Was the Path Nephi Saw "Strait and Narrow" or "Straight and Narrow"?

Authors

Noel B. ReynoldsFollow
Royal Skousen

Keywords

Book of Mormon, Language

Abstract

The two spellings strait and straight are often considered synonymous; however, they come from different Middle English words and have different meanings. Strait means “narrow” or “tight,” whereas straight means “not crooked.” The difference in these meanings affects the interpretation of the scriptural phrase “strait/straight and narrow path” and others like it. Reynolds and Skousen explore possible meanings that the original Book of Mormon authors may have intended in their use of the two words.

BYU ScholarsArchive Citation

Reynolds, Noel B. and Skousen, Royal (2001) "Was the Path Nephi Saw "Strait and Narrow" or "Straight and Narrow"?," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies: Vol. 10: No. 2, Article 6.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol10/iss2/6