Texts in Conversation
Acts 28 uses the Greek Septuagint translation of Isaiah 6 and includes details not found in the Hebrew version. It describes the people closing their own eyes and ears, softening the tone of the Hebrew version, which says that God closed them.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Isaiah 6:10
Septuagint
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. 9 And he said, Go, and say to this people, You shall hear indeed, but you shall not understand; and you shall see indeed, but you shall not perceive. 10 For the heart of this people has become gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; for fear that they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. 11 And I said, How long, Lord? And he said, Until cities be deserted by reason of their not being inhabited, and the houses by reason of there being no men, and the land shall be left desolate. 12 And after this God shall remove the men far off, and they that are left upon the land shall be multiplied.
Date: 100–1 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Acts 28:27
New Testament
25 So they began to leave, unable to agree among themselves, after Paul made one last statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah 26 when he said, ‘Go to this people and say, “You will keep on hearing, but will never understand, and you will keep on looking, but will never perceive. 27 For the heart of this people has become dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.”’ 28 “Therefore be advised that this salvation from God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen!” 29 Paul lived there two whole years in his own rented quarters and welcomed all who came to him,
Date: 70–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Like LXX Psalms, LXX Isaiah had a great impact on the New Testament. LXX Isaiah 6:9-10, for example, which softens the shock of the Hebrew, is put to apologetic use in Acts 28:27. The so-called 'Servant Songs', which Christian writers apply to Christ, are given a collective sense in the LXX ..."
Jennifer M. Dines, The Septuagint (London: T&T Clark, 2004), 22.
* 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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