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LXX Isaiah

Septuagint

About this book
Chapter 61

1 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach glad news to the poor, to heal the broken in heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind;⁠ 2 to declare the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of retribution; to comfort all that mourn; 3 that there should be given to those who mourn in Zion glory instead of ashes, the oil of joy to the mourners, the garment of glory for the spirit of heaviness: and they shall be called generations of righteousness, the planting of the Lord for glory. 4 And they shall build the old waste places, they shall raise up those that were before made desolate, and shall renew the desert cities, even those that had been desolate for many generations. 5 And strangers shall come and feed your flocks, and aliens shall be your plowmen and vine-dressers. 6 But you shall be called priests of the Lord, the ministers of God: you shall eat the strength of nations,⁠ and shall be admired because of their wealth. 7 Thus they will inherit the land a second time, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head.⁠ 8 For I am the Lord who love righteousness, and hate robberies of injustice; and I will give their labor to the just, and will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring in the midst of peoples: every one that sees them shall take notice of them, that they are a seed blessed of God; 10 and they shall greatly rejoice in the Lord. Let my soul rejoice in the Lord; for he has clothed me with the robe of salvation, and the garment of joy: he has put a turban on me as on a bridegroom, and adorned me with ornaments as a bride. 11 And as the earth putting forth her flowers, and as a garden its seed; so the Lord will cause righteousness to spring forth, and exultation before all nations.

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 61:1 and LXX Isaiah 61:1

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

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Summary

Isaiah 61 describes a messenger sent by God to comfort the grieving and free captives. In the Greek Septuagint, the language of freeing prisoners is changed to giving sight to the blind, reshaping the imagery and meaning of the text.

Passages

Isaiah 61:1

Hebrew Bible
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has chosen me. He has commissioned me to encourage the poor, to help the brokenhearted, to decree the release of captives and the freeing of prisoners, 2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor, the day when our God will seek vengeance, to console all who mourn, 3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion by giving them a turban, instead of ashes, oil symbolizing joy, instead of mourning, a garment symbolizing praise, instead of discouragement. They will be called oaks of righteousness, trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

LXX Isaiah 61:1

Septuagint
1 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach glad news to the poor, to heal the broken in heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind; 2 to declare the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of retribution; to comfort all that mourn; 3 that there should be given to those who mourn in Zion glory instead of ashes, the oil of joy to the mourners, the garment of glory for the spirit of heaviness: and they shall be called generations of righteousness, the planting of the Lord for glory.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Isaiah

References

"... A quick reading of the above texts gives an impression that there are only a few minor differences. However, a thorough analysis of various compositional elements (such as the syntax relation, the structure, the grammar, the choice of words, to name but a few), viewed within the LXX-Isaiah as a whole, seems to indicate that those discrepancies are significant. In verse 1, besides his omission of יהוה (as the subject of the verb משח that is translated as ἔχρισέν), the Isaiah translator renders the particle יען by οὗ εἵνεκεν instead of an expected διὰ (7:5 for יעןכי) or ὅτι (30:12; 65:12; 65:4). While this does not seem to alter the meaning of this verse, it is worth noting his use of the infinitive ἰάσασθαι (to heal) for חבש (to bind up) as well as καὶ τυφλοῖς ἀνάβλεψιν (and a recovery of sight to the blind) for ולאסוריםפקח־קוח (and an opening “of eyesight” to them that are bound). Even if the rendition of ἀνάβλεψιν (compare also Aquila) might be explained as a possible reading of a single word פקחקוח (compare 1QIsaa and 1QIsab) understood in an intensive sense of eye-opening, the Isaiah translator’s interpretative intention here should not be denied. This becomes obvious from his use of the noun ... ..."
Abi T. Ngunga, Messianism in the Old Greek of Isaiah: An Intertextual Analysis, FRLANT 245 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2013), 197–198.

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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  • Why was the word (recovery of sight to the blind) removed? Was it an intentional act?

    Rome, March 16, 2024

  • Thanks to the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as a spirit body, all those who were drowned by Noah's flood have been released as spirit bodies into God's heaven (1 Peter 3:18-19). Why was Jesus interested in them in the first place? Why not something more recent, like those of Sodom a ...

    Wayne, July 2, 2024

Isaiah 61:1 and LXX Isaiah 61:1

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