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LXX Isaiah

Septuagint

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Chapter 29

1 Alas for the city of Ariel, which David besieged. Gather fruits year by year; for you shall eat with Moab. 2 For I will severely afflict Ariel: and her strength and her wealth shall be mine. 3 And I will surround you like David, and will raise a mound about you, and set up towers round you. 4 And your words shall be brought down to the earth, and your words shall sink down to the earth, and your voice shall be as they that speak out of the earth, and your voice shall be lowered to the ground. 5 But the wealth of the ungodly shall be as dust from a wheel, and as flying chaff, and it shall be suddenly as a moment, 6 from the Lord of hosts: for there shall be a visitation with thunder, and earthquake, and a loud noise, a rushing tempest, and devouring flame of fire. 7 And the wealth of all the nations together, as many as have fought against Ariel, and all they that war against Jerusalem, and all who are gathered against her, and they that distress her, shall be as one that dreams in sleep by night. 8 And as men drink and eat in sleep, and when they have arisen, the dream is vain: and as a thirsty man dreams as if he drank, and having arisen is still thirsty, and his soul has desired in vain: so shall be the wealth of all the nations, as many as have fought against the mount Zion. 9 Faint, and be amazed, and be overpowered, not with strong drink nor with wine. 10 For the Lord has made you to drink a spirit of deep sleep; and he shall close their eyes, and the eyes of their prophets and of their rulers, who see secret things. 11 And all these things shall be to you as the words of this sealed book, which if they shall give to a learned man, saying, Read this, he shall then say, I can’t read it, for it is sealed. 12 And this book shall be given into the hands of a man that is unlearned, and one shall say to him, Read this; and he shall say, I am not learned. 13 And the Lord has said, This people draw near to me, they honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me:⁠ but they worship me in vain, teaching the commandments and doctrines of men. 14 Therefore look, I will proceed to remove this people, and I will remove them: and I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will hide the understanding of the prudent. 15 Woe to those who deepen their counsel, and not by the Lord. Woe to those who take secret counsel, and whose works are in darkness, and they say, Who has seen us? and who shall know us, or what we do? 16 Shall you not be counted as clay of the potter? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, You did not form me?⁠ or the work to the maker, You have not made me wisely? 17 Is it not yet a little while, and Lebanon shall be changed as the mount of Carmel, and the mount of Carmel shall be reckoned as a forest? 18 And in that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and they that are in darkness, and they that are in mist: the eyes of the blind shall see, 19 and the poor shall rejoice with joy because of the Lord, and they that had no hope among men shall be filled with joy. 20 The lawless man has come to nothing, and the proud man has perished, and they that transgress mischievously have been utterly destroyed: 21 and they that cause men to sin by a word: and men shall make all that reprove in the gates an offense, because they have unjustly turned aside the righteous. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the house of Jacob, whom he set apart from Abraham, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall Israel now change his face. 23 But when their children shall have seen my works, they shall sanctify my name for my sake, and they shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. 24 And they that erred in spirit shall know understanding, and the murmurers shall learn obedience, and the stammering tongues shall learn to speak peace.

Texts in conversation

Compare LXX Isaiah 29:16 and Romans 9:20

Septuagint · New Testament

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Summary

Paul’s image of the potter and clay in Romans 9 is based on Isaiah, where Israel resists God and their promised renewal. Paul reuses this to describe his perspective of Israel’s struggle to accept God’s plan for its restoration.

Passages

LXX Isaiah 29:16

Septuagint
14 Therefore look, I will proceed to remove this people, and I will remove them: and I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will hide the understanding of the prudent. 15 Woe to those who deepen their counsel, and not by the Lord. Woe to those who take secret counsel, and whose works are in darkness, and they say, Who has seen us? and who shall know us, or what we do? 16 Shall you not be counted as clay of the potter? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, You did not form me? or the work to the maker, You have not made me wisely? 17 Is it not yet a little while, and Lebanon shall be changed as the mount of Carmel, and the mount of Carmel shall be reckoned as a forest? 18 And in that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and they that are in darkness, and they that are in mist: the eyes of the blind shall see,
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Isaiah

Romans 9:20

New Testament
18 So then, God has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden. 19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who has ever resisted his will?” 20 But who indeed are you—a mere human being—to talk back to God? Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use? 22 But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction?
55–58 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Romans

References

"... The question therefore fits well in the context of the historical argument to this point in Romans 9, and Paul responds by “drawing on a traditional metaphor for God’s relationship to creation, and, more specifically, to his people Israel.” Specifically, through this metaphor, Paul argues that Israel has in fact resisted God, but despite Israel’s past disobedience, God is accomplishing his redemptive purposes through and for Israel by unexpected means. In this respect, Paul’s application of the metaphor is again consistent with the potter/clay passages in the prophets, particularly those of Isaiah. J. Ross Wagner points out that the potter passages in Isaiah 29:16/45:9 (particularly the latter) are in the context of restoration promises, continuing: 'Both of these Isaianic passages set the clay’s challenge to the potter in the context of Israel’s confrontation with God over his chosen means of redemption. Israel is portrayed as blind and deaf, doubting God’s wisdom and resisting his appointed means of redemption, either by relying on their own schemes for salvation or by questioning God’s plan of deliverance.' Significantly, the clay is not portrayed as passive in these passages but rather as challenging its maker, serving as a satirical image for Israel’s rebellion and accusations against YHWH. In this context, as with Jeremiah, the potter/clay images in Isaiah do not suggest that YHWH works irresistibly—the very rebellion that has prompted these oracles demonstrates Israel’s capacity to resist. Instead, these passages rebuke the stubbornness of the people, who should submit to their creator rather than resisting him ..."
Jason A. Staples, “Vessels of Wrath and God’s Pathos: Potter/Clay Imagery in Rom 9:20–23,” HTR 115.2 (2022): 1–22.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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LXX Isaiah 29:16 and Romans 9:20

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