New Testament Use of the Septuagint – Romans 4:17

Here is New Testament passage that shows that the Septuagint was the version of the Scriptures used by the early church and the Holy Spirit. The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation of the LXX for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

NT Quote
LXX
MT
Comment

17 (as it is written, “I have made [tithemi] you a father [pater] of many [polus] nations [ethnos]”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; Romans 4:17 (NKJV) 

5 And your name will no longer be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, because I have made [tithemi] you a father [pater] of many [polus] nations [ethnos]. Genesis 17:5 (LES2)

4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. Genesis 17:4 (NKJV)

This is an exact match to the LXX. Because the MT changed the verb tense to future, Paul’s statement, that God calls those things which be not as though they already existed, would make no sense. Verb tenses matter, as does every word of scripture.

“

 

New Testament Use of the Septuagint – Romans 4:3

Here is New Testament passage that shows that the Septuagint was the version of the Scriptures used by the early church and the Holy Spirit. The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation of the LXX for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

NT Quote
LXX
MT
Comment

3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed [pisteuo] God, and it was accounted [logidzomai] to him for righteousness [dikaiosune].” Romans 4:3 (NKJV) 

6 And Abram trusted [pisteuo] God, and it was reckoned [logidzomai] to him as righteousness [dikaiosune]. Genesis 15:6 (LES2) 

6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. Genesis 15:6 (NKJV) 

Exact match to LXX.

“

 

Rediscovering the Septuagint (LXX): Isaiah 6

Here is a direct side-by-side comparison of the Masoretic Text with the LXX.  I have concluded that the LXX is much to be preferred over the Masoretic Text, a position from which the Eastern Orthodox Church never deviated. Perhaps, if you take the time to read my comparisons and other articles, you will arrive at the same conclusion.

The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation of the LXX for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

Masoretic Text Septuagint Significance

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” Isaiah 6:1–3 (NKJV)

1 And this happened in the year when Uzziah the king died: I saw the Lord seated on a high and raised throne, and the building was full of his glory. 2 And seraphim stood around him; each one had six wings, and with two they were covering their face, and with two they were covering their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And one cried aloud to the other, and they were saying, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord Sabaoth; the whole land is full of his glory!” Isaiah 6:1–3 (LES2)

John 12:41 reveals that Isaiah’s vision in this chapter is of the Lord Jesus. This is not surprising since all of the Bible points to Christ. (John 5:39)

The LXX does not mention any robe, only the Lord, his throne, and his glory. No temple is mentioned either, but a house. 

The MT says the seraphim stood above him, but the LXX says they stood around him. They cried out, “Holy, holy, holy,” which some believe is a reference to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They also announced that the entire earth (ge) is filled with God’s glory. If only our eyes were opened fully to this marvelous reality!

4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.” Isaiah 6:4–5 (NKJV) 

4 And the lintel was lifted because of the sound that they were shouting, and the building filled with smoke. 5 And I said, “Oh, I am wretched, because I am pierced; for I live in the middle of a people having impure lips, being a person and having impure lips, and I have seen the king, the Lord Sabaoth, with my eyes!” Isaiah 6:4–5 (LES2)

In the experience of the shaking and smoke-filled glory, Isaiah literally said, “I am suffering because I am pierced [in my heart].” This was because he was aware of his sin and that of his people while at the same time beholding king Jesus.

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” Isaiah 6:6–7 (NKJV) 

6 And one of the seraphim was sent to me, and in its hand it was holding a coal that it took with a holder from the altar. 7 And it touched my mouth and said, “Look, this has touched your lips and will take away your transgressions and will purge away your sins.” Isaiah 6:6–7 (LES2)

The MT says a seraphim flew to Isaiah, but the LXX said God sent it to him. Much better. The MT said the live coal took away his sin, but the LXX says it will take it away, pointing to the future sacrifice Jesus would make. Verb tenses matter.

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 (NKJV)

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people?” And I said, “Look, I am here; send me!” Isaiah 6:8 (LES2) 

The MT says, “Who will go for us,” but the LXX says, “who will go to this people.” The missionary apostolic call to go make disciples is given to God’s blood-bought people. When we truly encounter God and his grace, our response will be, “Send me.”

9 And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 “Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed.” Isaiah 6:9–10 (NKJV)

9 And he said, “Go and say to this people, ‘You will hear by hearing and not understand; and although looking, you will look and not see.’ 10 For the heart of this people has been thickened; and they have heard heavily with their ears, and they closed their eyes in case they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I will heal them.” Isaiah 6:9–10 (LES2)

God called Isaiah and Christ’s disciples to take the good news to people who are spiritually blind and deaf. Jesus quoted this verse.

13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; 15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ Matthew 13:13–15 (NKJV)

The quote in Matthew is almost 100% verbatim compared to Isaiah. 

The Jewish people, for the most part, were and are blind and deaf to the reality of Jesus’ being the Messiah.

11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered: “Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, The land is utterly desolate, 12 The LORD has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 But yet a tenth will be in it, And will return and be for consuming, As a terebinth tree or as an oak, Whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump.” Isaiah 6:11–13 (NKJV)

11 And I said, “Until when, Lord?” And he said, “Until cities are desolated to the point of not being inhabited and houses to the point of there being no people, and the land will be left deserted.” 12 And after these things God will distance the people, and those left behind will increase on the land. 13 And still the tenth part is on it, and again it will become plunder like a terebinth tree and like an acorn when it falls from its case. Isaiah 6:11–13 (LES2)

When Isaiah asks how long this blindness will continue, God tells him until the destruction of Jerusalem, which was the final element of Christ’s first coming. It was only when the temple and sacrificial system were destroyed that the veil came off God’s new covenant people, and we saw more clearly the glory of what God has done in Christ.

The MT adds something to the end of verse 13 to make it sound as if the nation of Israel will be somehow restored, but that is not in the LXX. The holy seed is Christ (Galatians 3:16), not some remnant of national Israel. Some of the changes made to the MT were designed to prop up the Zionist position that has deceived so many Christians into abandoning a proper understanding of the New Covenant.

 

Rediscovering the Septuagint (LXX): Isaiah 4:2-6

Here is a direct side-by-side comparison of the Masoretic Text with the LXX.  I have concluded that the LXX is much to be preferred over the Masoretic Text, a position from which the Eastern Orthodox Church never deviated. Perhaps, if you take the time to read my comparisons and other articles, you will arrive at the same conclusion.

The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation of the LXX for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

Masoretic Text Septuagint Significance

2 In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing For those of Israel who have escaped. Isaiah 4:2 (NKJV)

2 But on that day God will shine in counsel with glory upon the land, to raise and to glorify the remnant of Israel. Isaiah 4:2 (LES2)

The LXX refers to the church, the remnant of the elect, the Israel of God, being glorified when the light and glory of the Lord is revealed upon the earth. 

3 And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 4 When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, Isaiah 4:3–4 (NKJV)

3 And the remainder will be in Zion and the remnant in Jerusalem; all those recorded for life in Jerusalem will be called holy, 4 because the Lord will wash out the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion, and he will purge the blood from the middle of them by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning. Isaiah 4:3–4 (LES2)

The is also talking about the elect of God in Christ (Ephesians 1:4) who are cleansed from their sins by the blood of Christ applied by the Holy Spirit. 

5 then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. 6 And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain. Isaiah 4:5–6 (NKJV) 

5 And it will come, and as for every place of the mountain Zion and all the places surrounding her, a cloud will shade them by day, and like smoke and burning fire light by night, and it will be covered with all the glory. 6 And it will serve as shade from the heat, and as shelter, and as a place hidden from the harshness and the rain. Isaiah 4:5–6 (LES2)

This speaks of God’s presence in a way that is reminiscent of Israel’s desert wanderings, when God shaded them with the cloud of his presence by day and lit the night with his holy fire. It will be fulfilled when his glory fills the earth. (Isaiah 6:3)
     

 

New Testament Use of the Septuagint – Romans 3:10-18

Here is New Testament passage that shows that the Septuagint was the version of the Scriptures used by the early church and the Holy Spirit. The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation of the LXX for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

NT Quote
LXX
MT
Comment

10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” 13 “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; 14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” 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 3:10–18 (NKJV)

2 The Lord looked out from the heavens upon the sons of humans, to see if there is one who understands or one who seeks out God. 3 All turned aside together. They became useless. There is not one doing goodness; there is not even one. Their throat is an opened grave. With their tongues they have dealt treacherously with one another. The poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are quick to pour out blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways, and they know not the way of peace. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Psalm 13:2–3 (LES2) 

2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. 3 They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one. Psalm 14:2–3 (NKJV)

This comparison makes it quite plain that Paul quoted the LXX. The Greek matches perfectly. The MT does not even contain a section of the quote in verse 3. This one goes to the LXX.

“

 

New Testament Use of the Septuagint – Romans 2:24

Here is New Testament passage that shows that the Septuagint was the version of the Scriptures used by the early church and the Holy Spirit. The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation of the LXX for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

NT Quote
LXX
MT
Comment

24 For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written. Romans 2:24 (NKJV)

…Because of you my name is always blasphemed among the nations. Isaiah 52:5 (LES2)

…“And My name is blasphemed continually every day. Isaiah 52:5 (NKJV)

The Greek in Romans matches that of the LXX. Paul omits the word “always.” The MT, apparently seeking to minimize damage to the Jewish image, omits “because of you” as the reason for God’s name being blasphemed. Paul understood that this was important, just as written in the LXX. This one goes to the LXX.

“

 

New Testament Use of the Septuagint – Romans 3:4

Here is New Testament passage that shows that the Septuagint was the version of the Scriptures used by the early church and the Holy Spirit. The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation of the LXX for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

NT Quote
LXX
MT
Comment

4 Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: “That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged.” Romans 3:4 (NKJV)

…that you would be vindicated in your words and prevail when you judge. Psalm 50:6 (LES2)

…That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. Psalm 51:4 (NKJV)

The Greek in the LXX perfectly matches the quote in Romans, even though different English words are used. This one goes to the LXX. The MT is slightly different, using “blameless” instead of “prevail.”

Since the MT was completed hundreds of years after Paul wrote Romans, was this a deliberate change?

“

 

New Testament Use of the Septuagint – Romans 1:17

Here is New Testament passage that shows that the Septuagint was the version of the Scriptures used by the early church and the Holy Spirit. The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation of the LXX for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

NT Quote
LXX
MT
Comment

17 For in it [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17 (NKJV) 

… the righteous one will live by my faith. Habakkuk 2:4 (LES2)

… the just shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:4 (NKJV)

The Greek in the LXX agrees with Romans, even though the English word “just” is different from “righteous one.” Both are dikaios in Greek.I give this one to the LXX; although, there is no difference between it and MT.

The MT says the just will live by “his” faith. The MT is law-based, which makes it performance oriented. This accounts for the stress on the faith belonging to the believer. The LXX is more Christ-centered and lets us know that the faith comes from God, not us. This agrees with Galatians 2:20.

“

 

New Testament Use of the Septuagint – Matthew 4:14-16

Here is New Testament passage that shows that the Septuagint was the version of the Scriptures used by the early church and the Holy Spirit. The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation of the LXX for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

NT Quote
LXX
MT
Comment

14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: 16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” Matthew 4:14–16 (NKJV)

…territory of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, and the rest who are on the coast and across the Jordan, Galilee of the nations! 2 People going in darkness, see a great light! Those inhabiting a territory, a shadow of death, light will shine on you! Isaiah 9:1–2 (LES2) 

…The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, And afterward more heavily oppressed her, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles. 2 The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined. Isaiah 9:1–2 (NKJV)

Matthew’s quote does not perfectly match either, but I think there is more agreement with the MT. Nothing in the LXX contradicts Matthew, however.

“

 

New Testament Use of the Septuagint – Matthew 4:10

Here is New Testament passage that shows that the Septuagint was the version of the Scriptures used by the early church and the Holy Spirit. The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation of the LXX for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

NT Quote
LXX
MT
Comment

10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” Matthew 4:10 (NKJV) 

13 You shall fear the Lord your God and serve him, and you shall cling to him, and you shall swear by his name. Deuteronomy 6:13 (LES2) 

13 You shall fear the LORD your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name. Deuteronomy 6:13 (NKJV) 

Both the MT and LXX use the word “fear” where Matthew uses “worship.” Matthew also adds the word “only” to modify God. Both the MT and LXX include another phrase. The LXX says, “you shall cling to him.” Both add swearing in God’s name. I don’t think I will give this one to either the MT or LXX.

“

 

Share this post...