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Romans

About this book
Chapter 15

1 But we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not just please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself, but just as it is written, “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” 4 For everything that was written in former times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope.⁠ 5 Now may the God of endurance and comfort give you unity with one another in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6 so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Receive one another, then, just as Christ also received you, to God’s glory. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 9 and thus the Gentiles glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praises to your name.”⁠ 10 And again it says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”⁠ 11 And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him.”⁠ 12 And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, and the one who rises to rule over the Gentiles, in him will the Gentiles hope.”⁠ 13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 14 But I myself am fully convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. 15 But I have written more boldly to you on some points so as to remind you, because of the grace given to me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I serve the gospel of God like a priest, so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 So I boast in Christ Jesus about the things that pertain to God. 18 For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in order to bring about the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed, 19 in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem even as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 And in this way I desire to preach where Christ has not been named, so as not to build on another person’s foundation, 21 but as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” 22 This is the reason I was often hindered from coming to you. 23 But now there is nothing more to keep me in these regions, and I have for many years desired to come to you 24 when I go to Spain. For I hope to visit you when I pass through and that you will help me on my journey there,⁠ after I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 But now I go to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia are pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do this, and indeed they are indebted to the Jerusalem saints. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are obligated also to minister to them in material things.⁠ 28 Therefore after I have completed this and have safely delivered this bounty to them, I will set out for Spain by way of you,⁠ 29 and I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of Christ’s blessing. 30 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to join fervently with me in prayer to God on my behalf. 31 Pray that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea and that my ministry in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. 33 Now may the God of peace be with all of you. Amen.

Texts in conversation

Compare LXX Isaiah 11:10 and Romans 15:12

Septuagint · New Testament

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Summary

In Romans 15, Paul quotes Isaiah 11 but omits its opening phrase about a future day, interpreting it as already fulfilled. Paul portrays the inclusion of Gentiles as the realized renewal Isaiah had described as a part of Israel’s future.

Passages

LXX Isaiah 11:10

Septuagint
8 And an infant shall put his hand on the holes of asps, and on the nest of young asps. 9 And they shall not hurt, nor shall they at all be able to destroy any one on my holy mountain: for the whole world is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as much water covers the seas. 10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall arise to rule over the Gentiles; the Gentiles will trust in him, and his rest shall be glorious. 11 And it shall be in that day, that the Lord shall again show his hand, to be zealous for the remnant that is left of the people, which shall be left by the Assyrians, and that from Egypt, and from the country of Babylon, and from Ethiopia, and from the Elamites, and from the rising of the sun, and out of Arabia. 12 And he shall lift up a standard for the nations, and he shall gather the lost ones of Israel, and he shall gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Isaiah

Romans 15:12

New Testament
10 And again it says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” 11 And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him.” 12 And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, and the one who rises to rule over the Gentiles, in him will the Gentiles hope.” 13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 14 But I myself am fully convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.
55–58 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Romans

References

"... The fourth citation (Romans 15:12) is from Isaiah 11:10, cited verbatim but without the opening phrase ‘in that day’. The reason for the omission is likely to be that a saying which looks towards a future event would not be helpful for Paul, and he intends to demonstrate that Isaiah 11:10 has found its fulfilment in this community and no longer belongs to a future time ... It is notable that the sense of Messiah’s ‘rule’ (i.e. reign in order to accomplish the destruction of the Gentiles) is absent in Paul’s reading ..."
Sarah Whittle, Covenant Renewal and the Consecration of the Gentiles in Romans (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015), 138–139.

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 11:10 and Romans 15:12

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