible that Nephi
had a slightly different rhetorical purpose than a focus on Abraham’s increase
in progeny.
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7 ¶Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is my law;
fear ye not the reproach
of men,
neither be ye afraid of
their revilings. . . .
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7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness,
the people in whose heart I have written my law,
fear ye not the reproach
of men,
neither be ye afraid of
their revilings. . . .
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Here 2 Nephi 8:7 shows us
it is the Lord that writes the law on our hearts, rather than it just being
there automatically.
I suppose that we must
allow it to happen with our good choices.
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11 Therefore the redeemed of the
Lord shall return,
and come with singing unto Zion;
and everlasting joy shall be upon
their head:
they shall obtain gladness and joy;
and
sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
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11 Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return,
and come with singing unto
Zion;
and everlasting joy and holiness shall be upon their heads;
and they shall obtain gladness and joy;
sorrow and mourning shall
flee away.
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Here 2 Nephi 8:11 adds that
not only will the redeemed by glad, but they will be holy as well (implying
repentance is required for this kind of happiness).
Since the joy is to be
everlasting, this fits very well.
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12 I, even
I, am he that comforteth you:
who art thou, that thou shouldest be
afraid of a man that shall die,
and of the son of man which shall be
made as grass;
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12 I am he; yea, I am he that comforteth you. Behold, who art thou, that thou shouldst be
afraid of man, who shall die,
and of the son of man, who shall be made like
unto grass?
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It seems to me that 2
Nephi 8:12 has some equivalent wording here.
The major change, however,
is the removal of “a” from the KJV to make it clear the Lord wants us to not
be afraid of man. This makes
much more sense.
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15 But I am the Lord thy God,
that divided
the sea,
whose waves roared:
The Lord
of hosts is his name.
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15 But I am the Lord thy God,
whose waves roared;
the Lord of Hosts is my
name.
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I think the KJV wins this
one, with that phrase that shows Isaiah is referring back to the miracle of
the parting of the Red Sea. This makes me think that Nephi might have
accidently left some things out while copying the text.
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Just as some
extra background, comparing man to grass is apt when we consider how grass
withers so quickly after days of hot sun and no moisture. This imagery is supposed to remind us
of the short span of mortal life and how temporary the power of the wicked is.
To
me, the overall message of these selected verses is that the Lord wants us to
remember Abraham. We can remember
the problems he faced trying to live righteously in a wicked world. (After all,
it was in his days that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.) Abraham was quite alone, even with
Sarah. And yet he was protected
because he was faithful.
The Lord wants those
of us who have His law written on our hearts to not fear the revilings of men.
He promises that we will have everlasting joy and that the sorrow we experience
will only be a temporary thing, and He will comfort us, and that we don’t need
to be afraid of men because their power only lasts for a short time. Instead, we can remember that our God
was the one who parted the Red Sea and showed great power to save His people.
I
think this is a great message for today.
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