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In 1 Clement, the author quotes the Greek Septuagint translation of Isaiah 1 exactly, directly after a similar saying from a lost book of Ezekiel, and introduces it as another place, a phrase Clement uses to separate quotations from different books.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Isaiah 1:18
Septuagint
16 Wash yourselves; become clean; remove the evil deeds from your souls before my eyes; cease from your evil deeds; 17 learn to do good; seek judgment; rescue the one who is wronged; defend the orphan, and do justice to the widow. 18 So come, and let us argue it out, says the Lord: even though your sins are like crimson, I will make them white like snow, and though they are like scarlet, I will make them white like wool. 19 And if you are willing and listen to me, you shall eat the good things of the land, 20 but if you are not willing nor listen to me, the dagger will devour you; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things.
Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 8:5
First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
Early Christian
5 And in another place He says: ‘Wash, be clean. Remove your iniquities from My sight. Cease from your sins; learn to do good; seek justice; defend those who are wronged; give judgment for the orphan and uphold righteousness for the widow. Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are as crimson, I will make them white as snow; though they are as scarlet, I will make them white as wool. If you are willing and listen to Me, you will eat the good things of the earth; but if you refuse and do not listen, a sword shall devour you—for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’
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Notes and References
“... The citation is part of a longer section on repentance that begins in 1 Clem. 7:5. Though the passage (8:3) is reminiscent of Isa 1:18, there are two reasons that scholars generally have concluded that Clement did not regard this passage as a quotation from that prophet. First, he quotes Isa 1:16-18 verbatim immediately following this citation. Second, his introductory formulae separate this saying from the subsequent Isaiah passage while linking it to the preceding saying, which has clear associations with Ezek 33:11. After 8:3 Clement introduces the Isaiah passage with καὶ ἐν ἑτέρῳ τόπῳ λέγει οὕτως, a phrase that occurs three times in 1 Clement (8:4, 29:3, 46:3) each time serving as a transition between biblical and non-biblical quotations. ...”
Wright, Benjamin G.
"The Apocryphal Ezekiel Fragments" in Stone, Michael E.; Wright, Benjamin G.; Satran, David (ed.) The Apocryphal Ezekiel
(p. 19) Society of Biblical Literature, 2000
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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