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In the Greek version of Isaiah, God promises that Jerusalem will see her deceivers. Exegesis on the Soul, a Nag Hammadi text, quotes this before warning that people who pray insincerely deceive themselves.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Isaiah 30:20
Septuagint
19 Because a holy people shall dwell in Sion, and Ierousalem wept with weeping, “Have mercy on me,” he will have mercy on you for the voice of your cry; when he saw, he listened to you. 20 And the Lord will give you bread of affliction and scant water, and those who lead you astray will not come near you any more, because your eyes shall see those who lead you astray 21 and your ears shall hear the words of those behind you who have led you astray, who say, “This is the way; let us walk in it, whether to the right or to the left.”
Exegesis on the Soul 5:11
Nag Hammadi
And in another passage, he said: “Jerusalem wept much, saying, ‘Have pity on me.’ He will be gracious to you at the sound of your weeping. And when he saw, he answered you. And the Lord will give you bread of adversity and water of affliction. From now on, those who lie to you will not approach you again. Your eyes will see those who lie to you. ‒ (Isaiah 30:19-20) And so it is appropriate to pray to God both night and day, spreading out our hands to him like those who sail in the middle of the sea. They pray to God with all their heart without duplicity, because those who pray with duplicity only lie to themselves.
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Notes and References
“... Again another place (Is 30:15), Thus says the lord, the holy one of Israel: “If you (sg.) return and sigh, then you will be saved and will know where you were when you trusted in what is empty.” Again he said in another place (Is 30:19-20), Jerusalem wept much, saying, “Have pity on me.” He will have pity on the sound of your (sg.) weeping. And when he saw he heeded you. And the lord will give you (pi.) bread of affliction and water of oppression. From now on those who deceive will not approach you (sg.) again. Your eyes will see those who are deceiving you. Therefore it is fitting to pray to God night and day, spreading out our hands towards him as do people sailing in the middle of the sea: they pray to God with all their heart without hypocrisy. For those who pray hypocritically deceive only themselves. ...”
Robinson, William C., Jr.; Scopello, Maddalena
"The Exegesis on the Soul (II,6)" in Robinson, James M. (ed.) The Nag Hammadi Library in English
(p. 197) HarperCollins, 1990
* 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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