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In the Hebrew version of Habakkuk, he tells Judah to look at the nations God is raising up to punish them. The Greek Septuagint misreads this as traitors instead of nations, changing the warning not at foreign armies but at scoffers who will not believe.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Habakkuk 1:5
Hebrew Bible
4 For this reason the law lacks power, and justice is never carried out. Indeed, the wicked intimidate the innocent. For this reason justice is perverted. 5 “Look at the nations and pay attention! You will be shocked and amazed! For I will do something in your lifetime that you will not believe even though you are forewarned. 6 Look, I am about to empower the Babylonians, that ruthless and greedy nation. They sweep across the surface of the earth, seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.
LXX Habakkuk 1:5
Septuagint
4 On account of this, the law has been rejected, and judgment is not brought to an end, because an impious person oppresses the righteous; for this reason the judgment will come forth perverted. 5 “Look, you who are despisers, and observe! And marvel at the wonders, and be destroyed! Because I am working a work in your days, which you would not believe if someone were telling you. 6 Because behold, I am awakening the Chaldeans, the cruel and speedy nation that goes over the breadth of the land to possess dwelling places not his own.
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Notes and References
... In Nahum 1:7 even though the Hebrew text does not present any particular problem, the Greek translator gives a new orientation to the verse and emphasizes Jewish piety by substituting the idea of the Lord being good to those who 'wait patiently' instead of God being a 'fortress' and that he knows those who 'reverence' him, rather than those who 'take refuge' in him. In Habakkuk 1:5 the reading οἱ καταφρονηταί 'the despisers' referring to Judah (from *bgdym?; contrast the Masoretic Text b-gwym, 'among the nations'), could be considered an interpretative rendering that justifies theologically the divine chastisement of Judah by the Chaldeans. ...
Dogniez, Cécile
"The Twelve Minor Prophets" in Salvesen, Alison, and T. M. Law (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of the Septuagint
(p. 314) Oxford University Press, 2021
* 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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