Go to Related Reading
About this book

LXX Isaiah

Septuagint

About this book
Chapter 45

1 Thus says the Lord God to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, that nations might be obedient before him; and I will break through the strength of kings; I will open doors before him, and cities shall not be closed. 2 I will go before you, and will level mountains: I will break to pieces brass doors, and burst iron bars. 3 And I will give you the treasures of darkness, I will open to you hidden, unseen treasures, that you may know that I, the Lord your God, that call you by name, am the God of Israel. 4 For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my elect, I will call you by your name, and accept you: but you have not known me. 5 For I am the Lord God, and there is no other God beside me; and you have not known me. 6 That they that come from the east and they that come from the west may know that there is no God but me. I am the Lord God, and there is none beside. 7 I am he that prepared light, and formed darkness; who make peace, and create evil; I am the Lord God, that does all these things. 8 Let the heaven rejoice from above, and let the clouds rain righteousness: let the earth bring forth, and blossom with mercy, and bring forth righteousness likewise: I am the Lord that created you. 9 What excellent thing have I prepared as clay of the potter? Will the plowman plow the earth all day? shall the clay say to the potter, What are you doing that you do not work, nor have hands? 10 As though one should say to his father, What will you beget me? and to his mother, What are you bringing forth? 11 For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, who has formed the things that are to come, Inquire of me concerning my sons, and concerning my daughters, and concerning the works of my hands command me. 12 I have made the earth, and man upon it: I with my hand have established the heaven; I have given commandment to all the stars. 13 I have raised him up to be a king with righteousness, and all his ways are right: he shall build my city, and shall turn the captivity of my people, not for ransoms, nor for rewards, says the Lord of hosts. 14 Thus says the Lord of hosts, Egypt has labored for you; and the merchandise of the Ethiopians, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall pass over to you, and shall be your servants; and they shall follow after you bound in fetters, and shall bow in respect to you, and make a plea to you: because God is in you; and they shall say, There is no God beside you. 15 For you are God, and we did not know it, the God of Israel, the Savior. 16 All that are opposed to him shall be ashamed and confounded, and shall walk in shame: you isles, keep a feast to me. 17 Israel is saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation: they shall not be ashamed nor confounded for evermore. 18 Thus says the Lord that made the heaven, this God that created the earth, and made it; he marked it out, he made it not in vain, but formed it to be inhabited: I am, and there is none beside. 19 I have not spoken in secret, nor in a dark place of the earth: I did not say to the seed of Jacob, Seek vanity: I, even I, am the Lord, speaking righteousness, and proclaiming truth. 20 Assemble yourselves and come; take counsel together, you that escape of the nations: they that set up wood, even their carved image, have no knowledge, nor they who pray⁠ as if to gods that do not save. 21 If they will declare, let them draw near, that they may know together, who has caused these things to be heard from the beginning: then was it told you. I am God, and there is not another beside me; a just God and a Savior; there is none but me. 22 Turn to me, and you shall be saved, you that come from the end of the earth: I am God, and there is none other. 23 By myself I swear, righteousness shall surely proceed out of my mouth; my words shall not be frustrated; that to me every knee shall bend, and every tongue shall confess to God,⁠ 24 saying, Righteousness and glory shall come to him: and all that separate themselves shall be ashamed.⁠ 25 By the Lord they will be justified, and in God shall all the seed of the children of Israel be glorified.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare LXX Isaiah 45:23 and Philippians 2:10

Septuagint · New Testament

Share:

Summary

Isaiah describes all nations bowing and confessing loyalty to God alone, presenting a vision of universal acknowledgment of divine authority. Philippians adapts this language to express a picture of universal loyalty to Jesus.

Passages

LXX Isaiah 45:23

Septuagint
21 If they will declare, let them draw near, that they may know together, who has caused these things to be heard from the beginning: then was it told you. I am God, and there is not another beside me; a just God and a Savior; there is none but me. 22 Turn to me, and you shall be saved, you that come from the end of the earth: I am God, and there is none other. 23 By myself I swear, righteousness shall surely proceed out of my mouth; my words shall not be frustrated; that to me every knee shall bend, and every tongue shall confess to God, 24 saying, Righteousness and glory shall come to him: and all that separate themselves shall be ashamed. 25 By the Lord they will be justified, and in God shall all the seed of the children of Israel be glorified.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Isaiah

Philippians 2:10

New Testament
8 He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross! 9 As a result God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 12 So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence,
56–63 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Philippians

References

"... Paul’s presentation of the Messiah as “Wisdom” in 1 and 2 Corinthians and as a preexistent heavenly being in Philippians is analogous to the depiction of the heavenly Messiah in the Similitudes of Enoch ... In both cases, the Messiah is portrayed as divine, both functionally and, to some degree, ontologically. But in neither case is the preexistent figure equal to God. Thus, we do not yet seem to have an expression of binitarianism in Paul’s letters. Hurtado also points out that Philippians 2:10 is an adaptation of Isaiah 45:23. He infers from this allusion that: The monotheistic thrust of Jewish tradition that is stridently expressed in Isaiah 45:23 is adapted to express in equally strong terms a new and remarkable “binitarian” form of monotheism, with two closely linked but distinguishable figures: God and Jesus. But this inference seems to be an overinterpretation. The worship of the God of Israel alone can, in the Second Temple period, be combined with obeisance to God’s primary agent, the Messiah ..."
Adela Yarbro Collins, “How on Earth Did Jesus Become a God?: A Reply,” in Israel's God and Rebecca's Children: Christology and Community in Early Judaism and Christianity, ed. Helen K. Bond (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2007), 55–66.

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

Your feedback

LXX Isaiah 45:23 and Philippians 2:10

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library