Texts in Conversation
The Greek Septuagint translation of Psalm 13, verse 3 is much longer than its Hebrew source, adding a description of throats, tongues, lips, feet and eyes. In Romans, Paul quotes that longer version in his own rhetoric.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Psalm 13:3
Septuagint
1 For the end, a Psalm of David. The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They have corrupted themselves, and become abominable in their devices; there is none that does goodness, there is not even so much as one. 2 The Lord looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there were any that understood, or sought after God. 3 They have all gone out of the way, they have together become good for nothing, there is none that does good, no not one. Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes.
Romans 3:13
New Testament
12 All have turned away; together they have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness, not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves; they deceive with their tongues; the poison of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery are in their paths, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
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Notes and References
“... The diatribal exchange is organized in two double sentences matching those in 3:1-8, with a double question by the interlocutor in v. 9a-b and a double answer by Paul in v. 9c-d. The exchange is followed by a carefully constructed catena of scriptural citations in vv. 10-18 that draws together themes from earlier portions of the argument of Romans and makes a compelling case that all persons including the chosen people are under the power of sin. The catena probably originated in a Jewish milieu, and with the exception of the slight redaction of LXX Ps 13:1-2 in vv. 3:10-11, the rest is found verbatim in several manuscript traditions of LXX Ps 13:3. Paul reframes the catena by eliminating references to the “fool” in Ps 13:1 and omitting 13:4-7, which refer to “my people,” “the righteous generation,” and God’s “people” who are to be brought back from captivity. Paul thus eliminates the psalm’s contrast between the righteous and the wicked. ...”
* 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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