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LXX Isaiah

Septuagint

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Chapter 65

1 I became manifest to those who did not seek me; I was found by those who did not ask for me:⁠ I said, Look, I am here, to a nation, who did not call on my name. 2 I have stretched forth my hands all day to a disobedient and gainsaying people, to those who did not walk in a true way, but after their sins.⁠ 3 This is the people that provokes me continually in my presence; they offer sacrifices in gardens, and burn incense on bricks⁠ to demons, which do not exist. 4 They lie down to sleep in the tombs and in the caves for the sake of dreams, even they that eat swine's flesh, and the broth of their sacrifices: all their vessels are defiled: 5 who say, Depart from me, do not draw near to me, for I am pure. This is the smoke of my fierce anger, a fire burns with it continually. 6 Look, it is written before me: I will not be silent until I have repaid them into their lap, 7 their sins and the sins of their fathers, says the Lord, who have burnt incense on the mountains, and reproached me on the hills: I will repay them for their works into their lap. 8 Thus says the Lord, As a grape-stone shall be found in the cluster, and they shall say, Do not destroy it; for a blessing of the Lord is in it: so I will do for the sake of him that serves me, for his sake I will not destroy them all. 9 And I will lead forth the seed that came of Jacob and of Judah, and they shall inherit my holy mountain: and my elect and my servants shall inherit it, and shall dwell there. 10 And there shall be in the forest folds of flocks, and the valley of Achor shall be for a resting-place of herds for my people, who have sought me. 11 But you are they that have left me, and forget my holy mountain, and prepare a table⁠ for the demon, and fill up the drink-offering to Fortune. 12 I will deliver you up to the sword, you shall all fall by slaughter: for I called you, and you did not listen; I spoke, and you refused to hear; and you did evil in my sight, and chose the things in which I did not delight. 13 Therefore thus says the Lord, Look, my servants shall eat, but you shall hunger: look, my servants shall drink, but you shall thirst: look, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be ashamed: 14 look, my servants shall exult with joy, but you shall cry for the sorrow of your heart, and shall howl for the vexation of your spirit. 15 For you shall leave your name for a loathing to my chosen, and the Lord shall destroy you: but they that serve him shall be called by a new name, 16 which shall be blessed on the earth; for they shall bless the true God: and they that swear upon the earth shall swear by the true God; for they shall forget the former affliction, it shall not come into their mind. 17 For there shall be a new heaven and a new earth: and they shall not at all remember the former, neither shall they at all come into their mind. 18 But they shall find in her joy and exultation; for, look, I make Jerusalem a rejoicing, and my people a joy. 19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and will be glad in my people: and there shall no more be heard in her the voice of weeping, or the voice of crying. 20 Neither shall there be there any more a child that dies untimely, or an old man who shall not complete his time: for the youth shall be one hundred years old, and the sinner who dies at one hundred years shall also be accursed: 21 and they shall build houses, and themselves shall dwell in them; and they shall plant vineyards, and themselves shall eat the fruit of them. 22 They shall by no means build, and others inhabit; and they shall by no means plant, and others eat: for as the days of the tree of life shall be the days of my people, they shall long enjoy the fruits of their labors. 23 My chosen shall not toil in vain, neither shall they beget children to be cursed; for they are a seed blessed of God, and their offspring with them. 24 And it will happen, that before they call, I will listen to them; while they are yet speaking, I will say, What is it? 25 Then wolves and lambs shall feed together, and the lion shall eat chaff like the ox, and the serpent earth as bread. They shall not injure nor destroy in my holy mountain, says the Lord.

Texts in conversation

Compare LXX Isaiah 65:2 and Romans 10:21

Septuagint · New Testament

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Summary

Romans 10 uses the Greek Septuagint translation of Isaiah 65 and follows its unique phrasing, yet Paul still changes its language to serve his argument. His quote does not match the Greek nor any Hebrew version and shows deliberate reshaping.

Passages

LXX Isaiah 65:2

Septuagint
1 I became manifest to those who did not seek me; I was found by those who did not ask for me: I said, Look, I am here, to a nation, who did not call on my name. 2 I have stretched forth my hands all day to a disobedient and gainsaying people, to those who did not walk in a true way, but after their sins. 3 This is the people that provokes me continually in my presence; they offer sacrifices in gardens, and burn incense on bricks to demons, which do not exist. 4 They lie down to sleep in the tombs and in the caves for the sake of dreams, even they that eat swine's flesh, and the broth of their sacrifices: all their vessels are defiled:
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Isaiah

Romans 10:21

New Testament
19 But again I ask, didn’t Israel understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation; with a senseless nation I will provoke you to anger.” 20 And Isaiah is even bold enough to say, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I became well known to those who did not ask for me.” 21 But about Israel he says, “All day long I held out my hands to this disobedient and stubborn people!”
55–58 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Romans

References

"... Paul makes important use of Isaiah 65:1–2 in his discussions about the future of Israel and of the gentiles, citing the text directly at Romans 10:21–22. Paul seems clearly enough to be citing a form of the LXX, which he appears to have modified in some important ways. Even Wagner speaks of Paul’s shocking transformation of the text: “What is, in Isaiah an oracle about God’s relentless pursuit of apostate Israel (65:1) becomes in Paul’s hands a declaration of God’s gracious acceptance of the gentiles. As if to add insult to injury, Paul then employs the very next verse (65:2) to paint a sharply contrasting picture of contemporary Israel as a people continually resisting God’s grace.” ... There are definite clues that Paul’s version is closer to the LXX than to the Hebrew at this juncture. For instance, the use of the pronoun as the direct object in the second clause of the first quotation verse agrees with the LXX against the Hebrew version, but more importantly the verbal phrase ἐμφανὴς ἐγενόμην is surely derived from the LXX text; and then there is the phrase καὶ ἀντιλέγοντα at the end of verse 21 which appears only in the LXX and in no extant Hebrew text at all. At the same time, Paul’s text diverges from the LXX in the following ways: (1) Paul seems to have chosen to quote only a portion of each verse from Isaiah 65; (2) it would appear as well that he has highlighted the phrase “all day long” by moving it to the beginning of the citation of Isaiah 65:2 ..."
Ben Witherington III, Isaiah Old and New: Exegesis, Intertextuality, and Hermeneutics (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2017), 332.

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 65:2 and Romans 10:21

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