BM-KJV and JE-2 Nephi 30

Annotation of 2 Nephi 30 – preliminary  

2 Nephi 30 is a good example because it shows that a high percentage of its language is also KJV language. Few of the KJV words/phrases are not also found in Edwards, including the so-called "blended" passages.

The blue Book of Mormon words/phrases in the annotation are nonbiblical and also not found in Edwards. In some cases noted below, the nonbiblical language is close to Edwards (e.g., plural instead of singular). There are several examples in the Book of Mormon of paraphrased or misquoted passages from the KJV that are identical to paraphrased or misquoted KJV passages in Edwards' works.

The red words/phrases are nonbiblical Book of Mormon wording that are also found in Edwards' works as available on the Yale database, which includes most but not all of the 1808 edition, as well as material not included in the 1808 edition.

Purple are nonbiblical Book of Mormon words/phrases similar to Edwards.

Naturally, Edwards is not the only person who ever used this nonbiblical Book of Mormon terminology. English is a common language or we couldn't understand one another. But the ready availability of Edwards' works in Palmyra during Joseph's youth indicates that Edwards was a possible source for Joseph's vocabulary that he used when translating the plates.

Bold = KJV 

Blue = nonbiblical BofM/D&C/PGP w/o JE 

Red = nonbiblical BofM/D&C/PGP and JE 

Purple = nonbiblical BofM/D&C/PGP similar to JE

Chapter 30

Converted Gentiles will be numbered with the covenant people—Many Lamanites and Jews will believe the word and become delightsome—Israel will be restored and the wicked destroyed. About 559–545 B.C.

1 And now behold, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you; for I, Nephi, would not suffer[1] that ye should suppose[2] that ye are more righteous[3] than the Gentiles shall be. For behold, except ye shall[4] keep the commandments[5] of God [6]ye shall all likewise perish[7]; and because of the words[8] which have been spoken ye need not suppose[9] that the Gentiles are utterly destroyed[10].

2 For behold, I say unto you that as many of[11] the Gentiles as will repent[12] are the covenant people[13] of the Lord; and as many of the Jews as will not repent[14] shall be cast off[15]; for the Lord covenanteth with none save it be[16] with them that repent and believe[17] in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel[18].

3 And now, I would prophesy somewhat more[19] concerning the Jews[20] and the Gentiles. For after the book of which I have spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up[21] again unto the Lord, there shall be many[22] which shall believe[23] the words which are written; and they shall carry them forth[24] unto the remnant of[25] our seed[26].

4 And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us[27], how that we came out from[28] Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of[29] the Jews.

5 And the gospel of Jesus Christ[30] shall be declared[31] among them; wherefore, they shall be restored[32] unto the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ[33], which was had among[34] their fathers.

6 And then shall they rejoice[35]; for they shall know[36] that it is a blessing[37] unto them from the hand of God[38]; and their scales[39] of darkness[40] shall begin to fall from[41] their eyes; and many generations[42] shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a pure and a delightsome[43] people.

7 And it shall come to pass that the Jews which are scattered[44] also shall begin to believe[45] in Christ; and they shall begin to gather[46] in[47] upon the face of the land[48]; and as many as[49] shall believe in Christ[50] shall also become a delightsome people.

8 And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall commence[51] his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people[52], to bring about the restoration of[53] his people upon the earth.

9 And with righteousness[54] shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.[55]

10 For the time speedily[56] cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division[57] among[58] the people, and the wicked will he destroy[59]; and he will spare his people[60], yea, even if it so be[61] that he must destroy the wicked[62] by fire.

11 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

12 And then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling, together; and a little child shall lead them.

13 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

14 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den.

15 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.[63]

16 Wherefore, the things of all nations[64] shall be made known[65]; yea, all things shall be made known unto the children of men.

17 There is nothing[66] which is secret[67] save it shall be revealed[68]; there is no work of darkness[69] save it shall be made manifest[70] in the light[71]; and there is nothing[72] which is sealed upon the earth[73] save it shall be loosed[74].

18 Wherefore, all things which have been revealed[75] unto the children of men shall at that day[76] be revealed; and Satan shall have power[77] over the hearts[78] of the children of men no more[79], for a long time[80]. And now, my beloved brethren, I make an end[81] of my sayings.

(2 Nephi 30–30:18)

[1] OT (3) NT (1) BM (15) DC (1) JE (40)

[2] BM (3) JE (80) JE: “I say, if we should suppose such a case, what various passions would naturally crowd at once”

[3] OT (5) BM (6) JE (5)

[4] BM (9)

[5] OT (7) NT (3) BM (39) DC (2) PGP (1) JE (14)

[6] “commandments of God” NT (3) BM (68) DC (4) PGP (2) JE (30)

[7] NT (2) BM (1) JE (10)

[8] OT (2) BM (1)

[9] BM (6) DC (1) JE (4) JE: “ yet we need not suppose , that everyone will have a distinct and particular knowledge of each individual of the whole assembled multitude, which will undoubtedly consist of many millions of millions. Though 'tis probable that men's capacities will be much greater than in their present state,”

[10] OT (21) BM (3) DC (1) PGP (1) JE (50)

[11] OT (1) NT (1) BM (8) DC (1) PGP (1) JE (50)

[12] BM (1) JE (2) JE: “has obtained salvation for all such as will repent and turn from their sins”

[13] BM (10) DC (1) JE (60) JE: “as the covenant people of God they owned the covenant”

[14] OT (2) NT (1) BM (7) DC (4) JE (20)

[15] BM (4) JE (1) JE: “The Rest shall be Cast off”

[16] BM (47) DC (9)

[17] BM (5) DC (1) JE (4) JE: “ their being directed to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus, as the way to have their sins blotted out, and to be saved”

[18] OT (31) BM (40) JE (80)

[19] NT (1) BM (6) JE (3)

[20] OT (1) BM (2) PGP (1) JE (2)

[21] OT (2) BM (7) DC (3) JE (20)

[22] OT (1) BM (8) JE (1)

[23] NT (2) BM (27) DC (1) PGP (1) JE (10)

[24] OT (1) BM (1)

[25] OT (56) NT (1) BM (35) PGP (1) JE (55)

[26] BM (11) DC (1) JE (4) JE: “ the only condition of the covenant of grace is saving faith; and therefore no promises of that covenant are made on lower terms, neither respecting ourselves or our seed . The promises of the covenant of grace are to Abraham and his seed, and such as are of the faith of Abraham and their seed, but to no other.”

[27] OT (1) BM (7) JE (10)

[28] OT (2) NT (3) BM (5) PGP (2) JE (18)

[29] BM (9) DC (3) JE (40) JE: “ the Christian church at first was only of the Jews. The proselytes, as well as those that were the descendants of Israel according to the flesh, were to keep the Passover in commemoration of the deliverance of the children of Israel out of Egypt”

[30] NT (1) BM (2) DC (5) JE (40)

[31] BM (2) JE (4)

[32] OT (3) NT (1) BM (22) DC (2) JE (70) JE : «  that which restored both the church and state of the Jews: it restored the law, it restored the knowledge of the law by the instruction of Ezra and others with him, it restored the ordinances of the law”

[33] BM (1) JE (2) JE: “When you consider, that in the fullness of the means of grace which you have enjoyed all your days, you are as far from any saving knowledge of Jesus Christ , as those who have lived in the dregs and abyss of popish ignorance”

[34] BM (1) DC (2) PGP (1)

[35] OT (1) BM (1) JE (1)

[36] OT (30) BM (8) DC (3) PGP (1) JE (50)

[37] )T (17) NT (1) BM (5) DC (13) PGP (2) JE (200)

[38] OT (7) BM (5) DC (1) JE (50)

[39] OT (9) NT (1) BM (1) JE (70) Webster 1828, scale: “3. The small shell or crust which composes a part of the covering of a fish; and hence, any thin layer or leaf exfoliated or separated; a thin lamin; as scales of iron or of bone. The scales of fish consist of alternate layers of membrane and phosphate of lime. The scales of serpents are composed of a horny membrane, without the calcarious phosphate.”

[40] “scales of darkness” BM (1) Cf JE: “therefore God has wisely ordained, that these two opposite principles of love and fear, should rise and fall, like the two opposite scales of a balance; when one rises, the other sinks. As light and darkness, necessarily and unavoidably succeed each other; if light prevails, so much does darkness cease”

[41] OT (2) NT (6) BM (1) DC (4) PGP (1) JE (50)

[42] OT (6) BM (8) DC (1) PGP (2) JE (30)

[43] OT (1) BM (8) JE (4) JE: “Christian holiness is above all the heathen virtue, of a more bright and pure nature, more serene, calm, peaceful, and delightsome . What a sweet calmness, what a calm ecstacy, doth it bring to the soul!”

[44] OT (5) NT (1) BM (8) DXC (2) JE (8)

[45] BM (2)

[46] BM (1) PGP (1) JE (1) [Note: scientific]

[47] “gather in” OT (4) BM (6) Je (20)

[48] BM (70) PGP (1)

[49] OT (3) NT (29) BM (49) DC (24) PGP (7) JE (100)

[50] BM (15) JE (60) JE: “The Apostle in Ephesians 1:18–19 speaks of God's enlightening the minds of Christians, and so bringing them to believe in Christ , to the end, that they might know the exceeding greatness of his power to them who believe.”

[51] BM (5) DC (1) JE (2) JE: “when those times of the peace and prosperity and glory of the church shall commence, that were typified by the reign of Solomon” “the beginning of this great work of God must be near. And there are many things that make it probable that this work will begin in America. 'Tis signified that it shall begin in some very remote part of the world, that the rest of the world have no communication with but by navigation, in Isaiah 60:9, "Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring my sons from far." It is exceeding manifest that this chapter is a prophecy of the prosperity of the church, in its most glorious state on earth in the latter days; and I can't think that anything else can be here intended but America by "the isles that are far off," from whence the firstborn sons of that glorious day shall be brought. Indeed, by "the isles," in prophecies of Gospel times, is very often meant Europe: it is so in prophecies of that great spreading of the Gospel that should be soon after Christ's time, because it was far separated from that part of the world where the church of God h ad till then been, by the sea. But this prophecy can't have respect to the conversion of Europe, in the time of that great work of God, in the primitive ages of the Christian church; for it was not fulfilled then.

[52] BM (7) DC (3) JE (1) JE : « so in the Christian church are gathered together persons of all nations , kindreds, tongues, and peoples, “ paraphrasing Revelation 7:9, "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations , and kindreds, and people, and tongues,”

[53] BM (10) DC (5) PGP (1) JE (50)

[54] OT (8) BM (4) JE (15) OT: “4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.” (Isaiah 11:4)

[55] Isaiah 11: 4, also quoted by JE.

[56] BM (4) DC (1)

[57] BM (2)

[58] “division among” NT (2) BM (5) JE (2) NT: “So there was a division among the people because of him. (John 7:43)

[59] OT (1) BM (1) JE (2) OT: “all the wicked will he destroy” (Psalms 145:20)

[60] BM (1) JE (1) JE: “When God doth thus withdraw his hand and spare his people , 'tis the effect of his undeserved and wonderful mercy.”

[61] BM (37) DC (3)

[62] BM (1) JE (6) JE: “ How these same beams, that are of such benign influence on believers, shall burn and destroy the wicked . I. Christ is as it were the Sun [of] the spiritual world. “

[63] Isiah 11

[64] BM (1)

[65] BM (10) DC (13) JE (2) JE: “Things that were secret must be brought to light before God, they must be made public; they were known to God before, but they shall be made known to angels and men in God’s presence, and the persons themselves being present. Luke 12:2-3,”

[66] OT (12) NT (5) BM (3) DC (1) PGP (1) JE (100s)

[67] OT (1) NT (1) BM (1) JE (15)

[68] OT (1) NT (5) BM (2) DC (10) JE (35)

[69] BM (2) “works of darkness” NT (2) BM (13) PGP (1) JE (15)

[70] NT (20) BM (15) DC (5) PGP (1) JE (60) NT : « For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.” (Luke 8:17)n “But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.” (Ephesians 5:13) JE: “the hidden things of darkness brought to light, and the secrets of all hearts made manifest”

[71] “manifest in the light” BM (1)

[72] OT (12) NT (5) BM (3) DC (1) PGP (1) JE (100s)

[73] BM (1)

[74] NT (3) BM (2) DC (5) JE (1)

[75] BM (2) DC (2)

[76] OT (8) NT (3) BM (23) DC (1) PGP (1) JE (130)

[77] BM (1)

[78] BM (5)

[79] BM (1) JE (1) JE : « so the devils, after the day of judgment, when they shall be shut in their consummate misery and can devour the miserable children of men no more , will be each other's tormentors”

[80] NT (1) BM (3) DC (3) JE (100)

[81] OT (8) BM (16) DC (2) JE (40)