Texts in Conversation
Isaiah 3 declares it will go well for the innocent, expressing a command within the prophetic speech. The Greek Septuagint translation reshapes it so that the statement appears as spoken within the narrative itself.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Isaiah 3:10
Hebrew Bible
8 Jerusalem certainly stumbles, Judah falls, for their words and their actions offend the Lord; they rebel against his royal authority. 9 The look on their faces testifies to their guilt; like the people of Sodom they openly boast of their sin. Woe to them! For they bring disaster on themselves. 10 Tell the innocent it will go well with them, for they will be rewarded for what they have done. 11 Woe to the wicked sinners! For they will get exactly what they deserve. 12 Oppressors treat my people cruelly; creditors rule over them. My people, your leaders mislead you; they give you confusing directions.
Date: 740–450 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
LXX Isaiah 3:10
Septuagint
8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judea has fallen, and their tongues have spoken with iniquity, disobedient as they are toward the Lord; therefore now their glory has been brought low. 9 And the shame of their face has withstood them, and they have proclaimed their sin as Sodom, and made it manifest. Woe to their soul, for they have devised an evil counsel against themselves, 10 saying, Let us bind the just, for he is burdensome to us: therefore they will eat the fruits of their works. 11 Woe to the transgressor! evils shall happen to him according to the works of his hands. 12 my people, your exactors strip you, and extortioners rule over you: my people, they that pronounce you blessed lead you astray, and pervert the path of your feet.
Date: 100–1 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... According to Barr many translators in antiquity were neither consistently literal nor consistently free in their way of translating but combined these two approaches in a rather inconsistent way. This image that Barr depicts of ancient Bible translations fits the Septuagint of Isaiah quite well. Also in this translation literal and free rendition are often closely and intricately intertwined. To make this rather technical exposition somewhat more concrete, let me now offer a few illustrations of rearranged texts in LXX Isaiah ..."
Mirjam van der Vorm-Croughs, The Old Greek of Isaiah: An Analysis of Its Pluses and Minuses, SCS 61 (Atlanta: SBL, 2014), 23.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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