I hope you will journey with me in rediscovering the beauty of God’s Word in the Septuagint (LXX). In 285 BC, the LXX was translated from paleo-Hebrew by 70 Jewish translators into Greek, the language of most of the civilized world at that time. Due to its pre-Christ and pre-fall of Jerusalem date, the LXX cannot be accused of being influenced by any underlying animosity toward Christ or Christianity or desire to elevate Judaism’s claim to God’s blessings or the promised land. Most Christians believe the Masoretic Text (MT), upon which our English Old Testament is based, is written in the original Hebrew, but it too is a translation from the ancient and by then dead paleo-Hebrew Phoenician pictograph script into the modern Hebrew block script derived from Aramaic. The Masoretes completed it between 600 t0 1000 AD, by which time the Jews had become hostile to the Christian message, which shows up in various omissions, changes, and obfuscations of verses and passages that clearly point to Christ in the LXX.
Jesus taught us that all scripture points to him (John 5:39). As a rule, the Septuagint more clearly points to Jesus than does the MT.
In the West, Christians have not questioned the MT since Jerome chose it as the basis for his Latin Vulgate Old Testament. The Eastern Orthodox Church, to their credit, never deviated from the Septuagint, preserving it for later generations to rediscover. Because of the power of tradition, it is quite difficult for many of us in the West to think of the LXX as being more trustworthy than the MT, but I have found that a side-by-side comparison indicates otherwise.
In this series of articles, I have undertaken to illustrate the similarities and differences between the MT and LXX by examining various passages. Below is another example. The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition. It is available in print or digitally through Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I reference Brenton’s translation, which is a good one, but the English is somewhat dated.
| Masoretic Text | Septuagint | Significance |
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7 Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths. 8 The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace. Isaiah 59:7–8 (NKJV) |
7 Their feet run swiftly to evil to pour out blood, and their thoughts are from murder; affliction and misery are in their paths. 8 And they do not know the way of peace, and there is no judgment in their ways, for their paths through which they travel are crooked, and they do not know peace. Isaiah 59:7–8 (LES2) |
Paul quotes verse 7 in Romans. 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways; 17 And the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Romans 3:15–18 (NKJV) The NT quote is very close to the LXX. The only difference being that the NT quote omits “their thoughts are from murder.” Verse 18 of Paul’s quote is not from Isaiah 59 or it is some sort of a paraphrase. This is enough for us to see that he was using the LXX as his Bible. The only other difference of note is that the MT adds the adjective “innocent” to describe the shed blood. |
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9 Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness! 10 We grope for the wall like the blind, And we grope as if we had no eyes; We stumble at noonday as at twilight; We are as dead men in desolate places. 11 We all growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We look for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us. 12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them: 13 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, And departing from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. 14 Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter. 15 So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice. Isaiah 59:9–15 (NKJV) |
9 Because of this, judgment has departed from them, and righteousness will not overtake them. While they were waiting for light, darkness came upon them; while waiting for brightness, they walked in darkness. 10 They grope about a wall like the blind, and they grope about like those who have no eyes. They will fall at noon as if at midnight; they will groan like those who are dying. 11 They will go together like a bear and a pigeon. We awaited judgment, and there is none; deliverance has departed far from us. 12 For our lawlessness is great before you, and our sins are set against us, for our lawless acts are with us, and we know our unjust acts. 13 We have acted impiously and have lied and departed behind our God. We have spoken unjust things and have resisted. We have conceived and have meditated on unjust words from our heart, 14 and we have put judgment away behind us, and righteousness has departed far from us; because truth has been used up in their ways, and they were unable to pass through a straight way. 15 And the truth has been taken away, and they have turned away their mind from understanding, and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him because there was no judgment. Isaiah 59:9–15 (LES2) |
The MT says that justice is far from us, but the LXX says from them. The MT makes it sound as if everything revolves around Israel, but the LXX views Israel from a distance at times. This occurs frequently. This could be because God no longer viewed them as his children. The New Covenant makes it clear that only those of faith who are born again are part of God’s family. The Old Testament had many such people of faith over the years, but by Isaiah’s time they must have been a small remnant. Perhaps they always were. There is quite a difference between twilight and midnight. Midnight seems to fit better with the idea of blindness. The MT says they are dead men in desolate places, which no doubt unrepentant Israel is still experiencing. The LXX says they are groan like dying men. Two sides of the same coin, perhaps. Suddenly in verse 11, the LXX changes to the first person in agreement with the MT. Until verse 13, the two translations sync up pretty well. In the 13th verse the LXX says that the Jews have “resisted.” This is an English word that Stephen used to describe the unrepentant and unbelieving Jews in his day. (Acts 7:51) He used a different Greek word with the same English meaning. The Jews have made a habit of resisting God from the time of Moses until the present. Beginning in verse 14, we come to a portion that points straight to Jesus. I have to admit that I like the MT better when it says, “Truth is fallen in the street.” I believe that verse points to when Jesus walked through the streets of Jerusalem on his way to die as God’s Lamb at Calvary. The LXX version has something to say, as well. According to it, truth has been used up. Jesus, the Truth, died. His body was “used up.” This was a result of the Jewish people and the Romans refusing to recognize him as the Lord. They could not pass through what Jesus called the narrow gate of professing faith in him. (Matthew 7:13) God the Father was displeased, but he allowed it to happen for the good of those who would later believe. |
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16 He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. 17 For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak. 18 According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay. 19 So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him. Isaiah 59:16–19 (NKJV) |
16 And he looked, and there was no man; and he understood, and there was no helper, and he defended them with his arm and established them in mercy. 17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his head and a garment of vengeance and his cloak, 18 like one who will repay a repayment, a reproach to his enemies. 19 And those who come from the west will fear the name of the Lord, and those who come from the east will fear his esteemed name, for like a violent river, anger will come from the Lord; it will come with wrath. Isaiah 59:16–19 (LES2) |
This passage also points to Christ, who is sometimes refered to as the “arm” of the Lord. (Isaiah 53:1) No human could serve as our intercessor or mediator, only the God-man, our Lord Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:5) This passage conflates the first and second comings of the Lord. The first time he appeared to extend mercy. When he returns as the Judge it will be to “repay a repayment” or to exacts vengeance upon his enemies. The MT says he will repay / reward us according to our deeds, which is the same idea of repaying a repayment. The MT says he will release fury to his enemies, but the LXX says he will be a reproach to them. Both are true. The rest of the passage more or less agrees, except at the very end when the MT adds the part about the Spirit of the Lord raising up a standard against the enemy. Interestingly, Paul exhorts believers to equip themselves with the “armor of God” in Ephesians 6:14-20. What Jesus used is now available to those who serve him. |
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20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” Says the LORD. 21 “As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.” Isaiah 59:20–21 (NKJV) |
20 The deliverer will come for the sake of Zion, and he will turn ungodliness back from Jacob. 21 “And this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My spirit which is upon you, and my words which I put in your mouth, will not come to an end from your mouth or from the mouth of your seed.” For the Lord said it from the present to eternity. Isaiah 59:20–21 (LES2) |
The MT says the Redeemer or deliverer will come to Zion and to those who turn from transgression, but the LXX says “for the sake of.Zion, and he will turn ungodliness back from Jacob.” This points to Jesus who came to set the sinner free. This is clearly a New Covenant passage and promises the blessing of the indwelling Spirit, who is only available to those who confess Jesus is Lord. |
Conclusion
If you want to know more about why Christians should prefer the Septuagint to the MT, click on this link. In another article, I share some of the things I have so far learned by making this comparison. As for me, I now prefer the LXX. It was Paul’s and the other apostles’ standard for Old Covenant truth, was used by synagogues in Jesus’s day, and is most often quoted in the New Testament. That makes it good enough for me.
