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LXX Isaiah

Septuagint

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Chapter 53

1 Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?⁠ 2 We brought a report as of a child before him; he is as a root in a thirsty land: he has no form nor glory; and we saw him, but he had no form nor beauty. 3 But his form was ignoble, and inferior to that of all men; he was a man in suffering, and acquainted with the bearing of sickness, for his face is turned from us: he was dishonored, and not esteemed. 4 He bears our sins,⁠ and is pained for us:⁠ yet we accounted him to be in trouble, and in suffering, and in affliction. 5 But he was wounded on account of our sins, and was bruised because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his bruises we were healed. 6 All we as sheep have gone astray; every one has gone astray in his way; and the Lord gave him up for our sins. 7 And he, because of his affliction, does not open his mouth: he was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he does not open his mouth. 8 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken away from the earth: because of the iniquities of my people he was led to death. 9 And I will give the wicked for his burial, and the rich for his death; for he practiced no iniquity, nor was craft found in his mouth.⁠ 10 The Lord also wishes to cleanse him from his stroke.⁠ If you can give an offering for sin, your soul shall see a long-lived seed: the Lord also wishes to take away 11 from the labor of his soul, to show him light, and to form him with understanding;⁠ to justify the just one who serves many well; and he shall bear their sins. 12 Therefore he shall inherit many, and he shall divide the captured goods of the mighty; because his soul was delivered to death: and he was numbered among the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and was delivered because of their iniquities.

Texts in conversation

Compare LXX Isaiah 53:1 and Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 16:3

Septuagint · Early Christian

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Summary

In 1 Clement, the author quotes all of Isaiah 53 in the Greek Septuagint translation and takes the suffering servant to be Jesus, but uses the chapter mainly as an example of humility for the Corinthians to copy and less to explain the death of Jesus.

Passages

LXX Isaiah 53:1

Septuagint
1 Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 We brought a report as of a child before him; he is as a root in a thirsty land: he has no form nor glory; and we saw him, but he had no form nor beauty. 3 But his form was ignoble, and inferior to that of all men; he was a man in suffering, and acquainted with the bearing of sickness, for his face is turned from us: he was dishonored, and not esteemed. 4 He bears our sins, and is pained for us: yet we accounted him to be in trouble, and in suffering, and in affliction.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Isaiah

Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 16:3

Early Christian · First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
2 The scepter of the majesty of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, did not come in the pomp of arrogance or of pride, though He could have done so, but in humility, just as the Holy Spirit spoke concerning Him. 3 For He says, “Lord, who believed our report? and to whom was the arm of the Lord revealed? We announced Him in His presence. He was like a child, like a root in thirsty ground. There is no form in Him, nor glory. And we saw Him, and He had no form or beauty, but His form was lowly, lacking more than the form of men. He was a man of wounds and of toil, and knowing how to bear weakness: for His face is turned away. He was dishonored and counted as nothing.”
90–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Clement of Rome, 1 Clement

References

“... The traditional character of the christology is further demonstrated in the rather formulaic references to Jesus’ salvific death. There are references to Jesus’ blood as “poured out” (1 Clem. 7.4), “given for us” (1 Clem. 21.6; cf. 1 Clem. 49.6), through which redemption has come (1 Clem. 12.7). In 1 Clement 16.3-17 there is an extended appropriation of Isaiah 53:1–12, explicitly taking the suffering servant of the latter passage as Christ suffering for the sins of the redeemed. Characteristic of this author, however, is the emphasis placed on Christ’s sufferings as ethical example for Christian life (1 Clem 16.17). ...”
Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids, eds., Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997), 313.

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 53:1 and Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 16:3

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