PUZZLE #13 - Two Times Not

In 2nd Nephi 11:2 (Page 80), Nephi says that he is going to write some of the words of Isaiah into the record he is preparing. Chapters 12 through 24 of 2nd Nephi are taken directly from the King James text of Isaiah Chapters 2 through 14, though there are some words in these thirteen chapters which are not the same in the two texts.

The Mormons would claim that thee wording of 2nd Nephi chapters 12 through 24 differs from the wording of Isaiah chapters 2 through 14 because of additions, deletions and errors that occurred when the Bible was translated. Their belief is that these twelve chapters of 2nd Nephi are a perfect translation of Isaiah's original, handwritten Hebrew text.

Nephi 12:9 (page 81) appears to make more sense than does Isaiah 2:9. Both passages say; "therefore, forgive them not", but in 2nd Nephi 12:9, the word not occurs after the word boweth and after the word himself. Was this word taken out of Isaiah's original writings by the King James translators, as Mormonism claims, or did Joseph Smith add it to the text as he copied Isaiah's words into The Book of Mormon, his new book of 'scripture'? This an interesting PUZZLE, don't you think?

Don't be confused by the word mean; it just means average. In mathematics and in statistics, we still use the word that way today. Both texts are talking about the average men bowing down (or not) and the great men of Jerusalem humbling themselves (or not).

"And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not. (Isaiah 2:9)

If the average men were bowing down and the great men were humbling themselves, why would Isaiah have been asking God to; "forgive them not"? With the addition of the word not, as we find in the text of 2nd Nephi 12:9, God is being asked to "forgive them not" because they are NOT bowing down and because they are NOT humbling themselves. Doesn’t Joseph’s revision make the meaning clearer?

Doesn't this make it clear that the words of 2nd Nephi 12:9 are the actual words that Isaiah originally wrote telling God to "forgive them not" because they weren't
bowing down to Him nor humbling themselves before Him?

No, it doesn't. Isaiah WAS NOT talking about the people of Jerusalem bowing down and humbling themselves before God. He was talking about them bowing, humbling themselves and worshipping before IDOLS. Read the eight verses of chapter two which
precede verse nine.

“Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: And the mean man boweth down, and the great man
humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.” (Isaiah 2:8-9)

Joseph Smith confused Isaiah’s original wording by adding the word not in the two places.

Why did he add the two words? Did he read the verse in Isaiah out of context. You can see that if you do that, the addition of the two words seems to make more sense. Is that what happened? It's a PUZZLE.