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Romans

About this book
Chapter 10

1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation. 2 For I can testify that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not in line with the truth. 3 For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes. 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.”⁠ 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”⁠ (that is, to bring Christ down)⁠ 7 or “Who will descend into the abyss?”⁠ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we preach), 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation. 11 For the scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on him. 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.⁠ 14 How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How timely is the arrival of those who proclaim the good news.” 16 But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ. 18 But I ask, have they not heard? Yes, they have: Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. 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!”⁠

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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