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LXX Isaiah

Septuagint

About this book
Chapter 52

1 Awake, awake, Zion; put on your strength, Zion; and put on your glory, Jerusalem the holy city: there shall no more pass through you, the uncircumcised and unclean. 2 Shake off the dust and arise; sit down, Jerusalem: put off the band of your neck, captive daughter of Zion. 3 For thus says the Lord, You have been sold for nothing; and you shall not be ransomed with silver. 4 Thus says the Lord, My people went down before to Egypt to stay there; and were carried away forcibly to the Assyrians. 5 And now why are you here? Thus says the Lord, Because my people was taken for nothing, wonder and howl. Thus says the Lord, On account of you my name is continually blasphemed among the Gentiles.⁠ 6 Therefore shall my people know my name in that day, for I am he that speaks: I am present, 7 as a season of beauty upon the mountains, as the feet of one preaching glad news of peace, as one preaching good news: for I will publish your salvation, saying, Zion, your God shall reign. 8 For the voice of those who guard you is exalted, and with the voice together they shall rejoice: for eyes shall look to eyes, when the Lord shall have mercy upon Zion. 9 Let the waste places of Jerusalem break forth in joy together, because the Lord has had mercy upon her, and has delivered Jerusalem. 10 And the Lord shall reveal his holy arm in the sight of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation that comes from God. 11 Depart, depart, go out from there, and do not touch the unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; separate yourselves, you that bear the vessels of the Lord. 12 For you shall not go forth with tumult, neither go by flight: for the Lord shall go first in advance of you; and the Lord God of Israel shall be he that brings up your rear. 13 Look, my servant shall understand, and be exalted, and glorified exceedingly.⁠ 14 As many shall be amazed at you, so shall your face be without glory from men, and your glory shall not be honored by the sons of men. 15 Thus shall many nations wonder at him; and kings shall keep their mouths shut: for they to whom no report was brought concerning him, shall see; and they who have not heard, shall consider.

Texts in conversation

Compare LXX Isaiah 52:5 and Romans 2:24

Septuagint · New Testament

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Summary

In Romans, Paul quotes the Greek Septuagint translation of Isaiah 52 to say that Israel’s behavior has caused the nations to dishonor God’s name, following the logic in Isaiah that dishonorable behavior can negatively affect God.

Passages

LXX Isaiah 52:5

Septuagint
4 Thus says the Lord, My people went down before to Egypt to stay there; and were carried away forcibly to the Assyrians. 5 And now why are you here? Thus says the Lord, Because my people was taken for nothing, wonder and howl. Thus says the Lord, On account of you my name is continually blasphemed among the Gentiles. 6 Therefore shall my people know my name in that day, for I am he that speaks: I am present,
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Isaiah

Romans 2:24

New Testament
22 You who tell others not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by transgressing the law! 24 For just as it is written, “the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” 25 For circumcision has its value if you practice the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.
55–58 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Romans

References

“... Thus they dishonor God because of their hypocrisy. The whole purpose of the law was to help the Jewish people to honor God by keeping it. Thus they have brought him dishonor; the term also means to ‘disgrace’ or ‘insult’ someone. By their disobedience they have given the Gentiles a reason to heap scorn on God. Then Paul uses Isaiah 52:5 to anchor this charge. In Isaiah 40–66 the exile of Israel is seen as the result of national sin, which has caused the name of God to be mocked by the nations. So here too as a result of Israel’s disobedience, God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles. Those who believed they both glorified God and were completely superior to the Gentiles because they had the law were actually no better than the Gentiles. ...”
Grant R. Osborne, IVP New Testament Commentary Series: Romans (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity, 2003), 76.

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 52:5 and Romans 2:24

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