Texts in Conversation
The Hebrew version of Psalm 116 uses ambiguous language that later translators struggled to understand. Paul follows the Greek translation from the Septuagint, which interpreted it to mean faithfulness because of affliction, not in spite of it.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Psalm 116:10
Hebrew Bible
8 Yes, Lord, you rescued my life from death, kept my eyes from tears and my feet from stumbling. 9 I will serve the Lord in the land of the living. 10 I had faith when I said,“I am severely oppressed.” 11 I rashly declared, “All men are liars.”
LXX Psalm 115:1
Septuagint
1 cI trusted; therefore I spoke. But I was made low very much. 2 I said in my entrancement, “Every person is a liar.” 3 What will I repay to the Lord for what he repaid to me? 4 I will receive a cup of salvation, and I will invoke the name of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 4:13
New Testament
11 For we who are alive are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our mortal body. 12 As a result, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 13 But since we have the same spirit of faith as that shown in what has been written, “I believed; therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak. 14 We do so because we know that the one who raised up Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus and will bring us with you into his presence. 15 For all these things are for your sake, so that the grace that is including more and more people may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God.
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Notes and References
“... D. Textual Matters. The three words quoted by Paul in 4:13 are exactly the same as in the LXX (Ps. 115:1 LXX): episteusa, dio elalēsa (“I believed, and so I spoke”). We have already seen that in the OT “I spoke” may be the introduction to what the psalmist actually “said” (at the end of the same verse): “I am greatly afflicted.” This is not quoted by Paul; however, the whole passage in which the OT quotation appears is describing his afflictions. The whole verse in the LXX (Ps. 115:1) can be seen as a translation of the MT (Ps. 116:10), with one addition: the LXX version adds allēlouia at the beginning of the verse, indicating that a new Hallel psalm is beginning. However, it is difficult to be certain about the meaning of the Hebrew text (see the difference between the RSV and the KJV quoted above); it probably is referring to the psalmist’s trust in God in spite of the afflictions. ...”
Balla, Peter
"2 Corinthians" in Beale, G. K., and D. A. Carson, editors. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament
(p. 1766) Baker Academic, 2007
* 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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