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Ezekiel 36 says God restores Israel to protect his honor, which has been disrespected among the nations. The Greek Septuagint changes this to an act of pity for Israel and shifts the focus from concern for God's honor to a picture of divine mercy.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Ezekiel 36:21
Hebrew Bible
20 But when they arrived in the nations where they went, they profaned my holy name. It was said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, yet they have departed from his land.’ 21 I was concerned for my holy reputation, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went. 22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake that I am about to act, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy reputation, which you profaned among the nations where you went.
Date: 600–501 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
LXX Ezekiel 36:22
Septuagint
19 and I dispersed them among the nations, and utterly scattered them through the countries: I judged them according to their way and according to their sin. 20 And they went in among the nations, among which they went, and they profaned my holy name, while it was said of them, These are the people of the Lord, and they came forth out of his land. 21 But I had pity on them for the sake of my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations, among whom they went. 22 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord; I do not do this, house of Israel, for your sakes, but because of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations, among whom you went.
Date: 100–1 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... In the Masoretic text of Ezekiel 36:21, the promise of Israel’s return is motivated by concerns of God’s name as in the following verse 22; in the Septuagint, the sparing of Israel is the stated reason which avoids the contradiction to Israel’s history which – from the perspective of the translators – found the continuation in the Holy land ..."
Martin Meiser, The Septuagint and Its Reception: Collected Essays (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2022), 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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