Category Archives: Introduction

Psalm 22, Part 9

Posted on by

This is a continuing look into Psalm 22 as the music in Jesus’ heart as He endured the cross.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Psalm 22:15 (Tanakh) Psalm 22:15 (NET) Psalm 21:16 (NETS)

Psalm 21:16 (Elpenor English)
My strength (כֹּחִ֗י) is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. The roof of my mouth (kōaḥ, כחי) is as dry as a piece of pottery; my tongue sticks to my gums.  You set me in the dust of death. my strength (ἰσχύς μου) was dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue is stuck to my throat, and to death’s dust you brought me down, My strength (ἰσχύς μου) is dried up, like a potsherd; and my tongue is glued to my throat; and thou hast brought me down to the dust of death.

The NET note (33) explaining this translation—The roof of my mouth—reads:

Heb “my strength” (כֹּחִי, kokhi), but many prefer to emend the text to חִכִּי (khiki, “my palate”; cf. NEB, NRSV “my mouth”) assuming that an error of transposition has occurred in the traditional Hebrew text.

Since the Septuagint also has ἰσχύς μου (a form of ἐγώ), My strength, this “error of transposition” would have occurred, taken root and spread sometime prior to the translation of the Septuagint.  Regardless the theme of dryness following the melting heart of the previous verse is fairly clear.

So whether it was his strength or the roof of [his] mouth, it was dried up (yāḇēš, יָ֘בֵ֚שׁ; Septuagint: ἐξηράνθη, a form of ξηραίνω) like a potsherd.  His tongue cleaveth, sticks (dāḇaq, מֻדְבָּ֣ק; Septuagint: κεκόλληται, a form of κολλάω) to his jaws, gums.  He was brought…into the dust (ʿāp̄ār, לַֽעֲפַר; Septuagint: χοῦν, a form of χοῦς) of death.

“I am thirsty!”[1] Jesus said from the cross.  The NET note (84) reads:

In order to fulfill (τελειωθῇ [teleiōthē], a wordplay on the previous statement that everything was completed [τετέλεσται, tetelestai]) the scripture, he said, “I am thirsty.” The scripture referred to is probably Ps 69:21, “They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” Also suggested, however, is Ps 22:15, “My tongue cleaves to the roof of my mouth, and you [God] lay me in the dust of death.” Ps 22:1 reads “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?,” a statement Jesus makes from the cross in both Matt 27:46 and Mark 15:34. In light of the connection in the Fourth Gospel between thirst and the living water which Jesus offers, it is highly ironic that here Jesus himself, the source of that living water, expresses his thirst. And since 7:39 associates the living water with the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ statement here in 19:28 amounts to an admission that at this point he has been forsaken by God (cf. Ps 22:1, Matt 27:46, and Mark 15:34).

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.  So I’m going with Jesus was thirsty, rather than that He was abandoned (John 1:32-34) by the Holy Spirit.  He was offered something to drink and received (ἔλαβεν, a form of λαμβάνω) it (John 19:29, 30 NET):

A[2] jar full of sour wine was there, so[3] they put a sponge soaked[4] in sour wine[5] on a branch of hyssop[6] and lifted it to his mouth.  When he had received the sour wine,[7] Jesus said, “It is completed!”  Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

In other words, He drank the sour wine and died, gave up his spirit.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Psalm 22:16 (Tanakh) Psalm 22:16 (NET) Psalm 21:17 (NETS)

Psalm 21:17 (English Elpenor)
For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced (כָּֽ֜אֲרִ֗י) my hands and my feet. Yes, wild dogs surround me—a gang of evil men crowd around me; like a lion (‘ărî or kārâ, כארי, H738 or H3738) they pin my hands and feet. because many dogs encircled me, a gathering of evildoers surrounded me.  They gouged (ὤρυξαν) my hands and feet; For many dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked doers has beset me round: they pierced (ὤρυξαν) my hands and my feet.

The Hebrew word כָּֽ֜אֲרִ֗י, they pierced (Tanakh), like a lion they pin (NET), appears in both lists of verses in the lexicon on blueletterbible.org: as a form of אֲרִי (‘ărî) and as a form of כָּרָה (kārâ).  There doesn’t seem to be any real question that the printed form כָּֽ֜אֲרִ֗י in the Masoretic text is a form of אֲרִי (‘ărî).  A table of the occurrences of forms of אֲרִי (‘ărî) in the Psalms follows.

Forms of H738: אֲרִי (Hebrew)
Reference Hebrew Tanakh NET BLB Septuagint ELpenor Septuagint
Psalm 7:2 כְּאַרְיֵ֣ה like a lion like a lion ὡς λέων ὡς λέων
Psalm 10:9 כְּאַרְיֵ֬ה as a lion like a lion ὡς λέων ὡς λέων
Psalm 17:12 כְּ֖אַרְיֵה Like as a lion Note 27: Heb “like a lion” ὡσεὶ λέων ὡσεὶ λέων
Psalm 22:13 אַ֜רְיֵ֗ה lion lion ὡς λέων ὡς λέων
Psalm 22:16 כָּֽ֜אֲרִ֗י pierced like a lion they pin ὤρυξαν ὤρυξαν
Psalm 22:21 אַרְיֵ֑ה from the lion’s of the lion λέοντος λέοντος

The Septuagint is the problem here: While every other occurrence was translated λέων or λέοντος (a form of λέων, lion) the occurrence in question was translated ὤρυξαν (a form of ὀρύσσω, not a lion). It doesn’t seem like a translation of any form of אֲרִי (‘ărî) at all.  “Where, then, does the ‘pierced’ rendering come from?” Conrad R. Gren asked rhetorically in an article—“Piercing the Ambiguities of Psalm 22:16 and the Messiah’s Mission”—published June 2005 in the Journal of Evangelical Theological Society:

First, we note that this translation predates the KJV. The Geneva Bible of 1560 states, “they perced mine hands and my feete,” while the KJV reads, “they pierced my hands and my feet.” These readings come from the Greek Septuagint and Jerome’s Latin Vulgate. Psalm 22:16 is one place where the LXX best reflects the original Hebrew Vorlage text.

Jeff A. Benner explained the Hebrew issue in an article—Psalm 22:17: “Like a lion” or “they pierced?”—on the Ancient Hebrew Research Center online:

The word כארי (ka’ari) is the Hebrew word ארי (ari) meaning “lion,” with the prefix כ (k) meaning “like.” So כארי (ka’ari) means “like a lion.” The word כארו (ka’aru) is the Hebrew verb כאר (K.A.R) meaning “to dig” or possibly “to pierce” (the meaning of this word is determined by examining other Semitic languages that do use this word). When the letter vav (ו) is added to the end of a verb, it identifies the verb as perfect tense (similar to our past tense) and the subject of the verb as third person, masculine, plural. So this verb would be translated as “they dug” or “they pierced.”

Mr. Benner also described the difference between reading printed text and manuscripts:

The Hebrew word כארי (ka’ariy-like a lion) is the word found in the Masoretic Hebrew text in this verse. However, in the Dead Sea Scrolls, which is 1,000 years older than the Masoretic Hebrew text, the letters yud and vav look almost identical, so it is possible, from the Dead Sea Scrolls to read this word as כארו (ka’aru) or כארי (ka’ariy).

“If Psalm 22:17 is translated with the word כארו (ka’aru),” Mr. Benner wrote, “then it would read as; For dogs will surround me, the assembly of evil ones encompasses me; they pierced my hands and feet.”  A table of all occurrences of forms of כָּרָה (kārâ) follows:

Forms of H3738: כָּרָה (Hebrew) כְּרָא (Aramaic)
Reference Hebrew Tanakh NET BLB Septuagint / ELpenor Septuagint
Genesis 26:25[8] וַיִּכְרוּ digged dug ὤρυξαν, a form of ὀρύσσω
Genesis 50:5 כָּרִ֤יתִי have digged dug ὤρυξα, a form of ὀρύσσω
Exodus 21:33 יִכְרֶ֥ה shall dig digs λατομήσῃ, a form of λατομέω
Numbers 21:18[9] כָּר֨וּהָ֙ delved opened ἐξελατόμησαν, a form of ἐκλατομέω
2 Chronicles 16:14 כָּֽרָה had made had carved out ὤρυξεν, a form of ὀρύσσω
Job 6:27 וְ֜תִכְר֗וּ dig auction off[10] ἐνάλλεσθε, a form of ἐνάλλομαι
Psalm 7:15[11] כָּ֖רָה made digs ὤρυξεν / ὤρυξε, forms of ὀρύσσω
Psalm 22:16 כָּֽ֜אֲרִ֗י or כארו pierced like a lion they pin ὤρυξαν, a form of ὀρύσσω
Psalm 40:6 כָּרִ֣יתָ hast thou opened Note 18: Heb “you hollowed out” κατηρτίσω, a form of καταρτίζω
Psalm 57:6 כָּר֣וּ have digged have dug ὤρυξαν, a form of ὀρύσσω
Psalm 94:13 יִכָּרֶ֖ה be digged Note 15: Heb “is dug” ὀρυγῇ, a form of ὀρύσσω
Psalm 119:85 כָּֽרוּ have digged dig διηγήσαντό, a form of διηγέομαι
Proverbs 16:27 כֹּרֶ֣ה diggeth up digs up ὀρύσσει, a form of ὀρύσσω
Proverbs 26:27 כֹּֽרֶה diggeth digs ὀρύσσων, a form of ὀρύσσω
Jeremiah 18:20 כָר֥וּ have digged digging συνελάλησαν, a form of συλλαλέω
Jeremiah 18:22 כָר֚וּ have digged dug ἐνεχείρησαν, a form of ἐγχειρέω

Most were translated with forms of ὀρύσσω.  Mr. Gren offered some historical background on the manuscripts:[12]

The Qumran Psalters do not contain this verse. However, a scroll from the same era found at nearby Nahal Hever known as 5/6HevPsalms reads, “They have pierced my hands and my feet”!12 Though the documents were found in 1951 or 52, this reading was not discovered until around 1997! Further, it did not appear in print until The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible was published in 1999. The implications are enormous. Here we have a Hebrew text over 1,000 years older than the oldest known copy of the standard Hebrew Masoretic text, which supports the reading found in the Greek Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate. No longer can Hebrew scholars claim that the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate are here faulty reflections of the original Hebrew.

John wrote about encounters between Jesus’ and his disciples after his resurrection (John 20:19, 20, 24-27 NET):

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week,[13] the disciples had gathered together[14] and locked the doors of the place because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders.  Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”  When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his[15] side.  Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord…

Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus[16] came.  The other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”  But he replied, “Unless I see the wounds from the nails in his hands, and put my finger into the wounds from the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe it!”

Eight days later the disciples were again together in the house, and Thomas was with them.  Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and examine my hands.  Extend your hand and put it into my side.  Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe.”

If I were a Masorete editing the Bible according to Jewish tradition, including the tradition of rejecting Jesus as Messiah, I wouldn’t want any mention of dug, gouged or pierced hands and feet in an ancient Psalm of David.

Tables comparing Psalm 22:15 and 22:16 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Psalm 22:15 (21:16) and 22:16 (21:17) in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing John 19:28, 29; 20:19, 20 and 20:24 in the NET and KJV follow.

Psalm 22:15 (Tanakh)

 Psalm 22:15 (KJV)

Psalm 22:15 (NET)
My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. The roof of my mouth is as dry as a piece of pottery; my tongue sticks to my gums.  You set me in the dust of death.

Psalm 22:15 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 21:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐξηράνθη ὡς ὄστρακον ἡ ἰσχύς μου καὶ ἡ γλῶσσά μου κεκόλληται τῷ λάρυγγί μου καὶ εἰς χοῦν θανάτου κατήγαγές με ἐξηράνθη ὡσεὶ ὄστρακον ἡ ἰσχύς μου, καὶ ἡ γλῶσσά μου κεκόλληται τῷ λάρυγγί μου, καὶ εἰς χοῦν θανάτου κατήγαγές με

Psalm 21:16 (NETS)

Psalm 21:16 (English Elpenor)
my strength was dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue is stuck to my throat, and to death’s dust you brought me down, My strength is dried up, like a potsherd; and my tongue is glued to my throat; and thou hast brought me down to the dust of death.

Psalm 22:16 (Tanakh)

 Psalm 22:16 (KJV)

Psalm 22:16 (NET)
For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. Yes, wild dogs surround me—a gang of evil men crowd around me; like a lion they pin my hands and feet.

Psalm 22:16 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 21:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὅτι ἐκύκλωσάν με κύνες πολλοί συναγωγὴ πονηρευομένων περιέσχον με ὤρυξαν χεῗράς μου καὶ πόδας ὅτι ἐκύκλωσάν με κύνες πολλοί, συναγωγὴ πονηρευομένων περιέσχον με, ὤρυξαν χεῖράς μου καὶ πόδας

Psalm 21:17 (NETS)

Psalm 21:17 (English Elpenor)
because many dogs encircled me, a gathering of evildoers surrounded me.  They gouged my hands and feet; For many dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked doers has beset me round: they pierced my hands and my feet.

John 19:28, 29 (NET)

John 19:28, 29 (KJV)
After this Jesus, realizing that by this time everything was completed, said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty!” After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Μετὰ τοῦτο εἰδὼς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι ἤδη πάντα τετέλεσται (ἵνα τελειωθῇ ἡ γραφή), λέγει· διψῶ μετα τουτο ειδως ο ιησους οτι παντα ηδη τετελεσται ινα τελειωθη η γραφη λεγει διψω μετα τουτο ιδων ο ιησους οτι παντα ηδη τετελεσται ινα τελειωθη η γραφη λεγει διψω
A jar full of sour wine was there, so they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on a branch of hyssop and lifted it to his mouth. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
σκεῦος ἔκειτο ὄξους μεστόν· σπόγγον οὖν μεστὸν τοῦ ὄξους ὑσσώπῳ περιθέντες προσήνεγκαν αὐτοῦ τῷ στόματι σκευος ουν εκειτο οξους μεστον οι δε πλησαντες σπογγον οξους και υσσωπω περιθεντες προσηνεγκαν αυτου τω στοματι σκευος ουν εκειτο οξους μεστον οι δε πλησαντες σπογγον οξους και υσσωπω περιθεντες προσηνεγκαν αυτου τω στοματι

John 20:19, 20 (NET)

John 20:19, 20 (KJV)
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the disciples had gathered together and locked the doors of the place because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders.  Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Οὔσης οὖν ὀψίας τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ τῇ μιᾷ σαββάτων καὶ τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων ὅπου ἦσαν οἱ μαθηταὶ διὰ τὸν φόβον τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ἦλθεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ ἔστη εἰς τὸ μέσον καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· εἰρήνη ὑμῖν ουσης ουν οψιας τη ημερα εκεινη τη μια των σαββατων και των θυρων κεκλεισμενων οπου ησαν οι μαθηται συνηγμενοι δια τον φοβον των ιουδαιων ηλθεν ο ιησους και εστη εις το μεσον και λεγει αυτοις ειρηνη υμιν ουσης ουν οψιας τη ημερα εκεινη τη μια των σαββατων και των θυρων κεκλεισμενων οπου ησαν οι μαθηται συνηγμενοι δια τον φοβον των ιουδαιων ηλθεν ο ιησους και εστη εις το μεσον και λεγει αυτοις ειρηνη υμιν
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.  Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side.  Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν ἔδειξεν τὰς χεῖρας καὶ τὴν πλευρὰν αὐτοῖς. ἐχάρησαν οὖν οἱ μαθηταὶ ἰδόντες τὸν κύριον και τουτο ειπων εδειξεν αυτοις τας χειρας και την πλευραν αυτου εχαρησαν ουν οι μαθηται ιδοντες τον κυριον και τουτο ειπων εδειξεν αυτοις τας χειρας και την πλευραν αυτου εχαρησαν ουν οι μαθηται ιδοντες τον κυριον

John 20:24 (NET)

John 20:24 (KJV)
Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Θωμᾶς δὲ εἷς ἐκ τῶν δώδεκα (ὁ λεγόμενος Δίδυμος) οὐκ ἦν μετ᾿ αὐτῶν ὅτε ἦλθεν Ἰησοῦς θωμας δε εις εκ των δωδεκα ο λεγομενος διδυμος ουκ ην μετ αυτων οτε ηλθεν ο ιησους θωμας δε εις εκ των δωδεκα ο λεγομενος διδυμος ουκ ην μετ αυτων οτε ηλθεν ο ιησους

[1] John 19:28b (NET)

[2] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουν (KJV: Now) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[3] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had οὖν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had οι δε (KJV: and).

[4] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had μεστὸν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had πλησαντες (KJV: they filled).

[5] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had the article τοῦ preceding sour wine.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[6] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: and) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[7] NET note 85: The cheap sour wine was called in Latin posca, and referred to a cheap vinegar wine diluted heavily with water. It was the drink of slaves and soldiers, and was probably there for the soldiers who had performed the crucifixion.

[8] The word בְּאֵֽר, a well, has three of the same letters as כָּֽ֜אֲרִ֗י.

[9] The word בְּאֵ֞ר, The well, has three of the same letters as כָּֽ֜אֲרִ֗י.  Also, the word חֲפָר֣וּהָ, digged, is an apparent synonym for כָּר֨וּהָ֙, delved/digged/opened.  It was חֲפָר֣וּהָ that was translated ὤρυξαν (a form of ὀρύσσω) in the Septuagint.

[10] Net note 93: The verb תִכְרוּ (tikhru) is from כָּרָה (karah), which is found in 41:6 with עַל (ʿal), to mean “to speculate” on an object. The form is usually taken to mean “to barter for,” which would be an expression showing great callousness to a friend (NIV). NEB has “hurl yourselves,” perhaps following the LXX “rush against.” but G. R. Driver thinks that meaning is very precarious. As for the translation, “to speculate about [or “over”] a friend” could be understood to mean “engage in speculation concerning,” so the translation “auction off” has been used instead.

[11] Tanakh/KJV: He made (כָּ֖רָה) a pit, and digged (וַֽיַּחְפְּרֵ֑הוּ) it…

[12] Conrad R. Gren, “Piercing the Ambiguities of Psalm 22:16 and the Messiah’s Mission,” June 2005 the Journal of Evangelical Theological Society

[13] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article των preceding σαββατων.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.  See NET note 1.

[14] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had συνηγμενοι (KJV: assembled) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.  See NET note 31.

[15] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτου here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[16] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ο preceding Jesus.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

Peter’s Second Gospel Proclamation, Part 1

Posted on by

Peter[1] and John were going up to the temple at the time for prayer…[2]  They met a beggar lame from birth.  Peter said (Acts 3:6-8 NET):

“I have no silver or gold, but what I do have I give you.  In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, stand up and walk!”  Then Peter took hold of him by the right hand and raised him[3] up, and at once the man’s feet and ankles[4] were made strong.  He jumped up, stood and began walking around, and he entered the temple courts with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

For the kingdom of God is demonstrated not in idle talk but with power (δυνάμει, a form of δύναμις),[5] Paul wrote his dear children in Corinth.  As a crowd gathered, Peter declared to the people (Acts 3:12-16 NET):

“Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this?  Why do you stare at us as if we had made this man walk by our own power (δυνάμει, a form of δύναμις) or piety [Table]?  The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our forefathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you[6] handed over and rejected[7] in the presence of Pilate after he had decided to release him.  But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a man who was a murderer be released to you.  You killed the Originator of life, whom God raised from the dead.  To this fact we are witnesses!  And on the basis of faith in Jesus’ name, his very name has made this man—whom you see and know—strong.  The faith that is through Jesus has given him this complete health in the presence of you all.

Peter denied that the power to heal the lame man was his own, rather it was the power of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of [their] forefathers.  And it was done for an explicit reason: to glorify his servant Jesus.  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, Jesus asked, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’[8] or to say, ‘Stand up,[9] take your stretcher, and walk’?[10]  Peter followed Jesus’ example here.  He was quite clear which Jesus he referred to, and which sin.  I want to spend some time here recalling this rejection of Jesus.

Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people.  When I examined him before you, I did not[11] find this man guilty of anything you accused him of doing. (Luke 23:13, 14 NET)
“I find no basis for an accusation against him. (John 18:38b NET)
Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us.[12]  Look, he has done nothing deserving death.  I will therefore have him flogged and release him.”[13] (Luke 23:15, 16 NET)
But it is your custom that I release one prisoner for you at the Passover. (John 18:39a NET)
Matthew 27:15, 16 NET Mark 15:6-8 NET
During the feast the governor was accustomed to release one prisoner to the crowd, whomever they wanted.  At that time they had in custody a notorious prisoner named Jesus[14] Barabbas. During the feast it was customary to release one prisoner to the people, whomever they requested.[15]  A man named Barabbas was imprisoned with rebels[16] who had committed murder during an insurrection.
Then the crowd came up[17] and began to ask Pilate to release a prisoner for them, as was[18] his custom.
Matthew 27:17 NET Mark 15:9 NET John 18:39b NET
So after they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus[19] Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ?” So Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to release the king of the Jews for you?” So do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews?”
Matthew 27:18-21a NET Mark 15:10, 11 NET
(For he knew that they had handed him over because of envy.) (For he knew that the chief priests had handed him over because of envy.)
As he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent a message to him: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man; I have suffered greatly as a result of a dream about him today.”
But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas instead.
and to have Jesus killed.  The governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?”
Matthew 27:21b NET Luke 23:18, 19 NET John 18:40 NET
And they said,[20] “Barabbas!” But they all shouted out[21] together, “Take this man away!  Release Barabbas[22] for us!”  (This was a man who had been thrown into prison[23] for an insurrection started in the city, and for murder.) Then they shouted back, “Not this man, but Barabbas!”  (Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.)
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged severely.  The soldiers braided a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they clothed him in a purple robe.  They came up to him again and again[24] and said, “Hail, king of the Jews!”  And they struck him repeatedly in the face.

Again[25] Pilate went out and said to the Jewish leaders, “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no reason for an accusation against him.”  So Jesus came outside, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. (John 19:1-5a NET)
Matthew 27:22 NET Mark 15:12, 13 NET Luke 23:20, 21 NET John 19:5b, 6a NET
Pilate said to them, So Pilate spoke[26] to them again, Pilate[27] addressed them[28] once again Pilate said to them,
because he wanted to release Jesus.
“Look,[29] here is the man!”
 “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Christ?”  “Then what do you want me to do with the one you call king[30] of the Jews?”
They all said,[31] “Crucify him!” They shouted back, “Crucify him!” But they kept on shouting, “Crucify, crucify[32] him!” When the chief priests and their officers saw him, they shouted out, “Crucify him!  Crucify him!”[33]
Pilate said, “You take him and crucify him!  Certainly I find no reason for an accusation against him!”  The Jewish leaders replied, “We have a law, and according to our[34] law he ought to die because he claimed to be the Son of God!”

When Pilate heard what they said, he was more afraid than ever, and he went back into the governor’s residence and said to Jesus, “Where do you come from?”  But Jesus gave him no answer.  So Pilate said, “Do you refuse to speak to me?  Don’t you know I have the authority to release you and to crucify you?”  Jesus[35] replied,[36] “You would have no authority over me at all, unless it was given to you from above.  Therefore the one who handed me over[37] to you is guilty of greater sin.”

From this point on, Pilate tried to release him.  But the Jewish leaders shouted out,[38] “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar!  Everyone who claims to be[39] a king opposes Caesar!”  When Pilate heard these words[40] he brought Jesus outside and sat down on the judgment seat[41] in the place called “The Stone Pavement” (Gabbatha in Aramaic).  (Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover, about[42] noon.)  Pilate said to the Jewish leaders, “Look, here is your king!”  Then they[43] shouted out, “Away with him!  Away with him!  Crucify him!” (John 19:6b-15a NET)
Matthew 27:23 NET Mark 15:14 NET Luke 23:22, 23 NET John 19:15b NET
He[44] asked, “Why?  What wrong has he done?” Pilate asked them, “Why?  What has he done wrong?” A third time he said to them, “Why?  What wrong has he done?
Pilate asked, “Shall I crucify your king?”  The high priests replied, “We have no king except Caesar!”
I have found him guilty of no crime deserving death.  I will therefore flog him and release him.”
But they shouted more insistently, “Crucify him!” But they shouted more insistently,[45] “Crucify him!” But they were insistent, demanding with loud shouts that he be crucified.  And their shouts[46] prevailed.
When Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but that instead a riot was starting, he took some water, washed his hands before the crowd and said, “I am innocent of this man’s[47] blood.  You take care of it yourselves!”  In reply all the people said, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!” (Matthew 27:24, 25 NET)
Matthew 27:26 NET Mark 15:15 NET Luke 23:24, 25 NET John 19:16a NET
So[48] Pilate decided that their demand should be granted.
Because he wanted to satisfy the crowd,
Then he released Barabbas for them. Pilate released Barabbas for them. He released[49] the man they asked for, who had been thrown in prison[50] for insurrection and murder.
But after he had Jesus flogged, Then, after he had Jesus flogged,
he handed him over to be crucified. he handed him over to be crucified. But he handed Jesus over to their will. Then Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

This Gospel harmony is certainly debatable.  I haven’t even tried to resolve when or how often Jesus was flogged.  My interest here was to highlight the emotional contrast between the fire and brimstone condemnation anticipated by the religious mind for such rejection of Jesus, and the mind of Christ revealed through Peter’s words (Acts 3:17 NET):

And now, brothers, I know you acted in ignorance (ἄγνοιαν, a form of ἄγνοια), as your rulers did too.

Paul acknowledged that he was treated with mercy because [he] acted ignorantly (ἀγνοῶν, a form of ἀγνοέω) in unbelief (ἀπιστίᾳ).[51]  And it was Paul who wrote that God has consigned all people to disobedience (ἀπείθειαν, a form of ἀπείθεια) so that he may show mercy to them all.[52]

Tables comparing Acts 3:1; 3:7; 3:13; Mark 2:9; Luke 23:14, 15; 23:17-21; Matthew 27:16, 17; Mark 15:6-8; Matthew 27:21-24; John 19:3-7; Mark 15:12; John 19:11-16; Mark 15:14 and Luke 23:23-25 in the NET and KJV follow.

Acts 3:1 (NET)

Acts 3:1 (KJV)
Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time for prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon. Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Πέτρος δὲ καὶ Ἰωάννης ἀνέβαινον εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν ἐπὶ τὴν ὥραν τῆς προσευχῆς τὴν ἐνάτην επι το αυτο δε πετρος και ιωαννης ανεβαινον εις το ιερον επι την ωραν της προσευχης την εννατην επι το αυτο δε πετρος και ιωαννης ανεβαινον εις το ιερον επι την ωραν της προσευχης την ενατην

Acts 3:7 (NET)

Acts 3:7 (KJV)
Then Peter took hold of him by the right hand and raised him up, and at once the man’s feet and ankles were made strong. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ πιάσας αὐτὸν τῆς δεξιᾶς χειρὸς ἤγειρεν αὐτόν· παραχρῆμα δὲ ἐστερεώθησαν αἱ βάσεις αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ σφυδρά και πιασας αυτον της δεξιας χειρος ηγειρεν παραχρημα δε εστερεωθησαν αυτου αι βασεις και τα σφυρα και πιασας αυτον της δεξιας χειρος ηγειρεν παραχρημα δε εστερεωθησαν αυτου αι βασεις και τα σφυρα

Acts 3:13 (NET)

Acts 3:13 (KJV)
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our forefathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate after he had decided to release him. The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ καὶ  Ἰσαὰκ καὶ  Ἰακώβ, ὁ θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν, ἐδόξασεν τὸν παῖδα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν ὃν ὑμεῖς μὲν παρεδώκατε καὶ ἠρνήσασθε κατὰ πρόσωπον Πιλάτου, κρίναντος ἐκείνου ἀπολύειν ο θεος αβρααμ και ισαακ και ιακωβ ο θεος των πατερων ημων εδοξασεν τον παιδα αυτου ιησουν ον υμεις παρεδωκατε και ηρνησασθε αυτον κατα προσωπον πιλατου κριναντος εκεινου απολυειν ο θεος αβρααμ και ισαακ και ιακωβ ο θεος των πατερων ημων εδοξασεν τον παιδα αυτου ιησουν ον υμεις μεν παρεδωκατε και ηρνησασθε αυτον κατα προσωπον πιλατου κριναντος εκεινου απολυειν

Mark 2:9 (NET)

Mark 2:9 (KJV)
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up, take your stretcher, and walk’? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
τί ἐστιν εὐκοπώτερον, εἰπεῖν τῷ παραλυτικῷ· ἀφίενται σου αἱ ἁμαρτίαι, ἢ εἰπεῖν· |ἔγειρε| |καὶ| ἆρον τὸν κράβαττον σου καὶ περιπάτει τι εστιν ευκοπωτερον ειπειν τω παραλυτικω αφεωνται σοι αι αμαρτιαι η ειπειν εγειραι και αρον σου τον κραββατον και περιπατει τι εστιν ευκοπωτερον ειπειν τω παραλυτικω αφεωνται σου αι αμαρτιαι η ειπειν εγειραι και αρον σου τον κραββατον και περιπατει

Luke 23:14, 15 (NET)

Luke 23:14, 15 (KJV)
and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people.  When I examined him before you, I did not find this man guilty of anything you accused him of doing. Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him:

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς· προσηνέγκατε μοι τὸν ἄνθρωπον τοῦτον ὡς ἀποστρέφοντα τὸν λαόν, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐνώπιον ὑμῶν ἀνακρίνας οὐθὲν εὗρον ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τούτῳ αἴτιον ὧν κατηγορεῖτε κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ ειπεν προς αυτους προσηνεγκατε μοι τον ανθρωπον τουτον ως αποστρεφοντα τον λαον και ιδου εγω ενωπιον υμων ανακρινας ουδεν ευρον εν τω ανθρωπω τουτω αιτιον ων κατηγορειτε κατ αυτου ειπεν προς αυτους προσηνεγκατε μοι τον ανθρωπον τουτον ως αποστρεφοντα τον λαον και ιδου εγω ενωπιον υμων ανακρινας ουδεν ευρον εν τω ανθρωπω τουτω αιτιον ων κατηγορειτε κατ αυτου
Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us.  Look, he has done nothing deserving death. No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἀλλ᾿ οὐδὲ Ἡρῴδης, ἀνέπεμψεν γὰρ αὐτὸν πρὸς ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἰδοὺ οὐδὲν ἄξιον θανάτου ἐστὶν πεπραγμένον αὐτῷ αλλ ουδε ηρωδης ανεπεμψα γαρ υμας προς αυτον και ιδου ουδεν αξιον θανατου εστιν πεπραγμενον αυτω αλλ ουδε ηρωδης ανεπεμψα γαρ υμας προς αυτον και ιδου ουδεν αξιον θανατου εστιν πεπραγμενον αυτω

Luke 23:17-21 (NET)

Luke 23:17-21 (KJV)
n/a (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.)

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
n/a αναγκην δε ειχεν απολυειν αυτοις κατα εορτην ενα αναγκην δε ειχεν απολυειν αυτοις κατα εορτην ενα
But they all shouted out together, “Take this man away!  Release Barabbas for us!” And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas:

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Ἀνέκραγον δὲ παμπληθεὶ λέγοντες· αἶρε τοῦτον, ἀπόλυσον δὲ ἡμῖν τὸν Βαραββᾶν ανεκραξαν δε παμπληθει λεγοντες αιρε τουτον απολυσον δε ημιν τον βαραββαν ανεκραξαν δε παμπληθει λεγοντες αιρε τουτον απολυσον δε ημιν βαραββαν
(This was a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city, and for murder.) (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.)

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
(ὅστις ἦν διὰ στάσιν τινὰ γενομένην ἐν τῇ πόλει καὶ φόνον βληθεὶς ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ) οστις ην δια στασιν τινα γενομενην εν τη πολει και φονον βεβλημενος εις φυλακην οστις ην δια στασιν τινα γενομενην εν τη πολει και φονον βεβλημενος εις φυλακην
Pilate addressed them once again because he wanted to release Jesus. Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
πάλιν δὲ ὁ Πιλᾶτος προσεφώνησεν αὐτοῖς θέλων ἀπολῦσαι τὸν Ἰησοῦν παλιν ουν ο πιλατος προσεφωνησεν θελων απολυσαι τον ιησουν παλιν ουν ο πιλατος προσεφωνησεν θελων απολυσαι τον ιησουν
But they kept on shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
οἱ δὲ ἐπεφώνουν λέγοντες· σταύρου σταύρου αὐτόν οι δε επεφωνουν λεγοντες σταυρωσον σταυρωσον αυτον οι δε επεφωνουν λεγοντες σταυρωσον σταυρωσον αυτον

Matthew 27:16, 17 (NET)

Matthew 27:16, 17 (KJV)
At that time they had in custody a notorious prisoner named Jesus Barabbas. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
εἶχον δὲ τότε δέσμιον ἐπίσημον λεγόμενον [Ἰησοῦν] Βαραββᾶν ειχον δε τοτε δεσμιον επισημον λεγομενον βαραββαν ειχον δε τοτε δεσμιον επισημον λεγομενον βαραββαν
So after they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ?” Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
συνηγμένων οὖν αὐτῶν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Πιλᾶτος· τίνα θέλετε ἀπολύσω ὑμῖν, [Ἰησοῦν] |τὸν| Βαραββᾶν ἢ Ἰησοῦν τὸν λεγόμενον χριστόν συνηγμενων ουν αυτων ειπεν αυτοις ο πιλατος τινα θελετε απολυσω υμιν βαραββαν η ιησουν τον λεγομενον χριστον συνηγμενων ουν αυτων ειπεν αυτοις ο πιλατος τινα θελετε απολυσω υμιν βαραββαν η ιησουν τον λεγομενον χριστον

Mark 15:6-8 (NET)

Mark 15:6-8 (KJV)
During the feast it was customary to release one prisoner to the people, whomever they requested. Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Κατὰ δὲ ἑορτὴν ἀπέλυεν αὐτοῖς ἕνα δέσμιον ὃν παρῃτοῦντο κατα δε εορτην απελυεν αυτοις ενα δεσμιον ονπερ ητουντο κατα δε εορτην απελυεν αυτοις ενα δεσμιον ονπερ ητουντο
A man named Barabbas was imprisoned with rebels who had committed murder during an insurrection. And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἦν δὲ ὁ λεγόμενος Βαραββᾶς μετὰ τῶν στασιαστῶν δεδεμένος οἵτινες ἐν τῇ στάσει φόνον πεποιήκεισαν ην δε ο λεγομενος βαραββας μετα των συστασιαστων δεδεμενος οιτινες εν τη στασει φονον πεποιηκεισαν ην δε ο λεγομενος βαραββας μετα των συστασιαστων δεδεμενος οιτινες εν τη στασει φονον πεποιηκεισαν
Then the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to release a prisoner for them, as was his custom. And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἀναβὰς ὁ ὄχλος ἤρξατο αἰτεῖσθαι καθὼς ἐποίει αὐτοῖς και αναβοησας ο οχλος ηρξατο αιτεισθαι καθως αει εποιει αυτοις και αναβοησας ο οχλος ηρξατο αιτεισθαι καθως αει εποιει αυτοις

Matthew 27:21-24 (NET)

Matthew 27:21-24 (KJV)
The governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?”  And they said, “Barabbas!” The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you?  They said, Barabbas.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ ἡγεμὼν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· τίνα θέλετε ἀπὸ τῶν δύο ἀπολύσω ὑμῖν; οἱ δὲ εἶπαν τὸν Βαραββᾶν αποκριθεις δε ο ηγεμων ειπεν αυτοις τινα θελετε απο των δυο απολυσω υμιν οι δε ειπον βαραββαν αποκριθεις δε ο ηγεμων ειπεν αυτοις τινα θελετε απο των δυο απολυσω υμιν οι δε ειπον βαραββαν
Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Christ?”  They all said, “Crucify him!” Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?  They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Πιλᾶτος· τί οὖν ποιήσω Ἰησοῦν τὸν λεγόμενον χριστόν; λέγουσιν πάντες· σταυρωθήτω λεγει αυτοις ο πιλατος τι ουν ποιησω ιησουν τον λεγομενον χριστον λεγουσιν αυτω παντες σταυρωθητω λεγει αυτοις ο πιλατος τι ουν ποιησω ιησουν τον λεγομενον χριστον λεγουσιν αυτω παντες σταυρωθητω
He asked, “Why? What wrong has he done?”  But they shouted more insistently, “Crucify him!” And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done?  But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ δὲ ἔφη· τί γὰρ κακὸν ἐποίησεν; οἱ δὲ περισσῶς ἔκραζον λέγοντες· σταυρωθήτω ο δε ηγεμων εφη τι γαρ κακον εποιησεν οι δε περισσως εκραζον λεγοντες σταυρωθητω ο δε ηγεμων εφη τι γαρ κακον εποιησεν οι δε περισσως εκραζον λεγοντες σταυρωθητω
When Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but that instead a riot was starting, he took some water, washed his hands before the crowd and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.  You take care of it yourselves!” When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Πιλᾶτος ὅτι οὐδὲν ὠφελεῖ ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον θόρυβος γίνεται, λαβὼν ὕδωρ ἀπενίψατο τὰς χεῖρας |ἀπέναντι| τοῦ ὄχλου λέγων· ἀθῷος εἰμι ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος τούτου· ὑμεῖς ὄψεσθε ιδων δε ο πιλατος οτι ουδεν ωφελει αλλα μαλλον θορυβος γινεται λαβων υδωρ απενιψατο τας χειρας απεναντι του οχλου λεγων αθωος ειμι απο του αιματος του δικαιου τουτου υμεις οψεσθε ιδων δε ο πιλατος οτι ουδεν ωφελει αλλα μαλλον θορυβος γινεται λαβων υδωρ απενιψατο τας χειρας απεναντι του οχλου λεγων αθωος ειμι απο του αιματος του δικαιου τουτου υμεις οψεσθε

John 19:3-7 (NET)

John 19:3-7 (KJV)
They came up to him again and again and said, “Hail, king of the Jews!”  And they struck him repeatedly in the face. And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἤρχοντο πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ ἔλεγον· χαῖρε ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων· καὶ ἐδίδοσαν αὐτῷ ραπίσματα και ελεγον χαιρε ο βασιλευς των ιουδαιων και εδιδουν αυτω ραπισματα και ελεγον χαιρε ο βασιλευς των ιουδαιων και εδιδουν αυτω ραπισματα
Again Pilate went out and said to the Jewish leaders, “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no reason for an accusation against him.” Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ ἐξῆλθεν πάλιν ἔξω ὁ Πιλᾶτος καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἴδε ἄγω ὑμῖν αὐτὸν ἔξω, ἵνα γνῶτε ὅτι οὐδεμίαν αἰτίαν εὑρίσκω ἐν αὐτῷ εξηλθεν ουν παλιν εξω ο πιλατος και λεγει αυτοις ιδε αγω υμιν αυτον εξω ινα γνωτε οτι εν αυτω ουδεμιαν αιτιαν ευρισκω εξηλθεν ουν παλιν εξω ο πιλατος και λεγει αυτοις ιδε αγω υμιν αυτον εξω ινα γνωτε οτι εν αυτω ουδεμιαν αιτιαν ευρισκω
So Jesus came outside, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.  Pilate said to them, “Look, here is the man!” Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe.  And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἐξῆλθεν οὖν |ὁ| Ἰησοῦς ἔξω, φορῶν τὸν ἀκάνθινον στέφανον καὶ τὸ πορφυροῦν ἱμάτιον. καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἰδοὺ ὁ ἄνθρωπος εξηλθεν ουν ο ιησους εξω φορων τον ακανθινον στεφανον και το πορφυρουν ιματιον και λεγει αυτοις ιδε ο ανθρωπος εξηλθεν ουν ο ιησους εξω φορων τον ακανθινον στεφανον και το πορφυρουν ιματιον και λεγει αυτοις ιδε ο ανθρωπος
When the chief priests and their officers saw him, they shouted out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”  Pilate said, “You take him and crucify him!  Certainly I find no reason for an accusation against him!” When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him.  Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Ὅτε οὖν εἶδον αὐτὸν οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ ὑπηρέται ἐκραύγασαν λέγοντες· σταύρωσον σταύρωσον. λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Πιλᾶτος· λάβετε αὐτὸν ὑμεῖς καὶ σταυρώσατε· ἐγὼ γὰρ οὐχ εὑρίσκω ἐν αὐτῷ αἰτίαν οτε ουν ειδον αυτον οι αρχιερεις και οι υπηρεται εκραυγασαν λεγοντες σταυρωσον σταυρωσον λεγει αυτοις ο πιλατος λαβετε αυτον υμεις και σταυρωσατε εγω γαρ ουχ ευρισκω εν αυτω αιτιαν οτε ουν ειδον αυτον οι αρχιερεις και οι υπηρεται εκραυγασαν λεγοντες σταυρωσον σταυρωσον αυτον λεγει αυτοις ο πιλατος λαβετε αυτον υμεις και σταυρωσατε εγω γαρ ουχ ευρισκω εν αυτω αιτιαν
The Jewish leaders replied, “We have a law, and according to our law he ought to die because he claimed to be the Son of God!” The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἀπεκρίθησαν αὐτῷ οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι· ἡμεῖς νόμον ἔχομεν καὶ κατὰ τὸν νόμον ὀφείλει ἀποθανεῖν, ὅτι υἱὸν θεοῦ ἑαυτὸν ἐποίησεν απεκριθησαν αυτω οι ιουδαιοι ημεις νομον εχομεν και κατα τον νομον ημων οφειλει αποθανειν οτι εαυτον υιον θεου εποιησεν απεκριθησαν αυτω οι ιουδαιοι ημεις νομον εχομεν και κατα τον νομον ημων οφειλει αποθανειν οτι εαυτον υιον θεου εποιησεν

Mark 15:12 (NET)

Mark 15:12 (KJV)
So Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you want me to do with the one you call king of the Jews?” And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews?

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ δὲ Πιλᾶτος πάλιν ἀποκριθεὶς ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· τί οὖν [θέλετε] ποιήσω [ὃν λέγετε] τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Ἰουδαίων ο δε πιλατος αποκριθεις παλιν ειπεν αυτοις τι ουν θελετε ποιησω ον λεγετε βασιλεα των ιουδαιων ο δε πιλατος αποκριθεις παλιν ειπεν αυτοις τι ουν θελετε ποιησω ον λεγετε βασιλεα των ιουδαιων

John 19:11-16 (NET)

John 19:11-16 (KJV)
Jesus replied, “You would have no authority over me at all, unless it was given to you from above.  Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of greater sin.” Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἀπεκρίθη [αὐτῷ] Ἰησοῦς· οὐκ εἶχες ἐξουσίαν κατ᾿ ἐμοῦ οὐδεμίαν εἰ μὴ ἦν δεδομένον σοι ἄνωθεν· διὰ τοῦτο ὁ παραδούς μέ σοι μείζονα ἁμαρτίαν ἔχει απεκριθη ο ιησους ουκ ειχες εξουσιαν ουδεμιαν κατ εμου ει μη ην σοι δεδομενον ανωθεν δια τουτο ο παραδιδους με σοι μειζονα αμαρτιαν εχει απεκριθη ιησους ουκ ειχες εξουσιαν ουδεμιαν κατ εμου ει μη ην σοι δεδομενον ανωθεν δια τουτο ο παραδιδους με σοι μειζονα αμαρτιαν εχει
From this point on, Pilate tried to release him.  But the Jewish leaders shouted out, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar!  Everyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar!” And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἐκ τούτου ὁ Πιλᾶτος ἐζήτει ἀπολῦσαι αὐτόν· οἱ δὲ Ἰουδαῖοι ἐκραύγασαν λέγοντες· ἐὰν τοῦτον ἀπολύσῃς, οὐκ εἶ φίλος τοῦ Καίσαρος· πᾶς ὁ βασιλέα ἑαυτὸν ποιῶν ἀντιλέγει τῷ Καίσαρι εκ τουτου εζητει ο πιλατος απολυσαι αυτον οι δε ιουδαιοι εκραζον λεγοντες εαν τουτον απολυσης ουκ ει φιλος του καισαρος πας ο βασιλεα αυτον ποιων αντιλεγει τω καισαρι εκ τουτου εζητει ο πιλατος απολυσαι αυτον οι δε ιουδαιοι εκραζον λεγοντες εαν τουτον απολυσης ουκ ει φιλος του καισαρος πας ο βασιλεα εαυτον ποιων αντιλεγει τω καισαρι
When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus outside and sat down on the judgment seat in the place called “The Stone Pavement” (Gabbatha in Aramaic). When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ οὖν Πιλᾶτος ἀκούσας τῶν λόγων τούτων ἤγαγεν ἔξω τὸν Ἰησοῦν καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἐπὶ βήματος εἰς τόπον λεγόμενον λιθόστρωτον (Ἑβραϊστὶ δὲ Γαββαθα). ο ουν πιλατος ακουσας τουτον τον λογον ηγαγεν εξω τον ιησουν και εκαθισεν επι του βηματος εις τοπον λεγομενον λιθοστρωτον εβραιστι δε γαββαθα ο ουν πιλατος ακουσας τουτον τον λογον ηγαγεν εξω τον ιησουν και εκαθισεν επι του βηματος εις τοπον λεγομενον λιθοστρωτον εβραιστι δε γαββαθα
(Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover, about noon.)  Pilate said to the Jewish leaders, “Look, here is your king!” And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
(ἦν δὲ παρασκευὴ τοῦ πάσχα, ὥρα ἦν ὡς ἕκτη.) καὶ λέγει τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις· ἴδε ὁ βασιλεὺς ὑμῶν ην δε παρασκευη του πασχα ωρα δε ωσει εκτη και λεγει τοις ιουδαιοις ιδε ο βασιλευς υμων ην δε παρασκευη του πασχα ωρα δε ωσει εκτη και λεγει τοις ιουδαιοις ιδε ο βασιλευς υμων
Then they shouted out, “Away with him!  Away with him!  Crucify him!”  Pilate asked, “Shall I crucify your king?”  The high priests replied, “We have no king except Caesar!” But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him.  Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King?  The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἐκραύγασαν οὖν ἐκεῖνοι· ἆρον ἆρον, σταύρωσον αὐτόν. λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Πιλᾶτος· τὸν βασιλέα ὑμῶν σταυρώσω; ἀπεκρίθησαν οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς· οὐκ ἔχομεν βασιλέα εἰ μὴ Καίσαρα οι δε εκραυγασαν αρον αρον σταυρωσον αυτον λεγει αυτοις ο πιλατος τον βασιλεα υμων σταυρωσω απεκριθησαν οι αρχιερεις ουκ εχομεν βασιλεα ει μη καισαρα οι δε εκραυγασαν αρον αρον σταυρωσον αυτον λεγει αυτοις ο πιλατος τον βασιλεα υμων σταυρωσω απεκριθησαν οι αρχιερεις ουκ εχομεν βασιλεα ει μη καισαρα
Then Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.  So they took Jesus, Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Τότε οὖν παρέδωκεν αὐτὸν αὐτοῖς ἵνα σταυρωθῇ. Παρέλαβον οὖν τὸν Ἰησοῦν, τοτε ουν παρεδωκεν αυτον αυτοις ινα σταυρωθη παρελαβον δε τον ιησουν και απηγαγον τοτε ουν παρεδωκεν αυτον αυτοις ινα σταυρωθη παρελαβον δε τον ιησουν και ηγαγον

Mark 15:14 (NET)

Mark 15:14 (KJV)
Pilate asked them, “Why?  What has he done wrong?”  But they shouted more insistently, “Crucify him!” Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done?  And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ δὲ Πιλᾶτος ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· τί γὰρ ἐποίησεν κακόν; οἱ δὲ περισσῶς ἔκραξαν· σταύρωσον αὐτόν ο δε πιλατος ελεγεν αυτοις τι γαρ κακον εποιησεν οι δε περισσοτερως εκραξαν σταυρωσον αυτον ο δε πιλατος ελεγεν αυτοις τι γαρ κακον εποιησεν οι δε περισσοτερως εκραξαν σταυρωσον αυτον

Luke 23:23-25 (NET)

Luke 23:23-25 (KJV)
But they were insistent, demanding with loud shouts that he be crucified.  And their shouts prevailed. And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified.  And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
οἱ δὲ ἐπέκειντο φωναῖς μεγάλαις αἰτούμενοι αὐτὸν σταυρωθῆναι, καὶ κατίσχυον αἱ φωναὶ αὐτῶν οι δε επεκειντο φωναις μεγαλαις αιτουμενοι αυτον σταυρωθηναι και κατισχυον αι φωναι αυτων και των αρχιερεων οι δε επεκειντο φωναις μεγαλαις αιτουμενοι αυτον σταυρωθηναι και κατισχυον αι φωναι αυτων και των αρχιερεων
So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ Πιλᾶτος ἐπέκρινεν γενέσθαι τὸ αἴτημα αὐτῶν ο δε πιλατος επεκρινεν γενεσθαι το αιτημα αυτων ο δε πιλατος επεκρινεν γενεσθαι το αιτημα αυτων
He released the man they asked for, who had been thrown in prison for insurrection and murder.  But he handed Jesus over to their will. And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἀπέλυσεν δὲ τὸν διὰ στάσιν καὶ φόνον βεβλημένον εἰς φυλακὴν ὃν ᾐτοῦντο, τὸν δὲ Ἰησοῦν παρέδωκεν τῷ θελήματι αὐτῶν απελυσεν δε αυτοις τον δια στασιν και φονον βεβλημενον εις την φυλακην ον ητουντο τον δε ιησουν παρεδωκεν τω θεληματι αυτων απελυσεν δε τον δια στασιν και φονον βεβλημενον εις την φυλακην ον ητουντο τον δε ιησουν παρεδωκεν τω θεληματι αυτων

[1] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had επι το αυτο (KJV: together) preceding Peter.  The Net parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[2] Acts 3:1 (NET)

[3] The Net parallel Greek text and NA28 had αὐτόν here.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[4] The Net parallel Greek text and NA28 had σφυδρά here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had σφυρα (KJV: ankle bones).

[5] 1 Corinthians 4:20 (NET)

[6] The Net parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had μὲν (not translated in the NET) here.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

[7] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτον (KJV: him) here.  The Net parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[8] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἀφίενται σου here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had αφεωνται σοι (KJV: be forgiven thee) and the Byzantine Majority Text had αφεωνται σου.

[9] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἔγειρε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εγειραι (KJV: Arise).

[10] Mark 2:9 (NET)

[11] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had οὐθὲν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουδεν (KJV: no).

[12] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἀνέπεμψεν γὰρ αὐτὸν πρὸς ἡμᾶς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ανεπεμψα γαρ υμας προς αυτον (KJV: for I sent you to him).

[13] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αναγκην δε ειχεν απολυειν αυτοις κατα εορτην ενα (KJV: For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[14] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had Ἰησοῦν here.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[15] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ὃν παρῃτοῦντο here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ονπερ ητουντο (KJV: whomsoever they desired).

[16] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had στασιαστῶν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had συστασιαστων (KJV: them that had made insurrection with him).

[17] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἀναβὰς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αναβοησας (KJV: crying aloud).

[18] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αει (KJV: he had ever) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[19] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had  Ἰησοῦν here and the article τὸν preceding Barabbas.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[20] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had εἶπαν here and the article τὸν preceding Barabbas, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειπον and no article preceding Barabbas.

[21] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had Ἀνέκραγον here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ανεκραξαν (KJV: they cried out).

[22] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article τὸν preceding Barabbas.  The Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[23] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had βληθεὶς ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had βεβλημενος εις φυλακην (KJV: was cast into prison).

[24] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had καὶ ἤρχοντο πρὸς αὐτὸν here.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[25] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had καὶ (not translated in the NET), where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουν (KJV: therefore).

[26] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἔλεγεν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειπεν (KJV: and said).

[27] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had δὲ (not translated in the NET), where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουν (KJV: therefore).

[28] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had αὐτοῖς here.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[29] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἰδοὺ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ιδε (KJV: Behold).

[30] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had the article τὸν preceding king.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[31] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτω (KJV: unto him) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[32] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had σταύρου here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had σταυρωσον.

[33] The Byzantine Majority Text had αυτον here.  The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

[34] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ημων here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[35] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article ο preceding Jesus.  The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[36] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had αὐτῷ (not translated in the NET) here.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[37] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had παραδούς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had παραδιδους (KJV: he that delivered).

[38] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἐκραύγασαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εκραζον (KJV: cried out).

[39] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had ἑαυτὸν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had αυτον (KJV: himself).

[40] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had τῶν λόγων τούτων here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τουτον τον λογον (KJV: that saying).

[41] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article του preceding judgment seat.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[42] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἦν ὡς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δε ωσει (KJV: and about).

[43] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had οὖν ἐκεῖνοι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had οι δε (KJV: But they).

[44] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ηγεμων (KJV: governor) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[45] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had περισσῶς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had περισσοτερως (KJV: the more exceedingly).

[46] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και των αρχιερεων (KJV: and of the chief priests) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[47] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had του δικαιου (KJV: just person) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[48] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had και here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ο δε (KJV: And).

[49] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had αυτοις (KJV: unto them) here.  The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[50] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article την preceding prison.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[51] 1 Timothy 1:13b (NET) Table

[52] Romans 11:32 (NET)

Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 7

Posted on by

This is a continuation of a consideration of the differences between the Masoretic text and the Septuagint, a translation of the Hebrew before Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah.  The final clause of the first verse under consideration follows:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 53:10d (Tanakh) Table Isaiah 53:10d (NET) Isaiah 53:10d (NETS)

Isaiah 53:11a (Elpenor English)
and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand (בְּיָד֥וֹ). and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him (yāḏ, בידו). And the Lord wishes to take away (ἀφελεῗν) the Lord also is pleased to take away (ἀφελεῖν) from

I’ve been considering other negative examples[1] in Isaiah of forms of יָד (yāḏ) in the Masoretic text which were not translated literally with forms of χείρ in the Septuagint.  That exercise has yielded two classes of negative examples: “vapor trail” and “no trace.”

Negative Examples
vapor trail

no trace
Isaiah 47:14 Isaiah 10:13
Isaiah 50:11 Isaiah 19:25
Isaiah 56:5 Isaiah 20:2
Isaiah 57:8 Isaiah 25:10
Isaiah 57:10 Isaiah 29:23
Isaiah 64:7
Isaiah 65:22

A vapor trail (contrail) left by an airplane may be fresh and obvious or very diffuse.  Likewise the trail of forms of יָד (yāḏ) left in some of these negative examples is more obvious than others.  There are other examples where the trail back to a form of יָד (yāḏ) has vanished without a trace.  Those cause me to wonder whether a form of יָד (yāḏ) was in the Hebrew text the rabbis translated into Greek.  Which class best describes Isaiah 53:10d, where the rabbis chose ἀφελεῖν (a form of ἀφαιρέω) in the Septuagint?

There are four other occurrences of ἀφελεῖν in the Septuagint to consider.  The first includes יַד (yāḏ) as well.

Masoretic Text Septuagint
Genesis 48:17 (Tanakh) Genesis 48:17 (NET) Genesis 48:17 (NETS)

Genesis 48:17 (Elpenor English)
And when Joseph saw that his father was laying his right hand (יַד) upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he held up his father’s hand (יַד), to remove (לְהָסִ֥יר) it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand (yad, יד) on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him.  So he took his father’s hand (yad, יד) to move (sûr, להסיר) it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. Now when Ioseph saw that his father laid his right hand (δεξιὰν) on the head of Ephraim, it seemed grievous to him, and Ioseph took hold of his father’s hand (χειρὸς) to remove (ἀφελεῗν) it from Ephraim’s head to Manasse’s head. And Joseph having seen that his father put his right (δεξιὰν) hand (χεῖρα) on the head of Ephraim– it seemed grievous to him; and Joseph took hold of the hand (χειρὸς) of his father, to remove (ἀφελεῖν) it from the head of Ephraim to the head of Manasse.

I haven’t yet begun to consider יִצְלָֽח (ṣālēaḥ), shall prosper (Tanakh), will be accomplished (NET).  I will need to consider whether the rabbis understood בְּיָד֥וֹ (yāḏ) יִצְלָֽח (ṣālēaḥ) idiomatically when I do.  Here though, לְהָסִ֥יר (sûr) does not occur in Isaiah 53:10d.  The next example of לְהָסִ֣יר (sûr) translated ἀφελεῖν follows.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
2 Kings 6:32 (Tanakh) 2 Kings 6:32 (NET) 4 Reigns 6:32 (NETS)

4 Kings 6:32 (Elpenor English)
But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him; but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders: ‘See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away (לְהָסִ֣יר) my head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold the door fast against him; is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?’ Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the community leaders.  The king sent a messenger on ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the leaders, “Do you realize this assassin intends to cut off (sûr, להסיר) my head?  Look, when the messenger arrives, shut the door and lean against it.  His master will certainly be right behind him.” And Elisaie was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him.  And he sent a man before his presence.  Before the messenger came to him, he also said to the elders, “Are you aware that this son of the murderer sent someone to take off (ἀφελεῗν) my head?  Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and detain him at the door.  Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?” And Elisaie was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him; and [the king] sent a man before him: before the messenger came to him, he also said to the elders, Do ye see that this son of a murderer has sent to take away (ἀφελεῖν) my head? See, as soon as the messenger shall have come, shut the door, and forcibly detain him at the door: [is] not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?

In the next example לְהַֽעֲבִיר֙ (ʿāḇar) was translated ἀφελεῖν.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Esther 8:3 (Tanakh) Esther 8:3 (NET) Esther 8:3 (NETS)

Esther 8:3 (Elpenor English)
And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away (לְהַֽעֲבִיר֙) the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews. Then Esther again spoke with the king, falling at his feet.  She wept and begged him for mercy that he might nullify (ʿāḇar, להעביר) the evil of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had intended against the Jews. Then she spoke again to the king, and she fell before his feet and pleaded that he revoke (ἀφελεῗν) the evil of Haman and what he had done to the Judeans. And she spoke yet again to the king, and fell at his feet, and besought [him] to do away (ἀφελεῖν) the mischief of Aman, and all that he had done against the Jews.

Finally, in the following example לִגְר֑וֹעַ (gāraʿ) was translated ἀφελεῖν in the Septuagint.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Ecclesiastes 3:14 (Tanakh) Ecclesiastes 3:14 (NET) Ecclesiastes 3:14 (NETS)

Ecclesiastes 3:14 (Elpenor English)
I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken (לִגְר֑וֹעַ) from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. I also know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away (gāraʿ, לגרע) from it.  God has made it this way, so that men will fear him. I know that everything that God has done—it will be forever; to it there is nothing to add, and from it there is nothing to take away (ἀφελεῗν); God has done this so that all should stand in awe before him. I know that whatsoever things God has done, they shall be for ever: it is impossible to add to it, and it is impossible to take away (ἀφελεῖν) from it: and God has done [it], that [men] may fear before him.

I searched the BLB Septuagint for all the forms of ἀφαιρέω listed in the Koine Greek Lexicon online (Table below), then made the following table of the forms found in Isaiah.

Reference Chabad.org Tanakh NET Septuagint BLB Septuagint Elpenor
Isaiah 1:16 הָסִ֛ירוּ H5493 put away Remove ἀφέλετε ἀφέλετε
Isaiah 1:25 וְאָסִ֖ירָה H5493 take away remove ἀφελῶ ἀφελῶ
Isaiah 3:1 מֵסִ֚יר H5493 doth take away remove ἀφελεῖ ἀφελεῖ
Isaiah 3:18 יָסִ֣יר H5493 will take away will remove ἀφελεῖ ἀφελεῖ
Isaiah 4:1 אֱסֹ֖ף H622 to take away take away ἄφελε ἄφελε
Isaiah 5:5 הָסֵ֚ר H5493 I will take away I will remove ἀφελῶ ἀφελῶ
Isaiah 5:8 n/a n/a n/a ἀφέλωνται ἀφέλωνταί
Isaiah 6:7 וְסָ֣ר H5493 is taken away is removed ἀφελεῖ ἀφελεῖ
Isaiah 7:17 סוּר H5493 departed departed ἀφεῖλεν ἀφεῖλεν
Isaiah 7:20 תִּסְפֶּֽה H5595 and it shall also consume it will also shave off ἀφελεῖ ἀφελεῖ
Isaiah 8:8 וְחָלַ֚ף H2498 And he shall pass It will spill ἀφελεῖ ἀφελεῖ
Isaiah 9:4 n/a n/a n/a ἀφῄρηται ἀφῄρηται
Isaiah 9:14 וַיַּכְרֵ֨ת H3772 will cut off cut off ἀφεῖλεν ἀφεῖλε
Isaiah 10:13 וְאָסִ֣יר H5493 and I have removed I invaded ἀφελῶ ἀφελῶ
Isaiah 10:27 יָס֚וּר H5493 shall be taken away will remove ἀφαιρεθήσεται ἀφαιρεθήσεται
Isaiah 11:13 וְסָ֙רָה֙ H5493 shall depart will end ἀφαιρεθήσεται ἀφαιρεθήσεται
Isaiah 14:25 וְסָ֚ר H5493 depart will be removed ἀφαιρεθήσεται ἀφαιρεθήσεται
יָסֽוּר H5493 depart will be lifted ἀφαιρεθήσεται ἀφαιρεθήσεται
Isaiah 16:2 מְשֻׁלָּ֑ח H7971 cast out forced from ἀφῃρημένος ἀφηρημένος
Isaiah 18:5 הֵסִ֥יר H5493 and take away Note 13: he will remove ἀφελεῖ ἀφελεῖ
Isaiah 20:2 וּפִתַּחְתָּ֚ H6605 and loose remove ἄφελε ἄφελε
Isaiah 22:17 n/a n/a n/a ἀφελεῖ ἀφελεῖ
Isaiah 22:19 וַֽהֲדַפְתִּ֖יךָ H1920 And I will drive I will remove ἀφαιρεθήσῃ ἀφαιρεθήσῃ
Isaiah 22:25 תָּמוּשׁ֙ H4185 be removed will come loose ἀφαιρεθήσεται ἀφαιρεθήσεται
Isaiah 25:8 וּמָחָ֨ה H4229 will wipe away will wipe away ἀφεῗλεν ἀφεῖλε
יָסִיר֙ H5493 shall he take away and remove ἀφεῖλεν ἀφεῖλεν
Isaiah 27:9 יְכֻפַּ֣ר H3722 be purged will be forgiven ἀφαιρεθήσεται ἀφαιρεθήσεται
הָסִ֣ר H5493 to take away are finished ἀφέλωμαι ἀφέλωμαι
Isaiah 28:18 וְכֻפַּ֚ר H3722 shall be disannulled will be dissolved ἀφέλῃ ἀφέλῃ
Isaiah 30:11 הַטּ֖וּ H5186 turn aside stray ἀφέλετε ἀφέλετε
הַשְׁבִּ֥יתוּ H7673 to cease Remove ἀφέλετε ἀφέλετε
Isaiah 38:15 אֶדַּדֶּ֥ה H1718 I shall go softly I will walk slowly ἀφείλατο ἀφείλατό
Isaiah 40:27 יַֽעֲבֽוֹר H5674 is passed over Note 55: passes away ἀφεῖλεν ἀφεῖλε
Isaiah 53:10 n/a n/a n/a ἀφελεῖν ἀφελεῖν
Isaiah 58:9 תָּסִ֚יר H5493 thou take away You…remove ἀφέλῃς ἀφέλῃς

There are sixteen more examples where forms of ἀφαιρέω were chosen for forms of סוּר (sûr).  I’ll consider two of those in detail because they also contain forms of יָד (yāḏ).

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 1:25 (Tanakh) Table Isaiah 1:25 (NET) Isaiah 1:25 (NETS)

Isaiah 1:25 (Elpenor English)
And I will turn my hand (יָדִי֙) upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away (וְאָסִ֖ירָה) all thy tin: I will attack you [Note 66: turn my hand (yad, ידי) against you]; I will purify your metal with flux.  I will remove (sûr, ואסירה) all your slag. And I will turn my hand (τὴν χεῗρά μου) against you and will burn you to bring about purity.  But the disobedient I will destroy, and I will remove (ἀφελῶ) from you all the lawless and humble all who are arrogant. And I will bring my hand (τὴν χεῖρά μου) upon thee, and purge thee completely, and I will destroy the rebellious, and will take away (ἀφελῶ) from thee all transgressors.

I considered this briefly in another essay.  Here I can focus a bit more attention on it.  There are two clauses in the Septuagint which are no longer found in the Masoretic text:

Isaiah 1:25 (Septuagint BLB) Isaiah 1:25 (NETS) Isaiah 1:25 (Elpenor)

Isaiah 1:25 (Elpenor English)
τοὺς δὲ ἀπειθοῦντας ἀπολέσω But the disobedient I will destroy, τοὺς δὲ ἀπειθοῦντας ἀπολέσω and I will destroy the rebellious,
καὶ πάντας ὑπερηφάνους ταπεινώσω and humble all who are arrogant. καὶ πάντας ὑπηφάνους ταπεινώσω n/a

The Greek word ἀπειθοῦντας, the disobedient (NETS), the rebellious (Elpenor English), is a form of ἀπειθέω.  But the Jews who refused to believe (ἀπειθήσαντες, another form of ἀπειθέω) stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers,[2] Luke wrote of Paul and Barnabas in Iconium.  And to whom did he swear they would never enter into his rest, except those who were disobedient (ἀπειθήσασιν, another form of ἀπειθέω)?[3]  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not (ἀπειθῶν, another form of ἀπειθέω) the Son shall not see life;[4] but the wrath of God abideth on him.[5]

They stumble because they disobey (ἀπειθοῦντες, another form of ἀπειθέω) the word, as they were destined to do,[6] Peter wrote.  For it is time for judgment to begin, starting with the house of God.  And if it starts with us, what will be the fate of those who are disobedient (ἀπειθούντων, another form of ἀπειθέω) to the gospel of God?[7]  Paul wrote (Romans 2:3-8 NET):

And do you think, whoever you are, when you judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God’s judgment?  Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?  But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed [Table]!  He will reward each one according to his works: eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality, but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey (ἀπειθοῦσι, another form of ἀπειθέω) the truth but follow unrighteousness [Table].

Paul also wrote (Romans 11:28-32 NET):

In regard to the gospel they [the descendants of Israel who do not obey the truth; e.g., Jesus] are enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers.  For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.  Just as you[8] were formerly disobedient (ἠπειθήσατε, another form of ἀπειθέω) to God, but have now received mercy due to their disobedience (ἀπειθείᾳ), so they too have now been disobedient (ἠπείθησαν, another form of ἀπειθέω) in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now[9] receive mercy.  For God has consigned all people to disobedience (ἀπείθειαν, a form of ἀπείθεια) so that he may show mercy to them all.

I’ll pick this up again in another essay.  The table mentioned above follows:

Present
ἀφαιρεῖται
Exodus 5:11 Leviticus 4:10 Job 9:21 Proverbs 13:18 Proverbs 14:35
ἀφαιρῆτε
Numbers 18:30 Numbers 18:32
ἀφαιροῦνται
Proverbs 1:19 Proverbs 11:30
ἀφαιροῦσιν
Leviticus 22:15 1 Samuel 17:39 2 Samuel 4:7

Present Participles
ἀφαιρῶν
Exodus 34:7 Exodus 35:24 Numbers 4:18
ἀφαιρουμένῳ
Psalm 76:12

Future
ἀφαιρεθήσετα
Numbers 36:3 Numbers 36:4 Isaiah 10:27 Isaiah 11:13 Isaiah 14:25
Isaiah 22:25 Isaiah 27:9 Jeremiah 6:2 Ezekiel 48:14 Zechariah 10:11
ἀφαιρεθήσῃ
Isaiah 22:19
ἀφελεῖ
Genesis 40:9 Leviticus 1:16 Leviticus 2:9 Leviticus 6:10 Leviticus 6:15
Job 36:7 Isaiah 3:1 Isaiah 3:18 Isaiah 6:7 Isaiah 7:20
Isaiah 8:8 Isaiah 18:5 Isaiah 22:17
ἀφελεῖς
Exodus 5:8 Exodus 13:12 Exodus 34:9 Deuteronomy 12:32
ἀφελεῖτε
Numbers 15:19 Numbers 15:20 Numbers 18:26 Numbers 18:28 Numbers 18:29
Numbers 31:28 Deuteronomy 4:2
ἀφελοῦμαι
Hosea 2:9
ἀφελοῦνται
Ezekiel 26:16
ἀφελοῦσιν
Jeremiah 11:15 Ezekiel 23:25
ἀφελῶ
Exodus 33:23 Numbers 11:17 1 Samuel 17:36 1 Samuel 17:46 2 Samuel 16:9
Isaiah 1:25 Isaiah 5:5 Isaiah 10:13 Ezekiel 36:26

Aorist
ἀφείλαντο
Genesis 21:25 1 Samuel 7:14 Job 24:7 Job 24:10
ἀφεῖλας
Job 38:15
ἀφείλατο
Genesis 31:9 Genesis 31:16 1 Samuel 30:18 1 Chronicles 11:23 Esther 8:2
Job 1:21 Isaiah 38:15
ἀφεῖλεν
Genesis 30:23 Leviticus 8:29 Leviticus 19:21 1 Samuel 17:51 1 Samuel 24:4
1 Samuel 24:5 2 Samuel 20:22 1 Kings 15:12 1 Kings 20:41 1 Chronicles 19:4
Job 19:9 Isaiah 7:17 Isaiah 9:14 Isaiah 25:8 Isaiah 40:27
ἀφεῖλον
Numbers 31:52 Joshua 5:9
ἀφείλου
Job 22:6 Exekiel 21:26
ἄφελε
Isaiah 4:1 Isaiah 20:2
ἀφελεῖν
Genesis 48:17 2 Kings 6:32 Esther 8:3 Ecclesiastes 3:14 Isaiah 53:10
ἀφελέσθαι
Esther 4:4 Micah 2:8
ἀφέλεσθε
Exodus 33:5 Ezekiel 45:9
ἀφέλετε
Isaiah 1:16 Isaiah 30:11 Zechariah 3:4
ἀφελέτω
Numbers 21:7
ἀφέλῃ
Isaiah 28:18
ἀφέλῃς
Genesis 31:31 Proverbs 30:7 Isaiah 58:9 Jeremiah 26:2
ἀφέλητε
Leviticus 10:17
ἀφελοῦ
Proverbs 26:7 Proverbs 27:13
ἀφέλωμαι
Isaiah 27:9
ἀφέλωνται
Isaiah 5:8
ἀφέλωσιν
Numbers 18:19
ἀφῃρέθη
Daniel 5:20

Perfect
ἀφῄρηκα
1 Samuel 24:11 Zechariah 3:4
ἀφῃρημένα
1 Samuel 5:4
ἀφῃρημένοι
1 Samuel 21:6
ἀφῃρημένος
Isaiah 16:2
ἀφῄρηται
Exodus 29:27 Judges 21:6 Proverbs 4:16 Isaiah 9:4

Tables comparing Genesis 48:17; 2 Kings 6:32; Esther 8:3 and Ecclesiastes 3:14 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Genesis 48:17; 2 Kings (4 Reigns, 4 Kings) 6:32; Esther 8:3 and Ecclesiastes 3:14 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing John 3:36 and Romans 11:30, 31 in the NET and KJV follow.

Genesis 48:17 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 48:17 (KJV)

Genesis 48:17 (NET)
And when Joseph saw that his father was laying his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him.  So he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.

Genesis 48:17 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 48:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἰδὼν δὲ Ιωσηφ ὅτι ἐπέβαλεν ὁ πατὴρ τὴν δεξιὰν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν Εφραιμ βαρὺ αὐτῷ κατεφάνη καὶ ἀντελάβετο Ιωσηφ τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ ἀφελεῗν αὐτὴν ἀπὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς Εφραιμ ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν Μανασση ἰδὼν δὲ ᾿Ιωσὴφ ὅτι ἐπέβαλεν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ τὴν χεῖρα τὴν δεξιὰν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ᾿Εφραΐμ, βαρὺ αὐτῷ κατεφάνη, καὶ ἀντελάβετο ᾿Ιωσὴφ τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ ἀφελεῖν αὐτὴν ἀπὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς ᾿Εφραΐμ ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν Μανασσῆ

Genesis 48:17 (NETS)

Genesis 48:17 (English Elpenor)
Now when Ioseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it seemed grievous to him, and Ioseph took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasse’s head. And Joseph having seen that his father put his right hand on the head of Ephraim– it seemed grievous to him; and Joseph took hold of the hand of his father, to remove it from the head of Ephraim to the head of Manasse.

2 Kings 6:32 (Tanakh)

 2 Kings 6:32 (KJV)

2 Kings 6:32 (NET)
But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him; but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders: ‘See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away my head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold the door fast against him; is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?’ But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him? Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the community leaders.  The king sent a messenger on ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the leaders, “Do you realize this assassin intends to cut off my head?  Look, when the messenger arrives, shut the door and lean against it.  His master will certainly be right behind him.”

2 Kings 6:32 (Septuagint BLB)

4 Kings 6:32 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ Ελισαιε ἐκάθητο ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι ἐκάθηντο μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἄνδρα πρὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ πρὶν ἐλθεῗν τὸν ἄγγελον πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ αὐτὸς εἶπεν πρὸς τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους εἰ οἴδατε ὅτι ἀπέστειλεν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ φονευτοῦ οὗτος ἀφελεῗν τὴν κεφαλήν μου ἴδετε ὡς ἂν ἔλθῃ ὁ ἄγγελος ἀποκλείσατε τὴν θύραν καὶ παραθλίψατε αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ θύρᾳ οὐχὶ φωνὴ τῶν ποδῶν τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ κατόπισθεν αὐτοῦ καὶ ῾Ελισαιὲ ἐκάθητο ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι ἐκάθηντο μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἄνδρα πρὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ πρὶν ἐλθεῖν τὸν ἄγγελον πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ αὐτὸς εἶπε πρὸς τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους· εἰ οἴδατε ὅτι ἀπέστειλεν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ φονευτοῦ οὗτος ἀφελεῖν τὴν κεφαλήν μου; ἴδετε ὡς ἂν ἔλθῃ ὁ ἄγγελος, ἀποκλείσατε τὴν θύραν· καὶ παραθλίψατε αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ θύρᾳ· οὐχὶ φωνὴ τῶν ποδῶν τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ κατόπισθεν αὐτοῦ

4 Reigns 6:32 (NETS)

4 Kings 6:32 (English Elpenor)
And Elisaie was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him.  And he sent a man before his presence.  Before the messenger came to him, he also said to the elders, “Are you aware that this son of the murderer sent someone to take off my head?  Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and detain him at the door.  Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?” And Elisaie was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him; and [the king] sent a man before him: before the messenger came to him, he also said to the elders, Do ye see that this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? See, as soon as the messenger shall have come, shut the door, and forcibly detain him at the door: [is] not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?

Esther 8:3 (Tanakh)

 Esther 8:3 (KJV)

Esther 8:3 (NET)
And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews. And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews. Then Esther again spoke with the king, falling at his feet.  She wept and begged him for mercy that he might nullify the evil of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had intended against the Jews.

Esther 8:3 (Septuagint BLB)

Esther 8:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ προσθεῗσα ἐλάλησεν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα καὶ προσέπεσεν πρὸς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἠξίου ἀφελεῗν τὴν Αμαν κακίαν καὶ ὅσα ἐποίησεν τοῗς Ιουδαίοις καὶ προσθεῖσα ἐλάλησε πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα καὶ προσέπεσε πρὸς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἠξίου ἀφελεῖν τὴν ᾿Αμὰν κακίαν καὶ ὅσα ἐποίησε τοῖς ᾿Ιουδαίοις

Esther 8:3 (NETS)

Esther 8:3 (English Elpenor)
Then she spoke again to the king, and she fell before his feet and pleaded that he revoke the evil of Haman and what he had done to the Judeans. And she spoke yet again to the king, and fell at his feet, and besought [him] to do away the mischief of Aman, and all that he had done against the Jews.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 (Tanakh)

 Ecclesiastes 3:14 (KJV)

Ecclesiastes 3:14 (NET)
I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. I also know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it.  God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 (Septuagint BLB)

Ecclesiastes 3:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἔγνων ὅτι πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησεν ὁ θεός αὐτὰ ἔσται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν προσθεῗναι καὶ ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀφελεῗν καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐποίησεν ἵνα φοβηθῶσιν ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ ἔγνων ὅτι πάντα, ὅσα ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεός, αὐτὰ ἔσται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα· ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστι προσθεῖναι, καὶ ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀφελεῖν, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἐποίησεν, ἵνα φοβηθῶσιν ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ

Ecclesiastes 3:14 (NETS)

Ecclesiastes 3:14 (English Elpenor)
I know that everything that God has done—it will be forever; to it there is nothing to add, and from it there is nothing to take away; God has done this so that all should stand in awe before him. I know that whatsoever things God has done, they shall be for ever: it is impossible to add to it, and it is impossible to take away from it: and God has done [it], that [men] may fear before him.

John 3:36 (NET)

John 3:36 (KJV)
The one who believes in the Son has eternal life.  The one who rejects the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath remains on him. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ πιστεύων εἰς τὸν υἱὸν ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον· ὁ δὲ ἀπειθῶν τῷ υἱῷ οὐκ ὄψεται ζωήν, ἀλλ᾿ ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ θεοῦ μένει ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν ο πιστευων εις τον υιον εχει ζωην αιωνιον ο δε απειθων τω υιω ουκ οψεται ζωην αλλ η οργη του θεου μενει επ αυτον ο πιστευων εις τον υιον εχει ζωην αιωνιον ο δε απειθων τω υιω ουκ οψεται την ζωην αλλ η οργη του θεου μενει επ αυτον

Romans 11:30, 31 (NET)

Romans 11:30, 31 (KJV)
Just as you were formerly disobedient to God, but have now received mercy due to their disobedience, For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ὥσπερ γὰρ ὑμεῖς ποτε ἠπειθήσατε τῷ θεῷ, νῦν δὲ ἠλεήθητε τῇ τούτων ἀπειθείᾳ ωσπερ γαρ και υμεις ποτε ηπειθησατε τω θεω νυν δε ηλεηθητε τη τουτων απειθεια ωσπερ γαρ και υμεις ποτε ηπειθησατε τω θεω νυν δε ηλεηθητε τη τουτων απειθεια
so they too have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
οὕτως καὶ οὗτοι νῦν ἠπείθησαν τῷ ὑμετέρῳ ἐλέει, ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ [νῦν] ἐλεηθῶσιν ουτως και ουτοι νυν ηπειθησαν τω υμετερω ελεει ινα και αυτοι ελεηθωσιν ουτως και ουτοι νυν ηπειθησαν τω υμετερω ελεει ινα και αυτοι ελεηθωσιν

[1] Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 3; Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 4; Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 5; Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 6

[2] Acts 14:2 (NET) Table

[3] Hebrews 3:18 (NET)

[4] The Byzantine Majority Text had the article την preceding life.  The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

[5] John 3:36 (KJV)

[6] 1 Peter 2:8b (NET)

[7] 1 Peter 4:17 (NET)

[8] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και preceding you (KJV: ye).  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[9] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had νῦν here.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

Language

Posted on by

I visit my mother in hospice every morning.  When she still spoke to me she asked me to pray that she could “get out of here.”  I told her I didn’t think that I could care for her at her home.  She said that wasn’t what she meant.  I didn’t answer her.  Later that same visit she sang:

I am the resurrection and the life,

He that believeth in me tho’ He were deade,

Yet shall He live,

Yet shall he live,

And whosoever liveth and believeth in me

shall never, never die.[1]

I recalled the context of these words: Lazarus, Martha’s brother, had died (John 11:21-27 NET):

Martha[2] said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.[3]  But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will grant you.”

Jesus replied, “Your brother will come back to life again.”

Martha[4] said, “I know that he will come back to life again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  The one who believes in me will live even if he dies, and the one who lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?”

She replied, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who comes into the world.”

I’ve understood Martha’s answer to Jesus’ question as a very diplomatic and reverent, “No.”  Granted, Jesus had used the subjunctive of emphatic negation οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ, will never die (NET), shall never die (KJV).  She had most likely washed and prepared Lazarus’ body.  She probably supervised his burial four days earlier.  Jesus was talking crazy talk.  It had its impact on me.

From then on I have believed everyday that she who lives and believes in Jesus will never die.  And everyday I pray that my mother can be absent from the body, and…present with the Lord.[5]  Almost everyday since, she has been quietly absent from her body and, I trust, present with the Lord.  She sings hymns and choruses aloud from time to time.

Once she woke and wanted to sit up to sketch.  She used to sketch all of the time, any time she sat down.  But she drifted off again before I could find a pencil or paper.  Another time I asked her if she really wanted to sketch.  She told me where her sketch pad and pencils were at home.  She has them now.

Mostly, I read while I sit with her.  A friend asked me to read “From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present, 500 Years of Western Cultural Life” by Jacques Barzun.  My friend lent me his own copy to seal the deal.  It’s 800 pages but I’m working my way through it slowly.

Considering the development of prose Mr. Barzun wrote:[6]

One 17C[entury] creation that was neither Baroque nor a pretended imitation of the ancients was its prose….

The modern languages took a much longer time to develop a prose worthy of the name than to find poetic meters that suited their idiom….In early modern times [writers] were hampered by their virtually native mastery of Latin: it spoiled the vernacular syntax. Thanks to its case endings, Latin leaves the writer free to throw the makings of his sentence into one spot or another without changing the sense. That cannot be done when meaning depends on the right sequence and right linking of words.

I’ve heard, and seen to a certain extent, a similar assessment of Greek.  But I find it difficult to believe.   Todd Engstrom‘s article on Academia.edu—“A Prepositional Phrase’s Contribution to the πίστις Χριστοῦ Debate in Romans 3:28”—caught my ear.

We will focus on the placement of the prepositional phrase χωρὶς ἔργων νόμου (“apart from works of law”) in Romans 3:28.  How does it contribute to the πίστις Χριστοῦ (“faith of Christ”) debate?  By having the prepositional phrase χωρὶς ἔργων νόμου (“apart from works of law”) modify the noun ἄνθρωπος (“man”), it bolsters the subjective genitive interpretation of πίστις Χριστοῦ (“faithfulness of Christ”).[7]

Generally, I avoid academic arguments these days.  As Jesus’ understanding of eternal life (John 17:3) has taken root and grown in me the desire to judge others’ “eternal destination” by their verbiage has weakened. But a paper about Greek word placement contributing to the meaning of the text was irresistible. Mr. Engstrom continued:

When we place the prepositional phrase χωρὶς ἔργων νόμου (“apart from works of law”) to modify the noun ἄνθρωπος (“man”), we get ἄνθρωπος χωρὶς ἔργων νόμου (“a man apart from works of law”).  Since “works of law” refers to the works required by the Law, we can interpret this as “a man apart from the deeds required by the Law.”[8]

So Mr. Engstrom’s English translation of Romans 3:28 became, “For we consider a man apart from works required by the law to be declared righteous by faithfulness [Table].”[9]  All in all I have no problem with this translation.  The word faithfulness would have bothered me in the past.

When I thought faithfulness was my efforts to obey my parents, the rules of my religion, the teaching of Jesus, the laws of my city, county, state or nation, the law of God and, finally, Paul’s definition of love recast as rules for me to obey, it would have bothered me a lot.  Mr. Engstrom was very careful, however, to stress that this is Christ’s faithfulness.  And now I know that faithfulness (πίστις) is one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit.

Mr. Engstrom, however, didn’t mean exactly what his English translation said:

Who is this man apart from the deeds required by the Law?  He is a Gentile.[10]

I’ll translate that back into Greek: λογιζόμεθα γὰρ δικαιοῦσθαι πίστει ἔθνος (“For we consider a Gentile to be declared righteous by faithfulness”).  It’s true enough.  But would it have gnawed at me as χωρὶς ἔργων νόμου (apart from the works of the law) had done?  Or would I have remained more content with my act?  If χωρὶς ἔργων νόμου is removed from Romans 3:28, my go to verse would become Galatians 2:16.

Mr. Engstrom had reworked that one, too, in a different paper.

With the adjectival use of ἐξ ἔργων νόμου, Paul’s thesis actually reads:

15 We are Jews by nature and not Gentile sinners; 16 knowing that a man from works of law is not declared righteous, except through the faith of Jesus Christ, and we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be declared righteous from the faith of Christ and not from works of the law, because out of the works of the law every flesh will not be declared righteous.[11]

Here even I could see that he had done a pretty good job of unraveling ἐὰν μὴ (except; literally: “if not”).  The translators of both the NET and KJV [Table] have rendered ἐὰν μὴ but.  I thought my knowledge of Greek was insufficient to understand it, which it was: I thought that linking a prepositional phrase to the word it followed was verboten in Greek, at least unnecessary.

This time, however, I didn’t want to translate ἄνθρωπος ἐξ ἔργων νόμου (“a man from works of law”) a Jew.  Perhaps the categories Jew and Gentile were fixed and more watertight in the first century than they are today, perhaps not.  But I am a Gentile who grew up in a Christian home and a Christian church and became “a man from works of law.”  God’s law was about the last law I came to, but Paul’s insistence that God’s law could not make me righteous eventually made me suspicious of all the other laws and rules I lived by.  It prompted me to seek out the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe [Table].[12]

So how’s that going?  Better.  Of course, if I measured my performance against some absolute standard—all Jesus, all of the time; I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me[13]—I’d probably conclude that I suck at this.  But as I wrote that, it occurred to me that I may have objective and subjective reversed.

I first wrote “objective standard”; “absolute standard” was an edit.  What I was thinking of originally as objective was my impression of the time spent alone with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  One guess who is the weak link in that chain.  I’ve tried to talk about this with someone who knows me.  I rejected her response out of hand and haven’t spoken of it since, because she began to tell me how wonderful I am.

I took that as a psychological attempt to make me feel better about myself.  I don’t want to feel better about myself.  I want to become the righteousness of God.[14]  Of course, if I actually perceived that I had become the righteousness of God I would feel much better about myself, and that, knowing me, would become the biggest stumbling block of all.  The Greek reads: γενώμεθα δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ (“become the righteousness of God in Him”).

If I take my friend’s assessment as more objective than mine, however, I must confess that outwardly at least more of Christ shows through me than all the sin I see in me alone with God, subjectively.  For God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh.  By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled (πληρωθῇ, a form of πληρόω) in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.[15]

But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.[16]  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law [Table].[17]  Love does no wrong to a neighbor.  Therefore love is the fulfillment (πλήρωμα) of the law.[18]

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.  I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill (πληρῶσαι, another form of πληρόω) them.[19]

Tables comparing John 11:21 and 11:24 in the NET and KJV follow.

John 11:21 (NET)

John 11:21 (KJV)
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
εἶπεν οὖν ἡ Μάρθα πρὸς |τὸν| Ἰησοῦν· κύριε, εἰ ἦς ὧδε οὐκ ἂν ἀπέθανεν ὁ ἀδελφός μου ειπεν ουν η μαρθα προς τον ιησουν κυριε ει ης ωδε ο αδελφος μου ουκ αν ετεθνηκει ειπεν ουν μαρθα προς τον ιησουν κυριε ει ης ωδε ο αδελφος μου ουκ αν ετεθνηκει

John 11:24 (NET)

John 11:24 (KJV)
Martha said, “I know that he will come back to life again in the resurrection at the last day.” Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
λέγει αὐτῷ ἡ Μάρθα· οἶδα ὅτι ἀναστήσεται ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ λεγει αυτω μαρθα οιδα οτι αναστησεται εν τη αναστασει εν τη εσχατη ημερα λεγει αυτω μαρθα οιδα οτι αναστησεται εν τη αναστασει εν τη εσχατη ημερα

[1] “I am the resurrection”

[2] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article ἡ preceding Martha.  The Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[3] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἀπέθανεν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ετεθνηκει (KJV: had…died)

[4] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had the article ἡ preceding Martha.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[5] 2 Corinthians 5:8 (KJV)

[6] Jacques Barzun, From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present, 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, p. 363

[7] Todd Engstrom, “A Prepositional Phrase’s Contribution to the πίστις Χριστοῦ Debate in Romans 3:28,” pp. 6, 7

[8] Ibid., pp. 75, 76

[9] Ibid., p. 78

[10] Ibid., p. 76

[11] Todd A. Engstrom, “Is the prepositional phrase έξ έργων νόμου used adverbially or adjectivally in Galatians 2:16?,” p. 33

[12] Romans 3:22a (NET)

[13] Galatians 2:20a (NET)

[14] 2 Corinthians 5:21b (NET)

[15] Romans 8:3, 4 (NET)

[16] Galatians 5:16 (NET)  The Greek is καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν σαρκὸς οὐ μὴ τελέσητε (“and the desires of the flesh you never complete”).

[17] Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

[18] Romans 13:10 (NET)

[19] Matthew 5:17 (NET)

A Monotonous Cycle Revisited, Part 7

Posted on by

I intend to consider another description of cities of refuge to fortify the conviction that Genesis 9:5, 6 was God’s description of his own attitude and behavior toward murderers post-flood.  But first I want to consider the reason given in Deuteronomy for cities of refuge.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Deuteronomy 19:10 (Tanakh) Deuteronomy 19:10 (NET) Deuteronomy 19:10 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:10 (English Elpenor)
that innocent (נָקִ֔י) blood be not shed in the midst of thy land, which HaShem thy G-d giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee. You must not shed innocent (nāqî, נקי) blood in your land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, for that would make you guilty. and innocent (ἀναίτιον) blood shall not be shed in your land that the Lord your God is giving you as an allotment, and there shall not be among you one guilty of blood. So innocent (ἀναίτιον) blood shall not be spilt in the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee to inherit, and there shall not be in thee one guilty of blood.

The first occurrence of נָקִ֖י (nāqî) is instructive in this context.  Abraham had put his servant under oath (Genesis 24:1-4) to find a wife for Isaac among his own people.  Abraham’s servant explained his mission and the limits of the oath to Rebekah’s brother Laban (Genesis 24:28-33):

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Genesis 24:41 (Tanakh) Table Genesis 24:41 (NET) Genesis 24:41 (NETS)

Genesis 24:41 (English Elpenor)
then shalt thou be clear (תִּנָּקֶה֙) from my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give her not to thee, thou shalt be clear (נָקִ֖י) from my oath. You will be free (nāqâ, תנקה) from your oath if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you.  Then you will be free (nāqî, נקי) from your oath.’ Then you will be free (ἀθῷος) from my curse; indeed, when perchance you come to my tribe and they do not give her to you, then you will be free (ἀθῷος) from my adjuration.’ Then shalt thou be clear (ἀθῷος) from my curse, for whensoever thou shalt have come to my tribe, and they shall not give her to thee, then shalt thou be clear (ἀθῷος) from my oath.

Abraham didn’t want his servant to abduct a young woman from his relatives to fulfill that oath.  The innocent (nāqî, נקי) blood above refers primarily to those who have killed someone but were not deserving of death:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Deuteronomy 19:6 (Tanakh) Table Deuteronomy 19:6 (NET) Deuteronomy 19:6 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:6 (English Elpenor)
lest the avenger of blood pursue the manslayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and smite him mortally; whereas he was not deserving (מִשְׁפַּט) of death (מָ֔וֶת), inasmuch as he hated him not in time past. Otherwise the blood avenger will chase after the killer in the heat of his anger, eventually overtake him, and kill him, though this is not a capital case (Note 16: “no judgment [mišpāṭ, משפט] of death [māveṯ, מות]”) since he did not hate him at the time of the accident. lest the avenger of blood pursue after the murderer, because his heart is hot, and overtake him—if the road was rather long—and he strike his soul, and he dies, and to this one there is not a death (θανάτου) sentence (κρίσις), since he did not hate him before yesterday and before the third day. Lest the avenger of blood pursue after the slayer, because his heart is hot, and overtake him, if the way be too long, and slay him, though there is to this man no sentence (κρίσις) of death (θανάτου), because he hated him not in time past.

Everything about the cities of refuge sounds like an attempt to rein in an ongoing killing spree.  I don’t really doubt or dispute that.  The Lord’s instruction to Joshua bears it out:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Joshua 20:1-3 (Tanakh) Joshua 20:1-3 (NET) Joshua 20:1-3 (NETS)

Joshua 20:1-3 (English Elpenor)
The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying, The Lord instructed Joshua: And the Lord spoke to Iesous, saying, And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,
Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: “Have the Israelites select the cities of refuge that I told you about through Moses. “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘Give the cities of places of refuge of which I spoke to you through Moyses, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Assign the cities of refuge, [of] which I spoke to you by Moses.
That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. Anyone who accidentally kills someone can escape there; these cities will be a place of asylum from the avenger of blood. a place of refuge for the slayer who has smitten a soul involuntarily, and the cities shall be for you a place of refuge, and the slayer shall not die by the next of kin in blood until he stands before the congregation for judgment. [Even] a refuge to the slayer who has smitten a man unintentionally; and the cities shall be to you a refuge, and the slayer shall not be put to death by the avenger of blood, until he have stood before the congregation for judgment.

There is some additional instruction in the Masoretic text that is not found in the BLB Septuagint.  The Elpenor Septuagint has verses 4-6 in Greek at the end of the chapter with the note Εκ τοῦ κώδ. Α, which I have understood as “from codex A.”

The Codex Alexandrinus…is a fifth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible…containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament and the Greek New Testament.[1]

These verses were not translated into English in the Elpenor Septuagint, so I have placed the portion of verse 3 that was not in the Masoretic text in the table below.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Joshua 20:4-6 (Tanakh) Joshua 20:4-6 (NET) Joshua 20:3b (NETS)

Joshua 20:3b (English Elpenor)
And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them. The one who committed manslaughter should escape to one of these cities, stand at the entrance of the city gate, and present his case to the leaders of that city. They should then bring him into the city, give him a place to stay, and let him live there. and the slayer shall not die by the next of kin in blood until he stands before the congregation for judgment. and the slayer shall not be put to death by the avenger of blood, until he have stood before the congregation for judgment.
And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime. When the avenger of blood comes after him, they must not hand over to him the one who committed manslaughter, for he accidentally killed his fellow man without premeditation.
And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled. He must remain in that city until his case is decided by the assembly, and the high priest dies.  Then the one who committed manslaughter may return home to the city from which he escaped.”

Here are the cities of refuge by name:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Joshua 20:7, 8 (Tanakh) Joshua 20:7, 8 (NET) Joshua 20:7, 8 (NETS)

Joshua 20:7, 8 (English Elpenor)
And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah. So they selected Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. And he set apart Kades in Galilee in the mountain of Naphtali.  And Sychem in the mountain of Ephraim and the city of Arbok (this is Chebron) in the mountain of Ioudas. And Joshua separated Cades in Galilee in the mount Nephthali, and Sychem in the mount Ephraim, and the city of Arboc; this is Chebron, in the mountain of Juda.
And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh. Beyond the Jordan east of Jericho they selected Bezer in the wilderness on the plain belonging to the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan belonging to the tribe of Manasseh. And beyond the Jordan he gave Bosor in the wilderness on the plain, out of the tribe of Rouben, and Aremoth in Galaad, out of the tribe of Gad, and Gaulon in Basantis, out of the tribe of Manasse. And beyond Jordan he appointed Bosor in the wilderness in the plain out of the tribe of Ruben, and Aremoth in Galaad out of the tribe of Gad, and Gaulon in the country of Basan out of the tribe of Manasse.

A final statement of purpose follows:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Joshua 20:9 (Tanakh) Joshua 20:9 (NET) Joshua 20:9 (NETS)

Joshua 20:9 (English Elpenor)
These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation. These were the cities of refuge appointed for all the Israelites and for resident foreigners living among them. Anyone who accidentally killed someone could escape there and not be executed by the avenger of blood, at least until his case was reviewed by the assembly. These were the cities designated for the sons of Israel and for the guest abiding among them, that anyone who smites a soul involuntarily may flee there so that he will not die by the hand of the next of kin in blood until he stands before the congregation for judgment. These [were] the cities selected for the sons of Israel, and for the stranger abiding among them, that every one who smites a soul unintentionally should flee thither, that he should not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he should stand before the congregation for judgment.

The entry—AVENGER OF BLOOD—in the Jewish Encyclopedia online offers an evolutionary explanation of all this:

Among primitive peoples of low political development—such as the ancient Greeks, Germans, and Slavs, some North American tribes, the modern Sicilians, Corsicans, and Arabs—the clan or family had to assume the right to protect itself. One of the most important clan duties then was plainly for the nearest of kin to hunt down and carry out the death-penalty on a person that had slain a member of the sept or family. That this idea of family retribution—which even to-day is by no means extinct in some comparatively civilized communities—was also current among the ancient Hebrews may be seen from Gen. xxvii. 45, where the existence of the custom is clearly taken for granted….

Such a stern system, however, could not, of course, survive unmodified after the community had begun to advance from the purely savage state. Abuses of the privilege of blood-revenge must have soon become evident to the tribal chiefs, as one finds in Ex. xxi. 12 (compare Gen. ix. 6) that the commonly accepted formula that a life must be given for a life is modified by a careful legal distinction between wilful murder and accidental manslaughter….

The later codes develop at some length the very just distinction between wilful murder and accidental homicide (see Murder). Six Cities of Refuge were appointed for the purpose of affording an asylum to the homicide, where he might be secure from the hand of the avenger (Deut. xix. 12) until the elders of the community of which the accused was a member should decide whether the murder was intentional or accidental (Num. xxxv. 9-34; Deut. xix. 1-13; Josh. xx.).

God knew “the very just distinction between wilful murder and accidental homicide” when he warned every man on the planet of his own changed attitude and behavior toward murderers.  By “changed” I mean different than both his mercy shown to Cain after Abel’s murder (Genesis 4:8-16) and his own decision to never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done[2] in the flood.  Abraham didn’t want to involve his servant in the abduction of a young woman.  I’m sure God didn’t want to involve his servants in the shedding of innocent blood.

In other words, I’m fairly confident now that בָּֽאָדָ֖ם, translated by man (Tanakh, KJV) and by other humans (NET), was added to the Masoretic text sometime after the Septuagint was translated from Hebrew.  God warned Noah and his sons (Genesis 9:5, 6 NETS):

For truly, your blood of your lives I will seek out: from the hand of all the animals I will seek it out, and from the hand of a fellow human I will seek out the life of the human [Table].  As for the one who sheds a human’s blood, in return for this blood shall it be shed.  For by divine image I made humankind [Table].

There is a listing in Genesis 10 of several generations from Noah after the flood without any mention of a murder.  While I realize that no mention of murder is not quite the same thing as no murder for all of those generations, it prompts me to recognize that I don’t need any evolutionary speculation here.  All I need do is consult the human heart.  Once murder began to occur again would people trust God to avenge it?  How often do people trust God to do anything? much less revenge when it’s personal?

Paul wrote of the love that is the fulfillment of the law, an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, springing up to eternal life in all born from above through Jesus’ faithfulness (Romans 12:16-21 NET):

Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.  Do not be conceited.  Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people.  If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people.  Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends (ἀγαπητοί, a form of ἀγαπητός), but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.  Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head[3] [Table].  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Tables comparing Deuteronomy 19:10; Genesis 24:41; Joshua 20:1; 20:2; 20:3; 20:4; 20:5; 20:6; 20:7; 20:8 and 20:9 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Deuteronomy 19:10; Genesis 24:41; Joshua 20:1; 20:2; 20:3; 20:4; 20:5; 20:6; 20:7; 20:8 and 20:9 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.

Deuteronomy 19:10 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 19:10 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 19:10 (NET)
that innocent blood be not shed in the midst of thy land, which HaShem thy G-d giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee. That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee. You must not shed innocent blood in your land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, for that would make you guilty.

Deuteronomy 19:10 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 19:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ οὐκ ἐκχυθήσεται αἷμα ἀναίτιον ἐν τῇ γῇ σου ᾗ κύριος ὁ θεός σου δίδωσίν σοι ἐν κλήρῳ καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ἐν σοὶ αἵματι ἔνοχος καὶ οὐκ ἐκχυθήσεται αἷμα ἀναίτιον ἐν τῇ γῇ, ᾗ Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου δίδωσί σοι ἐν κλήρῳ, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ἐν σοὶ αἵματι ἔνοχος

Deuteronomy 19:10 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:10 (English Elpenor)
and innocent blood shall not be shed in your land that the Lord your God is giving you as an allotment, and there shall not be among you one guilty of blood. So innocent blood shall not be spilt in the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee to inherit, and there shall not be in thee one guilty of blood.

Genesis 24:41 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 24:41 (KJV)

Genesis 24:41 (NET)
then shalt thou be clear from my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give her not to thee, thou shalt be clear from my oath. Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath. You will be free from your oath if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you.  Then you will be free from your oath.’

Genesis 24:41 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 24:41 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τότε ἀθῷος ἔσῃ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρᾶς μου ἡνίκα γὰρ ἐὰν ἔλθῃς εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν φυλὴν καὶ μή σοι δῶσιν καὶ ἔσῃ ἀθῷος ἀπὸ τοῦ ὁρκισμοῦ μου τότε ἀθῷος ἔσῃ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρᾶς μου· ἡνίκα γὰρ ἐὰν ἔλθῃς εἰς τὴν φυλήν μου καὶ μή σοι δῶσι, καὶ ἔσῃ ἀθῷος ἀπὸ τοῦ ὁρκισμοῦ μου

Genesis 24:41 (NETS)

Genesis 24:41 (English Elpenor)
Then you will be free from my curse; indeed, when perchance you come to my tribe and they do not give her to you, then you will be free from my adjuration.’ Then shalt thou be clear from my curse, for whensoever thou shalt have come to my tribe, and they shall not give her to thee, then shalt thou be clear from my oath.

Joshua 20:1 (Tanakh)

 Joshua 20:1 (KJV)

Joshua 20:1 (NET)
The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying, The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying, The Lord instructed Joshua:

Joshua 20:1 (Septuagint BLB)

Joshua 20:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐλάλησεν κύριος τῷ Ἰησοῗ λέγων ΚΑΙ ἐλάλησε Κύριος τῷ ᾿Ιησοῖ λέγων

Joshua 20:1 (NETS)

Joshua 20:1 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord spoke to Iesous, saying, And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,

Joshua 20:2 (Tanakh)

 Joshua 20:2 (KJV)

Joshua 20:2 (NET)
Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: “Have the Israelites select the cities of refuge that I told you about through Moses.

Joshua 20:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Joshua 20:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
λάλησον τοῗς υἱοῗς Ισραηλ λέγων δότε τὰς πόλεις τῶν φυγαδευτηρίων ἃς εἶπα πρὸς ὑμᾶς διὰ Μωυσῆ λάλησον τοῖς υἱοῖς ᾿Ισραὴλ λέγων· δότε τὰς πόλεις τῶν φυγαδευτηρίων, ἃς εἶπα πρὸς ὑμᾶς διὰ Μωυσῆ

Joshua 20:2 (NETS)

Joshua 20:2 (English Elpenor)
“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘Give the cities of places of refuge of which I spoke to you through Moyses, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Assign the cities of refuge, [of] which I spoke to you by Moses.
Joshua 20:3 (Tanakh) Joshua 20:3 (KJV)

Joshua 20:3 (NET)
That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. Anyone who accidentally kills someone can escape there; these cities will be a place of asylum from the avenger of blood.

Joshua 20:3 (Septuagint BLB)

Joshua 20:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
φυγαδευτήριον τῷ φονευτῇ τῷ πατάξαντι ψυχὴν ἀκουσίως καὶ ἔσονται ὑμῗν αἱ πόλεις φυγαδευτήριον καὶ οὐκ ἀποθανεῗται ὁ φονευτὴς ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀγχιστεύοντος τὸ αἷμα ἕως ἂν καταστῇ ἐναντίον τῆς συναγωγῆς εἰς κρίσιν φυγαδευτήριον τῷ φονευτῇ τῷ πατάξαντι ψυχὴν ἀκουσίως, καὶ ἔσονται ὑμῖν αἱ πόλεις φυγαδευτήριον, καὶ οὐκ ἀποθανεῖται ὁ φονευτὴς ὑπό τοῦ ἀγχιστεύοντος τὸ αἷμα, ἕως ἂν καταστῇ ἐναντίον τῆς συναγωγῆς εἰς κρίσιν

Joshua 20:3 (NETS)

Joshua 20:3 (English Elpenor)
a place of refuge for the slayer who has smitten a soul involuntarily, and the cities shall be for you a place of refuge, and the slayer shall not die by the next of kin in blood until he stands before the congregation for judgment. [Even] a refuge to the slayer who has smitten a man unintentionally; and the cities shall be to you a refuge, and the slayer shall not be put to death by the avenger of blood, until he have stood before the congregation for judgment.

Joshua 20:4 (Tanakh)

 Joshua 20:4 (KJV)

Joshua 20:4 (NET)
And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them. And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them. The one who committed manslaughter should escape to one of these cities, stand at the entrance of the city gate, and present his case to the leaders of that city. They should then bring him into the city, give him a place to stay, and let him live there.

Joshua 20:4 (Septuagint BLB)

Joshua 20:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)

n/a

 Καὶ φεύξεται εἰς μίαν τῶν πόλεων τούτων καὶ στήσεται ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν τῆς πόλεως καὶ λαλήσει ἐν τοῖς ὠσὶ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων τῆς πόλεως ἐκείνης τοὺς λόγους τούτους καὶ ἐπιστρέψουσιν αὐτὸν ἡ συναγωγὴ πρὸς αὐτοὺς καὶ δώσουσιν αὐτῷ τόπον καὶ κατοικήσει μετ’ αὐτῶν

Joshua 20:4 (NETS)

Joshua 20:4 (English Elpenor)

n/a

n/a

Joshua 20:5 (Tanakh)

 Joshua 20:5 (KJV)

Joshua 20:5 (NET)
And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime. And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime. When the avenger of blood comes after him, they must not hand over to him the one who committed manslaughter, for he accidentally killed his fellow man without premeditation.

Joshua 20:5 (Septuagint BLB)

Joshua 20:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)

n/a

 καὶ ὅτι διώξεται ὁ ἀγχιστεύων τὸ αἷμα ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐ συγκλείσουσι τὸν φονεύσαντα ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι οὐκ εἰδὼς ἐπάταξε τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐ μισῶν αὐτὸς αὐτὸν ἀπ’ ἐχθὲς καὶ τῆς τρίτης

Joshua 20:5 (NETS)

Joshua 20:5 (English Elpenor)

n/a

n/a

Joshua 20:6 (Tanakh)

 Joshua 20:6 (KJV)

Joshua 20:6 (NET)
And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled. And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled. He must remain in that city until his case is decided by the assembly, and the high priest dies.  Then the one who committed manslaughter may return home to the city from which he escaped.”

Joshua 20:6 (Septuagint BLB)

Joshua 20:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)

n/a

 καὶ κατοικήσει ἐν τῇ πόλει ἐκείνῃ ἕως στῇ κατὰ πρόσωπον τῆς συναγωγῆς εἰς κρίσιν ἕως ἀποθάνῃ ὁ ἱερεὺς ὁ μέγας, ὃς ἔσται ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις· τότε ἐπιστρέψει ὁ φονεύσας καὶ ἐλεύσεται εἰς τὴν πόλιν αὐτοῦ καὶ πρὸς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ καὶ πρὸς πόλιν ὅθεν ἔφυγεν ἐκεῖθεν

Joshua 20:6 (NETS)

Joshua 20:6 (English Elpenor)

n/a

n/a

Joshua 20:7 (Tanakh)

 Joshua 20:7 (KJV)

Joshua 20:7 (NET)
And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah. And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah. So they selected Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

Joshua 20:7 (Septuagint BLB)

Joshua 20:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ διέστειλεν τὴν Καδης ἐν τῇ Γαλιλαίᾳ ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ Νεφθαλι καὶ Συχεμ ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ Εφραιμ καὶ τὴν πόλιν Αρβοκ αὕτη ἐστὶν Χεβρων ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ Ιουδα καὶ διέστειλε τὴν Κάδης ἐν τῇ Γαλιλαίᾳ ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ Νεφθαλὶ καὶ Συχὲμ ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ ᾿Εφραὶμ καὶ τὴν πόλιν ᾿Αρβὸκ (αὕτη ἐστὶ Χεβρών) ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ ᾿Ιούδα.

Joshua 20:7 (NETS)

Joshua 20:7 (English Elpenor)
And he set apart Kades in Galilee in the mountain of Naphtali.  And Sychem in the mountain of Ephraim and the city of Arbok (this is Chebron) in the mountain of Ioudas. And Joshua separated Cades in Galilee in the mount Nephthali, and Sychem in the mount Ephraim, and the city of Arboc; this is Chebron, in the mountain of Juda.

Joshua 20:8 (Tanakh)

 Joshua 20:8 (KJV)

Joshua 20:8 (NET)
And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh. And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh. Beyond the Jordan east of Jericho they selected Bezer in the wilderness on the plain belonging to the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan belonging to the tribe of Manasseh.

Joshua 20:8 (Septuagint BLB)

Joshua 20:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐν τῷ πέραν τοῦ Ιορδάνου ἔδωκεν Βοσορ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ ἀπὸ τῆς φυλῆς Ρουβην καὶ Αρημωθ ἐν τῇ Γαλααδ ἐκ τῆς φυλῆς Γαδ καὶ τὴν Γαυλων ἐν τῇ Βασανίτιδι ἐκ τῆς φυλῆς Μανασση καὶ ἐν τῷ πέραν τοῦ ᾿Ιορδάνου ἔδωκε Βοσὸρ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ ἀπὸ τῆς φυλῆς Ῥουβὴν καὶ ᾿Αρημὼθ ἐν τῇ Γαλαὰδ ἐκ τῆς φυλῆς Γάδ, καὶ τὴν Γαυλὼν ἐν τῇ Βασανίτιδι ἐκ τῆς φυλῆς Μανασσῆ

Joshua 20:8 (NETS)

Joshua 20:8 (English Elpenor)
And beyond the Jordan he gave Bosor in the wilderness on the plain, out of the tribe of Rouben, and Aremoth in Galaad, out of the tribe of Gad, and Gaulon in Basantis, out of the tribe of Manasse. And beyond Jordan he appointed Bosor in the wilderness in the plain out of the tribe of Ruben, and Aremoth in Galaad out of the tribe of Gad, and Gaulon in the country of Basan out of the tribe of Manasse.

Joshua 20:9 (Tanakh)

 Joshua 20:9 (KJV)

Joshua 20:9 (NET)
These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation. These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation. These were the cities of refuge appointed for all the Israelites and for resident foreigners living among them. Anyone who accidentally killed someone could escape there and not be executed by the avenger of blood, at least until his case was reviewed by the assembly.

Joshua 20:9 (Septuagint BLB)

Joshua 20:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
αὗται αἱ πόλεις αἱ ἐπίκλητοι τοῗς υἱοῗς Ισραηλ καὶ τῷ προσηλύτῳ τῷ προσκειμένῳ ἐν αὐτοῗς καταφυγεῗν ἐκεῗ παντὶ παίοντι ψυχὴν ἀκουσίως ἵνα μὴ ἀποθάνῃ ἐν χειρὶ τοῦ ἀγχιστεύοντος τὸ αἷμα ἕως ἂν καταστῇ ἔναντι τῆς συναγωγῆς εἰς κρίσιν αὗται αἱ πόλεις αἱ ἐπίκλητοι τοῖς υἱοῖς ᾿Ισραὴλ καὶ τῷ προσηλύτῳ τῷ προσκειμένῳ ἐν αὐτοῖς καταφυγεῖν ἐκεῖ παντὶ παίοντι ψυχὴν ἀκουσίως, ἵνα μὴ ἀποθάνῃ ἐν χειρὶ τοῦ ἀγχιστεύοντος τὸ αἷμα, ἕως ἂν καταστῇ ἔναντι τῆς συναγωγῆς εἰς κρίσιν.

Joshua 20:9 (NETS)

Joshua 20:9 (English Elpenor)
These were the cities designated for the sons of Israel and for the guest abiding among them, that anyone who smites a soul involuntarily may flee there so that he will not die by the hand of the next of kin in blood until he stands before the congregation for judgment. These [were] the cities selected for the sons of Israel, and for the stranger abiding among them, that every one who smites a soul unintentionally should flee thither, that he should not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he should stand before the congregation for judgment.

 

[1] Codex Alexandrinus

[2] Genesis 8:21b (NET) Table

[3] See a comparison of the Greek of this quotation with that of the the Septuagint.

Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 6

Posted on by

This is a continuation of a consideration of the differences between the Masoretic text and the Septuagint, a translation of the Hebrew before Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah.  The final clause of the first verse under consideration follows:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 53:10d (Tanakh) Table Isaiah 53:10d (NET) Isaiah 53:10d (NETS)

Isaiah 53:11a (Elpenor English)
and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand (בְּיָד֥וֹ). and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him (yāḏ, בידו). And the Lord wishes to take away (ἀφελεῗν) the Lord also is pleased to take away (ἀφελεῖν) from

I’ve been considering other negative examples[1] in Isaiah of forms of יָד (yāḏ) in the Masoretic text which were not translated literally with forms of χείρ in the Septuagint.  The first example here may be part of a Hebrew idiom that was decoded in Greek and English.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 56:5 (Tanakh) Isaiah 56:5 (NET) Isaiah 56:5 (NETS)

Isaiah 56:5 (Elpenor English)
Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place (יָ֣ד) and a name (וָשֵׁ֔ם) better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument (yad, יד) [Note 9: “a hand and a name (šēm, ושם).”] that will be better than sons and daughters.  I will set up a permanent monument for them that will remain. I will give them, in my house and within my wall, an esteemed (ὀνομαστὸν) place (τόπον), better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, and it shall not fail. I will give to them in my house and within my walls an honourable (ὀνομαστὸν) place (τόπον), better than sons and daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, and it shall not fail.

The translators of the NET understood יָ֣ד (yāḏ) וָשֵׁ֔ם (šēm), literally “a hand and a name,” as a monument.  The rabbis who translated the Septuagint also seem to have understand this phrase idiomatically, but they rendered it τόπον ὀνομαστὸν, an esteemed place (NETS), an honourable place (Elpenor).  The translators of the Tanakh didn’t recognize this phrase as an idiom but did translate יָ֣ד (yāḏ) a place.  The word יָ֣ד is found in the Isaiah scroll of the Dead Sea scrolls online.

I’ll follow this up with a nearby positive example even though I’m reasonably convinced that יָ֣ד (yāḏ) was in the Hebrew text the rabbis translated.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 56:2 (Tanakh) Isaiah 56:2 (NET) Isaiah 56:2 (NETS)

Isaiah 56:2 (Elpenor English)
Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand (יָד֖וֹ) from doing any evil. The people who do this will be blessed, the people who commit themselves to obedience, who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it, who refrain (yad, ידו) [Note 5: “who keeps his hand”] from doing anything that is wrong. Happy is the man who does these things, the person who holds them fast, who keeps the sabbaths so as not to profane them, and watches his hands (τὰς χεῗρας αὐτοῦ) so as not to do wrong. Blessed is the man that does these things, and the man that holds by them, and keeps the sabbaths from profaning them, and keeps his hands (τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ) from doing unrighteousness.

The next negative example casts all of this in a slightly different light.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 57:8 (Tanakh) Isaiah 57:8 (NET) Isaiah 57:8 (NETS)

Isaiah 57:8 (Elpenor English)
Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed (מִשְׁכָּבָ֖ם) where thou sawest (חָזִֽית) it (יָ֥ד). Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols.  Indeed, you depart from me and go up and invite them into bed with you.  You purchase favors from them; you love their bed (miškāḇ,  משכבם), and gaze (ḥāzâ, חזית) longingly on their naked bodies (yad, יד) [Note 24: “[at] a hand you gaze.”]. Behind the posts of your door you have set up your memorials.  You supposed that if you should desert me, you would obtain something greater.  You have loved those who lay with you (τοὺς κοιμωμένους μετὰ σοῦ) and behind the posts of thy door thou didst place thy memorials.  Didst thou think that if thou shouldest depart from me, thou wouldest gain? thou hast loved those that lay with thee (τοὺς κοιμωμένους μετὰ σοῦ);

A note (24) in the NET reads:

The term יָד (yad, “hand”) probably has the sense of “power, manhood” here, where it is used, as in Ugaritic [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugaritic_texts#Notable_texts], as a euphemism for the genitals. See HALOT 387 s.v. I יָד.

Given that the previous negative example was addressed to eunuchs, my first thought was to wonder what exactly the Lord offered them.  Eventually, this meaning suggested that the double entendre was intentional and could explain the use of יָ֣ד (yāḏ) rather than some form of מָקוֹם (māqôm):

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 66:1 (Tanakh) Isaiah 66:1 (NET) Isaiah 66:1 (NETS)

Isaiah 66:1 (Elpenor English)
Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place (מָק֖וֹם) of my rest? This is what the Lord says: “The heavens are my throne and the earth is my footstool.  Where then is the house you will build for me?  Where is the place (māqôm, מקום) where I will rest? Thus says the Lord: Heaven is my throne, and the earth is the footstool of my feet; what kind of house will you build for me, or of what kind will be the place (τόπος) of my rest. Thus saith the Lord, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: what kind of a house will ye build me? and of what kind [is to be] the place (τόπος) of my rest?

The closest Morfix came to this particular meaning was “projection, bump”:

יָד

arm; hand; forelimb; pointer (Torah reading); hand (card games); (football) hand foul; (talmudic) backrest; (biblical) projection, bump; (biblical) designated area; ביד – (biblical) by means of, through, via

יָד

memorial, shrine

Morfix does recognize both “designated area” and “memorial, shrine” as meanings of forms of יָד (yāḏ).  But to believe that יָ֥ד was original to the Hebrew the rabbis translated into Greek in Isaiah 57:8, one must accept that they treated מִשְׁכָּבָ֖ם (miškāḇ) יָ֥ד (yāḏ) חָזִֽית (ḥāzâ) like an idiom or euphemism: τοὺς κοιμωμένους μετὰ σοῦ, those who lay with you (NETS), those that lay with thee (Elpenor).

This is not an impossible leap.  After all, the translators of the Tanakh and KJV chose it for יָ֥ד (yāḏ).  Even the translators of the NET demurred from penises to their naked bodies.  The translators of the Tanakh on chabad.org stuck with place: you chose a place.  Rashi’s commentary reads: “you loved their couch: when you chose for yourself יָד, a place, to demonstrate to them your love.”  The word יָ֥ד (yāḏ) does occur in the Isaiah scroll of the Dead Sea scrolls.

The next negative example has me so deep in metaphors and euphemisms I’m about to lose my way.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 57:10 (Tanakh) Isaiah 57:10 (NET) Isaiah 57:10 (NETS)

Isaiah 57:10 (Elpenor English)
Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life (חַיַּ֚ת) of thine hand (יָדֵךְ֙); therefore thou wast not grieved. Because of the long distance you must travel, you get tired, but you do not say, ‘I give up.’  You get renewed (ḥay, חית) energy (yad, ידך) [Note 31: “the life of your hand you find”], so you don’t collapse. You grew weary with your long journeys, but you did not say, “I will cease to regain strength (ἐνισχύουσα).”  Because you have accomplished these things, therefore you did not entreat me. Thou hast wearied thyself with thy many ways; yet thou saidst not, I will cease to strengthen myself (ἐνισχύουσα): for thou has done these things; therefore thou has not supplicated me.

The translation on chabad.org sounds almost laudable: With the length of your way you became wearied; you did not say, “Despair.”  The power of your hand you found; therefore, you were not stricken ill.  Rashi’s commentary is practically necessary here to stay on point:

With the length of your way you became wearied: You engaged in your necessities, in the filling of your lust, to increase your wealth.

you did not say, “Despair.”: I will despair of these and I will no longer care to engage in them, but I will pay my attention to Torah and precepts.

The power of your hand you found: Heb. חַיַּת, the necessity of your hand you have found; you have succeeded in your deeds.

therefore, you were not stricken ill: Your heart was not stricken ill to worry about My service, to engage in the Torah. חַיַּת is an Arabic word, meaning necessity.

I want to take a moment to sort out the sexual metaphor here, which refers to Israel’s political/military alliances with pagan nations that, I think, entangled the people of Israel in the sexualized worship practices of those nations.  The political/military alliances affected a few elites; the sexualized worship practices ensnared many more.

I tend to hear the Tanakh (and KJV) from the standpoint of one desperately caught-up in sexual practices that God has forbidden with no apparent way, maybe no real desire, to extricate oneself from them: thou hast found the life of thine hand.  But if that is original to the Hebrew the rabbis translated in the Septuagint, they treated חַיַּ֚ת (ḥay) יָדֵךְ֙ (yāḏ) as an idiom, and then explained that idiom—ἐνισχύουσα (a form of ἐνισχύω), to regain strength (NETS), to strengthen myself (Elpenor)—to the detriment of the meaning of the text.  The NET translators did essentially the same thing: You get renewed energy.  The word יָדֵךְ֙ is found in the Isaiah scroll of the Dead Sea scrolls.

A nearby positive example follows:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 59:1 (Tanakh) Table Isaiah 59:1 (NET) Isaiah 59:1 (NETS)

Isaiah 59:1 (Elpenor English)
Behold, the LORD’s hand (יַד) is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: Look, the Lord’s hand (yad, יד) is not too weak to deliver you; his ear is not too deaf to hear you. Is not the Lord’s hand (ἡ χεὶρ κυρίου) strong to save?  Or has he made his ear heavy so as not to listen? Has the hand (ἡ χεὶρ) of the Lord (Κυρίου) no power to save? or has he made his ear heavy, so that he should not hear?

The next negative example conforms to one of the definitions on Morfix: “ביד – (biblical) by means of, through, via,”

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 64:7 (Tanakh) Isaiah 64:7 (NET) Isaiah 64:7 (NETS)

Isaiah 64:7 (Elpenor English)
And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because (בְּיַד) of our iniquities. No one invokes your name, or makes an effort to take hold of you.  For you have rejected us and handed us over to our own sins [Note 16: “and you caused us to melt in the hand (yad, ביד) of our sin”]. And there is no one who calls on your name or remembers to take hold of you, because you have turned your face away from us and have delivered us over because of (διὰ) our sins. And there is none that calls upon thy name, or that remembers to take hold on thee: for thou hast turned thy face away from us, and hast delivered us up because of (διὰ) our sins.

But here I can’t convince myself that I see בְּיַד in the Isaiah scroll of the Dead Sea scrolls.  A positive example follows just to keep the pattern going:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 64:8 (Tanakh) Isaiah 64:8 (NET) Isaiah 64:8 (NETS)

Isaiah 64:8 (Elpenor English)
But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand (יָֽדְךָ֖). Yet, Lord, you are our father.  We are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the product of your labor (yad, ידך) [Note 18: “of your hand”]. And now, O Lord, you are our Father, and we are clay; we are all the work of your hands (τῶν χειρῶν σου). And now, O Lord, thou art our Father, and we are clay, all [of us] the work of thine hands (τῶν χειρῶν σου).

The final negative example follows:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 65:22 (Tanakh) Isaiah 65:22 (NET) Isaiah 65:22 (NETS)

Isaiah 65:22 (Elpenor English)
They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands (יְדֵיהֶ֖ם). No longer will they build a house only to have another live in it, or plant a vineyard only to have another eat its fruit, for my people will live as long as trees, and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest what they have produced (yad, ידיהם) [Note 53: “the work of their hands”]. and they shall not build, and others inhabit; they shall not plant, and others eat, for according to the days of the tree of life shall the days of my people be; they shall make old the works of their labor (πόνων). 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 labours (πόνων).

The Greek word πόνων (a form of πόνος), translated of their labor (NETS) and of their labours (Elpenor) bears the trace of יְדֵיהֶ֖ם (yāḏ), as does what they have produced (NET).  But here again I’m not sure I see יְדֵיהֶ֖ם in the Isaiah scroll of the Dead Sea scrolls online.  It could be my eyes.  And I am relying very heavily on the accuracy of the verse highlights that pop up.

A final positive example follows, if for no other reason than to keep my own mind focused on what I have meant by the terms positive and negative examples.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 66:2 (Tanakh) Isaiah 66:2 (NET) Isaiah 66:2 (NETS)

Isaiah 66:2 (Elpenor English)
For all those things hath mine hand (יָדִ֣י) made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. My hand (yad, ידי) made them; that is how they came to be,” says the Lord.  “I show special favor to the humble and contrite, who respect what I have to say. For all these things my hand (ἡ χείρ μου) has made, and all these things are mine, says the Lord.  And to whom will I look but to the one who is humble and quiet and trembles at my words? For[2] all these things are mine, saith the Lord: and to whom will I have respect, but to the humble and meek, and the [man] that trembles [at] my words?

I’ll finish this particular consideration with some final thoughts in another essay.

Tables comparing Isaiah 56:5; 56:2; 57:8; 66:1; 57:10; 64:7; 64:8; 65:22 and 66:2 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing Isaiah 56:5; 56:2; 57:8; 66:1; 57:10; 64:7; 64:8; 65:22 and 66:2 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.

Isaiah 56:5 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 56:5 (KJV)

Isaiah 56:5 (NET)
Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument that will be better than sons and daughters.  I will set up a permanent monument for them that will remain.

Isaiah 56:5 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 56:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
δώσω αὐτοῗς ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ μου καὶ ἐν τῷ τείχει μου τόπον ὀνομαστὸν κρείττω υἱῶν καὶ θυγατέρων ὄνομα αἰώνιον δώσω αὐτοῗς καὶ οὐκ ἐκλείψει δώσω αὐτοῖς ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ μου καὶ ἐν τῷ τείχει μου τόπον ὀνομαστὸν κρείττω υἱῶν καὶ θυγατέρων, ὄνομα αἰώνιον δώσω αὐτοῖς καὶ οὐκ ἐκλείψει.

Isaiah 56:5 (NETS)

Isaiah 56:5 (English Elpenor)
I will give them, in my house and within my wall, an esteemed place, better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, and it shall not fail. I will give to them in my house and within my walls an honourable place, better than sons and daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, and it shall not fail.

Isaiah 56:2 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 56:2 (KJV)

Isaiah 56:2 (NET)
Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. The people who do this will be blessed, the people who commit themselves to obedience, who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it, who refrain from doing anything that is wrong.

Isaiah 56:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 56:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
μακάριος ἀνὴρ ὁ ποιῶν ταῦτα καὶ ἄνθρωπος ὁ ἀντεχόμενος αὐτῶν καὶ φυλάσσων τὰ σάββατα μὴ βεβηλοῦν καὶ διατηρῶν τὰς χεῗρας αὐτοῦ μὴ ποιεῗν ἀδίκημα μακάριος ἀνὴρ ὁ ποιῶν ταῦτα καὶ ἄνθρωπος ὁ ἀντεχόμενος αὐτῶν καὶ φυλάσσων τὰ σάββατα μὴ βεβηλοῦν καὶ διατηρῶν τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ μὴ ποιεῖν ἄδικα

Isaiah 56:2 (NETS)

Isaiah 56:2 (English Elpenor)
Happy is the man who does these things, the person who holds them fast, who keeps the sabbaths so as not to profane them, and watches his hands so as not to do wrong. Blessed is the man that does these things, and the man that holds by them, and keeps the sabbaths from profaning them, and keeps his hands from doing unrighteousness.

Isaiah 57:8 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 57:8 (KJV)

Isaiah 57:8 (NET)
Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it. Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it. Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols.  Indeed, you depart from me and go up and invite them into bed with you.  You purchase favors from them; you love their bed, and gaze longingly on their naked bodies.

Isaiah 57:8 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 57:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ὀπίσω τῶν σταθμῶν τῆς θύρας σου ἔθηκας μνημόσυνά σου ᾤου ὅτι ἐὰν ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἀποστῇς πλεῗόν τι ἕξεις ἠγάπησας τοὺς κοιμωμένους μετὰ σοῦ καὶ ὀπίσω τῶν σταθμῶν τῆς θύρας σου ἔθηκας μνημόσυνά σου· ᾤου ὅτι ἐὰν ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἀποστῇς, πλεῖόν τι ἕξεις· ἠγάπησας τοὺς κοιμωμένους μετὰ σοῦ

Isaiah 57:8 (NETS)

Isaiah 57:8 (English Elpenor)
Behind the posts of your door you have set up your memorials.  You supposed that if you should desert me, you would obtain something greater.  You have loved those who lay with you and behind the posts of thy door thou didst place thy memorials.  Didst thou think that if thou shouldest depart from me, thou wouldest gain? thou hast loved those that lay with thee;

Isaiah 66:1 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 66:1 (KJV)

Isaiah 66:1 (NET)
Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? This is what the Lord says: “The heavens are my throne and the earth is my footstool.  Where then is the house you will build for me?  Where is the place where I will rest?

Isaiah 66:1 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 66:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὕτως λέγει κύριος ὁ οὐρανός μοι θρόνος ἡ δὲ γῆ ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν μου ποῗον οἶκον οἰκοδομήσετέ μοι ἢ ποῗος τόπος τῆς καταπαύσεώς μου ΟΥΤΩΣ λέγει Κύριος· ὁ οὐρανός μοι θρόνος, ἡ δὲ γῆ ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν μου· ποῖον οἶκον οἰκοδομήσετέ μοι; καὶ ποῖος τόπος τῆς καταπαύσεώς μου

Isaiah 66:1 (NETS)

Isaiah 66:1 (English Elpenor)
Thus says the Lord: Heaven is my throne, and the earth is the footstool of my feet; what kind of house will you build for me, or of what kind will be the place of my rest. Thus saith the Lord, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: what kind of a house will ye build me? and of what kind [is to be] the place of my rest?

Isaiah 57:10 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 57:10 (KJV)

Isaiah 57:10 (NET)
Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved. Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved. Because of the long distance you must travel, you get tired, but you do not say, ‘I give up.’  You get renewed energy, so you don’t collapse.

Isaiah 57:10 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 57:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ταῗς πολυοδίαις σου ἐκοπίασας καὶ οὐκ εἶπας παύσομαι ἐνισχύουσα ὅτι ἔπραξας ταῦτα διὰ τοῦτο οὐ κατεδεήθης μου ταῖς πολιοδίαις σου ἐκοπίασας καὶ οὐκ εἶπας· παύσομαι ἐνισχύουσα, ὅτι ἔπραξας ταῦτα, διὰ τοῦτο οὐ κατεδεήθης μου σύ[3]

Isaiah 57:10 (NETS)

Isaiah 57:10 (English Elpenor)
You grew weary with your long journeys, but you did not say, “I will cease to regain strength.”  Because you have accomplished these things, therefore you did not entreat me. Thou hast wearied thyself with thy many ways; yet thou saidst not, I will cease to strengthen myself: for thou has done these things; therefore thou has not supplicated me.

Isaiah 64:7 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 64:7 (KJV)

Isaiah 64:7 (NET)
And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. No one invokes your name, or makes an effort to take hold of you.  For you have rejected us and handed us over to our own sins.

Isaiah 64:7 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 64:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ ἐπικαλούμενος τὸ ὄνομά σου καὶ ὁ μνησθεὶς ἀντιλαβέσθαι σου ὅτι ἀπέστρεψας τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἀφ᾽ ἡμῶν καὶ παρέδωκας ἡμᾶς διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ ἐπικαλούμενος τὸ ὄνομά σου καὶ ὁ μνησθεὶς ἀντιλαβέσθαι σου· ὅτι ἀπέστρεψας τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἀφ᾿ ἡμῶν καὶ παρέδωκας ἡμᾶς διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν

Isaiah 64:7 (NETS)

Isaiah 64:7 (English Elpenor)
And there is no one who calls on your name or remembers to take hold of you, because you have turned your face away from us and have delivered us over because of our sins. And there is none that calls upon thy name, or that remembers to take hold on thee: for thou hast turned thy face away from us, and hast delivered us up because of our sins.

Isaiah 64:8 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 64:8 (KJV)

Isaiah 64:8 (NET)
But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. Yet, Lord, you are our father.  We are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the product of your labor.
Isaiah 64:8 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 64:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ νῦν κύριε πατὴρ ἡμῶν σύ ἡμεῗς δὲ πηλὸς ἔργον τῶν χειρῶν σου πάντες καὶ νῦν, Κύριε, πατὴρ ἡμῶν σύ, ἡμεῖς δὲ πηλός, ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν σου πάντες

Isaiah 64:8 (NETS)

Isaiah 64:8 (English Elpenor)
And now, O Lord, you are our Father, and we are clay; we are all the work of your hands. And now, O Lord, thou art our Father, and we are clay, all [of us] the work of thine hands.

Isaiah 65:22 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 65:22 (KJV)

Isaiah 65:22 (NET)
They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. No longer will they build a house only to have another live in it, or plant a vineyard only to have another eat its fruit, for my people will live as long as trees, and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest what they have produced.

Isaiah 65:22 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 65:22 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ οὐ μὴ οἰκοδομήσουσιν καὶ ἄλλοι ἐνοικήσουσιν καὶ οὐ μὴ φυτεύσουσιν καὶ ἄλλοι φάγονται κατὰ γὰρ τὰς ἡμέρας τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς ἔσονται αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ λαοῦ μου τὰ ἔργα τῶν πόνων αὐτῶν παλαιώσουσιν καὶ οὐ μὴ οἰκοδομήσουσι καὶ ἄλλοι ἐνοικήσουσι, καὶ οὐ μὴ φυτεύσουσι καὶ ἄλλοι φάγονται· κατὰ γὰρ τὰς ἡμέρας τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς ἔσονται αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ λαοῦ μου· τὰ γὰρ ἔργα τῶν πόνων αὐτῶν παλαιώσουσιν

Isaiah 65:22 (NETS)

Isaiah 65:22 (English Elpenor)
and they shall not build, and others inhabit; they shall not plant, and others eat, for according to the days of the tree of life shall the days of my people be; they shall make old the works of their labor. 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 labours.

Isaiah 66:2 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 66:2 (KJV)

Isaiah 66:2 (NET)
For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. My hand made them; that is how they came to be,” says the Lord.  “I show special favor to the humble and contrite, who respect what I have to say.

Isaiah 66:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 66:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα ἐποίησεν ἡ χείρ μου καὶ ἔστιν ἐμὰ πάντα ταῦτα λέγει κύριος καὶ ἐπὶ τίνα ἐπιβλέψω ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἐπὶ τὸν ταπεινὸν καὶ ἡσύχιον καὶ τρέμοντα τοὺς λόγους μου πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα ἐποίησεν ἡ χείρ μου, καὶ ἔστιν ἐμὰ πάντα ταῦτα, λέγει Κύριος· καὶ ἐπὶ τίνα ἐπιβλέψω, ἀλλ᾿ ἢ ἐπὶ τὸν ταπεινὸν καὶ ἡσύχιον καὶ τρέμοντα τοὺς λόγους μου

Isaiah 66:2 (NETS)

Isaiah 66:2 (English Elpenor)
For all these things my hand has made, and all these things are mine, says the Lord.  And to whom will I look but to the one who is humble and quiet and trembles at my words? For all these things are mine, saith the Lord: and to whom will I have respect, but to the humble and meek, and the [man] that trembles [at] my words?

[1] Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 3; Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 4; Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 5

[2] The first clause πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα ἐποίησεν ἡ χείρ μου was clearly in the Greek of the Elpenor Septuagint, but it was not translated into English.

[3] Verse 11 in the BLB Septuagint begins with σύ τίνα where it begins with τίνα in the Elpenor Septuagint.

A Monotonous Cycle Revisited, Part 6

Posted on by

I intend to consider another description of cities of refuge to fortify the conviction that Genesis 9:5, 6 was God’s description of his own attitude and behavior toward murderers post-flood.  He knew his own heart, his own judgments.  There was no need for the detail and specificity found later in the law when that duty and authority was actually delegated to human beings.  But first I want to consider something gleaned from the previous essay.

If I killed someone unintentionally in ancient Israel, fled to a city of refuge, was found not guilty of murder by the community and lived in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest, I would have kept the law.  Likewise, if I murdered someone intentionally in ancient Israel, fled to a city of refuge, was found guilty of murder by the community, was handed over to the avenger of blood and executed, I would have kept the law.  But would anyone declare me righteous before God?  Or have I simply been brought to the knowledge of sin through the law?

Paul wrote (Romans 3:19, 20 NET):

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God.  For no one is declared righteous (δικαιωθήσεται, a form of δικαιόω) before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

A note (22) in the NET claimed that no one is declared righteous before him was an allusion to Psalm 143:2.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Psalm 143:2 (Tanakh) Psalm 143:2 (NET) Psalm 142:2 (NETS)

Psalm 142:2 (English Elpenor)
And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified (יִצְדַּ֖ק). Do not sit in judgment on your servant, for no one alive is innocent (ṣāḏaq, יצדק) before you. And do not enter into judgment with your slave, because no one living will be counted righteous (δικαιωθήσεται) before you. And enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight shall no [man] living be justified (δικαιωθήσεται).

My purpose in this thread is to understand the Old Testament as Jesus understood it: Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’[1]  He seemed legitimately surprised by Nicodemus’ ignorance: Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things?[2]  John described what it meant to be born from above (John 1:11-13):

[Jesus] came to what was his own, but his own people did not receive him.  But to all who have received him—those who believe in his name—he has given the right to become God’s children—children not born by human parents or by human desire or a husband’s decision, but by God.

Paul described some of the results of being born from above (Romans 8:5-14 NET):

God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh.  By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled (πληρωθῇ, a form of πληρόω) in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit.  For the outlook of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace, because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so.  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  You, however, are not in the flesh but[3] in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.  Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him [Table].  But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is your life because of righteousness.  Moreover if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you [Table].

So then, brothers and sisters, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh (for if you live according to the flesh, you will die), but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.

And Paul continued (Galatians 5:14-24 NET):

For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”  However, if you continually bite and devour one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another [Table].  But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.  For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want [Table].  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things.  I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God [Table]!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,[4] and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Love does no wrong to a neighbor.  Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law:[5] You shall not murder.[6]  It was easy to see how God’s own love springing up to eternal life from his Holy Spirit residing in me could keep me from intentional killing.  How the fruit of his Spirit restrained unintentional killing took a bit longer to comprehend.  God’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control springing up to eternal life also impacts how I work. When I am led by the Holy Spirit I am much less likely to shove someone impatiently or toss something without looking to see where it might land.

I began then to think of OSHA regulations as an attempt to legislate the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  My religious mind did the same thing when I turned Paul’s definition of love (ἀγάπη) into rules I tried to obey in my own strength, before I believed that the fruit of the Spirit is the righteousness given by God (Romans 3:21-24 NET).

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (although it is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed—namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe.  For there is no distinction [Table], for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  But they are justified (δικαιούμενοι, another form of δικαιόω) freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets, Jesus said.  I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill (πληρῶσαι, another form of πληρόω) them.[7]

The next description of cities of refuge is found in Deuteronomy.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Deuteronomy 19:1-3 (Tanakh) Deuteronomy 19:1-3 (NET) Deuteronomy 19:1-3 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:1-3 (English Elpenor)
When HaShem thy G-d shall cut off the nations, whose land HaShem thy G-d giveth thee, and thou dost succeed them, and dwell in their cities, and in their houses; When the Lord your God destroys the nations whose land he is about to give you and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and houses, Now if the Lord your God annihilates the nations whose land your God is giving you and you dispossess them and live in their cities and in their houses, And when the Lord thy God shall have destroyed the nations, which God gives thee, [even] the land, and ye shall inherit them, and dwell in their cities, and in their houses,
thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which HaShem thy GOD giveth thee to possess it. you must set apart for yourselves three cities in the middle of your land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession. you shall set apart three cities for yourself in the  midst of your land that the Lord your God is giving you. thou shalt separate for thyself three cities in the midst of thy land, which the Lord thy God gives thee.
Thou shalt prepare (תָּכִ֣ין) thee the way, and divide the borders of thy land, which HaShem thy G-d causeth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee thither. You shall build (kûn, תכין) a roadway and divide into thirds the whole extent of your land that the Lord your God is providing as your inheritance; anyone who kills another person should flee to the closest of these cities. Calculate (στόχασαί) for yourself the distance, and you shall divide into three regions your land that the Lord your God apportions you, and there shall be a refuge there for every murderer. Take a survey (στόχασαί) of thy way, and thou shalt divide the coasts of thy land, which the Lord thy God apportions to thee, into three parts, and there shall be there a refuge for every manslayer.

It is interesting to note that though the NET translators understood תָּכִ֣ין (kûn) as a road building project, the rabbis who translated the Septuagint understood it as στόχασαί (a form of στοχάζω), a calculation of distance or a survey.  Six cities of refuge were still the plan but were predicated on Israel’s faith and obedience.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Deuteronomy 19:8, 9 (Tanakh) Deuteronomy 19:8, 9 (NET) Deuteronomy 19:8, 9 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:8, 9 (English Elpenor)
And if HaShem thy G-d enlarge thy border, as He hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which He promised to give unto thy fathers– If the Lord your God enlarges your borders as he promised your ancestors and gives you all the land he pledged to them, But if the Lord your God enlarges your borders, as he swore to your fathers, and he gives you all the land that he said he would give your fathers, And if the Lord shall enlarge thy borders, as he sware to thy fathers, and the Lord shall give to thee all the land which he said he would give to thy fathers;
if thou shalt keep all this commandment to do it, which I command thee this day, to love HaShem thy G-d, and to walk ever in His ways—then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three; and then you are careful to observe all these commandments I am giving you today (namely, to love the Lord your God and to always walk in his ways), then you must add three more cities to these three. —if you give heed to do all these commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God and to walk in all his ways all the days—then you shall add for yourself three more cities to these three, if thou shalt hearken to do all these commands, which I charge thee this day, to love the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways continually; thou shalt add for thyself yet three cities to these three.

The law specified again who the cities of refuge were for:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Deuteronomy 19:4-7 (Tanakh) Deuteronomy 19:4-7 (NET) Deuteronomy 19:4-7 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:4-7 (English Elpenor)
And this is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee thither and live: whoso killeth his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in time past; Now this is the law pertaining to one who flees there in order to live, if he has accidentally killed another without hating him at the time of the accident. Now this is the ordinance for a murderer who flees there and shall live: He who strikes his neighbor unintentionally and did not hate him before yesterday or before the third day, And this shall be the ordinance of the manslayer, who shall flee thither, and shall live, whosoever shall have smitten his neighbour ignorantly, whereas he hated him not in times past.
as when a man goeth into the forest with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of these cities and live; Suppose he goes with someone else to the forest to cut wood and when he raises the ax to cut the tree, the ax head flies loose from the handle and strikes his fellow worker so hard that he dies.  The person responsible may then flee to one of these cities to save himself. and he who goes into the forest with his neighbor to gather wood and his hand is knocked aside when he cuts the wood with the ax, and the iron slips from the wood and happens to strike his neighbor, and he dies, this one shall flee to one of these cities and live, And whosoever shall enter with his neighbour into the thicket, to gather wood, if the hand of him that cuts wood with the axe should be violently shaken, and the axe head falling off from the handle should light on his neighbour, and he should die, he shall flee to one of these cities, and live.
lest the avenger of blood pursue the manslayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and smite him mortally; whereas he was not deserving of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past. Otherwise the blood avenger will chase after the killer in the heat of his anger, eventually overtake him, [NET note 14: “and overtake him, for the road is long”] and kill him, though this is not a capital case since he did not hate him at the time of the accident. lest the avenger of blood pursue after the murderer, because his heart is hot, and overtake him—if the road was rather long—and he strike his soul, and he dies, and to this one there is not a death sentence, since he did not hate him before yesterday and before the third day. Lest the avenger of blood pursue after the slayer, because his heart is hot, and overtake him, if the way be too long, and slay him, though there is to this man no sentence of death, because he hated him not in time past.
Wherefore I command thee, saying: ‘Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.’ Therefore, I am commanding you to set apart for yourselves three cities. Therefore I command you this thing, saying: You shall set apart three cities for yourself. Therefore I charge thee, saying, Thou shalt separate for thyself three cities.

Likewise, the law specified who should not be allowed to remain in a city of refuge:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Deuteronomy 19:11-13 (Tanakh) Deuteronomy 19:11-13 (NET) Deuteronomy 19:11-13 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:11-13 (English Elpenor)
But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die; and he flee into one of these cities; However, suppose a person hates someone else and stalks him, attacks him, kills him, and then flees to one of these cities. But if there be a person hating his neighbor and he lies in wait for him and attacks him and strikes his life and he dies and flees into one of these cities, But if there should be in thee a man hating his neighbour, and he should lay wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him, that he die, and he should flee to one of these cities,
then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. The elders of his own city must send for him and remove him from there to deliver him over to the blood avenger to die. then the council of elders of his city shall send and take him from there and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, and he shall die. then shall the elders of his city send, and take him thence, and they shall deliver him into the hands of the avengers of blood, and he shall die.
Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with thee. You must not pity him, but purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well with you. Your eye shall not be sparing toward him, and you shall cleanse the innocent blood from Israel, and it shall be well with you. Thine eye shall not spare him; so shalt thou purge innocent blood from Israel, and it shall be well with thee.

I’ll finish this example and consider one more example in another essay.

A comparison/contrast of the Greek of Romans 3:20a and Psalm 143:2b (142:2b) in the Septuagint follows:

Romans 3:20a (NET Parallel Greek) Psalm 143:2b (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 142:2b (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐ δικαιωθήσεται πᾶσα σὰρξ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ οὐ δικαιωθήσεται ἐνώπιόν σου πᾶς ζῶν οὐ δικαιωθήσεται ἐνώπιόν σου πᾶς ζῶν

Romans 3:20a (NET)

 Psalm 142:2b (NETS)

Psalm 142:2b (English Elpenor)
no one is declared righteous before him no one living will be counted righteous before you. in thy sight shall no [man] living be justified.

Tables comparing Psalm 143:2; Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 19:1; 19:2; 19:3; 19:8; 19:9; 19:4; 19:5; 19:6; 19:7; 19:11; 19:12 and 19:13 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Psalm 143:2 (142:2); Exodus 20:13 (20:15); Deuteronomy 19:1; 19:2; 19:3; 19:8; 19:19; 19:4; 19:5; 19:6; 19:7; 19:11; 19:12 and 19:13 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and a table comparing Galatians 5:23 in the NET and KJV follow.

Psalm 143:2 (Tanakh)

 Psalm 143:2 (KJV)

Psalm 143:2 (NET)
And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. Do not sit in judgment on your servant, for no one alive is innocent before you.

Psalm 143:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 142:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ μὴ εἰσέλθῃς εἰς κρίσιν μετὰ τοῦ δούλου σου ὅτι οὐ δικαιωθήσεται ἐνώπιόν σου πᾶς ζῶν καὶ μὴ εἰσέλθῃς εἰς κρίσιν μετὰ τοῦ δούλου σου, ὅτι οὐ δικαιωθήσεται ἐνώπιόν σου πᾶς ζῶν

Psalm 142:2 (NETS)

Psalm 142:2 (English Elpenor)
And do not enter into judgment with your slave, because no one living will be counted righteous before you. And enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight shall no [man] living be justified.

Exodus 20:13 (Tanakh)

 Exodus 20:13 (KJV)

Exodus 20:13 (NET)
Thou shalt not murder; Thou shalt not commit adultery; Thou shalt not steal; Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not kill. “You shall not murder.

Exodus 20:13 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 20:15 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐ φονεύσεις οὐ φονεύσεις

Exodus 20:15 (NETS)

Exodus 20:15 (English Elpenor)
You shall not murder. Thou shalt not kill.

Deuteronomy 19:1 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 19:1 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 19:1 (NET)
When HaShem thy G-d shall cut off the nations, whose land HaShem thy G-d giveth thee, and thou dost succeed them, and dwell in their cities, and in their houses; When the LORD thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses; When the Lord your God destroys the nations whose land he is about to give you and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and houses,

Deuteronomy 19:1 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 19:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐὰν δὲ ἀφανίσῃ κύριος ὁ θεός σου τὰ ἔθνη ἃ ὁ θεός σου δίδωσίν σοι τὴν γῆν αὐτῶν καὶ κατακληρονομήσητε αὐτοὺς καὶ κατοικήσητε ἐν ταῗς πόλεσιν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν τοῗς οἴκοις αὐτῶν ΕΑΝ δὲ ἀφανίσῃ Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου τὰ ἔθνη, ἃ ὁ Θεὸς δίδωσί σοι τὴν γῆν αὐτῶν, καὶ κατακληρονομήσητε αὐτοὺς καὶ κατοικήσετε ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν τοῖς οἴκοις αὐτῶν

Deuteronomy 19:1 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:1 (English Elpenor)
Now if the Lord your God annihilates the nations whose land your God is giving you and you dispossess them and live in their cities and in their houses, And when the Lord thy God shall have destroyed the nations, which God gives thee, [even] the land, and ye shall inherit them, and dwell in their cities, and in their houses,

Deuteronomy 19:2 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 19:2 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 19:2 (NET)
thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which HaShem thy GOD giveth thee to possess it. Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it. you must set apart for yourselves three cities in the middle of your land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession.

Deuteronomy 19:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 19:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τρεῗς πόλεις διαστελεῗς σεαυτῷ ἐν μέσῳ τῆς γῆς σου ἧς κύριος ὁ θεός σου δίδωσίν σοι τρεῖς πόλεις διαστελεῖς σεαυτῷ ἐν μέσῳ τῆς γῆς σου, ἧς Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου δίδωσί σοι

Deuteronomy 19:2 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:2 (English Elpenor)
you shall set apart three cities for yourself in the  midst of your land that the Lord your God is giving you. thou shalt separate for thyself three cities in the midst of thy land, which the Lord thy God gives thee.

Deuteronomy 19:3 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 19:3 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 19:3 (NET)
Thou shalt prepare thee the way, and divide the borders of thy land, which HaShem thy G-d causeth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee thither. Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither. You shall build a roadway and divide into thirds the whole extent of your land that the Lord your God is providing as your inheritance; anyone who kills another person should flee to the closest of these cities.

Deuteronomy 19:3 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 19:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
στόχασαί σοι τὴν ὁδὸν καὶ τριμεριεῗς τὰ ὅρια τῆς γῆς σου ἣν καταμερίζει σοι κύριος ὁ θεός σου καὶ ἔσται καταφυγὴ ἐκεῗ παντὶ φονευτῇ στόχασαί σοι τὴν ὁδὸν καὶ τριμεριεῖς τὰ ὅρια τῆς γῆς σου, ἣν καταμερίζει σοι Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου, καὶ ἔσται ἐκεῖ καταφυγὴ παντὶ φονευτῇ

Deuteronomy 19:3 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:3 (English Elpenor)
Calculate for yourself the distance, and you shall divide into three regions your land that the Lord your God apportions you, and there shall be a refuge there for every murderer. Take a survey of thy way, and thou shalt divide the coasts of thy land, which the Lord thy God apportions to thee, into three parts, and there shall be there a refuge for every manslayer.

Deuteronomy 19:8 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 19:8 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 19:8 (NET)
And if HaShem thy G-d enlarge thy border, as He hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which He promised to give unto thy fathers– And if Jehovah thy God enlarge thy border, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers; If the Lord your God enlarges your borders as he promised your ancestors and gives you all the land he pledged to them,

Deuteronomy 19:8 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 19:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐὰν δὲ ἐμπλατύνῃ κύριος ὁ θεός σου τὰ ὅριά σου ὃν τρόπον ὤμοσεν τοῗς πατράσιν σου καὶ δῷ σοι κύριος πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἣν εἶπεν δοῦναι τοῗς πατράσιν σου ἐὰν δὲ ἐμπλατύνῃ Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου τὰ ὅριά σου, ὃν τρόπον ὤμοσε τοῖς πατράσι σου, καὶ δῷ σοι Κύριος πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν, ἣν εἶπε δοῦναι τοῖς πατράσι σου,

Deuteronomy 19:8 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:8 (English Elpenor)
But if the Lord your God enlarges your borders, as he swore to your fathers, and he gives you all the land that he said he would give your fathers, And if the Lord shall enlarge thy borders, as he sware to thy fathers, and the Lord shall give to thee all the land which he said he would give to thy fathers;

Deuteronomy 19:9 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 19:9 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 19:9 (NET)
if thou shalt keep all this commandment to do it, which I command thee this day, to love HaShem thy G-d, and to walk ever in His ways–then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three; If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three: and then you are careful to observe all these commandments I am giving you today (namely, to love the Lord your God and to always walk in his ways), then you must add three more cities to these three.

Deuteronomy 19:9 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 19:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐὰν ἀκούσῃς ποιεῗν πάσας τὰς ἐντολὰς ταύτας ἃς ἐγὼ ἐντέλλομαί σοι σήμερον ἀγαπᾶν κύριον τὸν θεόν σου πορεύεσθαι ἐν πάσαις ταῗς ὁδοῗς αὐτοῦ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας καὶ προσθήσεις σεαυτῷ ἔτι τρεῗς πόλεις πρὸς τὰς τρεῗς ταύτας ἐὰν ἀκούσῃς ποιεῖν πάσας τὰς ἐντολὰς ταύτας, ἃς ἐγὼ ἐντέλλομαί σοι σήμερον, ἀγαπᾶν Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου, πορεύεσθαι ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας, προσθήσεις σεαυτῷ ἔτι τρεῖς πόλεις πρὸς τὰς τρεῖς ταύτας,

Deuteronomy 19:9 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:9 (English Elpenor)
—if you give heed to do all these commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God and to walk in all his ways all the days—then you shall add for yourself three more cities to these three, if thou shalt hearken to do all these commands, which I charge thee this day, to love the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways continually; thou shalt add for thyself yet three cities to these three.

Deuteronomy 19:4 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 19:4 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 19:4 (NET)
And this is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee thither and live: whoso killeth his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in time past; And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past; Now this is the law pertaining to one who flees there in order to live, if he has accidentally killed another without hating him at the time of the accident.

Deuteronomy 19:4 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 19:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τοῦτο δὲ ἔσται τὸ πρόσταγμα τοῦ φονευτοῦ ὃς ἂν φύγῃ ἐκεῗ καὶ ζήσεται ὃς ἂν πατάξῃ τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ ἀκουσίως καὶ οὗτος οὐ μισῶν αὐτὸν πρὸ τῆς ἐχθὲς καὶ πρὸ τῆς τρίτης τοῦτο δὲ ἔσται τὸ πρόσταγμα τοῦ φονευτοῦ, ὃς ἂν φύγῃ ἐκεῖ καὶ ζήσεται· ὃς ἂν πατάξῃ τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ οὐκ εἰδὼς καὶ οὗτος οὐ μισῶν αὐτὸν πρὸ τῆς χθὲς καὶ τρίτης

Deuteronomy 19:4 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:4 (English Elpenor)
Now this is the ordinance for a murderer who flees there and shall live: He who strikes his neighbor unintentionally and did not hate him before yesterday or before the third day, And this shall be the ordinance of the manslayer, who shall flee thither, and shall live, whosoever shall have smitten his neighbour ignorantly, whereas he hated him not in times past.

Deuteronomy 19:5 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 19:5 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 19:5 (NET)
as when a man goeth into the forest with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of these cities and live; As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live: Suppose he goes with someone else to the forest to cut wood and when he raises the ax to cut the tree, the ax head flies loose from the handle and strikes his fellow worker so hard that he dies.  The person responsible may then flee to one of these cities to save himself.

Deuteronomy 19:5 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 19:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ὃς ἂν εἰσέλθῃ μετὰ τοῦ πλησίον εἰς τὸν δρυμὸν συναγαγεῗν ξύλα καὶ ἐκκρουσθῇ ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ τῇ ἀξίνῃ κόπτοντος τὸ ξύλον καὶ ἐκπεσὸν τὸ σιδήριον ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου τύχῃ τοῦ πλησίον καὶ ἀποθάνῃ οὗτος καταφεύξεται εἰς μίαν τῶν πόλεων τούτων καὶ ζήσεται καὶ ὃς ἐὰν εἰσέλθῃ μετὰ τοῦ πλησίον εἰς τὸν δρυμὸν συναγαγεῖν ξύλα, καὶ ἐκκρουσθῇ ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ τῇ ἀξίνῃ κόπτοντος τὸ ξύλον, καὶ ἐκπεσὸν τὸ σιδήριον ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου τύχῃ τοῦ πλησίον, καὶ ἀποθάνῃ, οὗτος καταφεύξεται εἰς μίαν τῶν πόλεων τούτων καὶ ζήσεται

Deuteronomy 19:5 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:5 (English Elpenor)
and he who goes into the forest with his neighbor to gather wood and his hand is knocked aside when he cuts the wood with the ax, and the iron slips from the wood and happens to strike his neighbor, and he dies, this one shall flee to one of these cities and live, And whosoever shall enter with his neighbour into the thicket, to gather wood, if the hand of him that cuts wood with the axe should be violently shaken, and the axe head falling off from the handle should light on his neighbour, and he should die, he shall flee to one of these cities, and live.

Deuteronomy 19:6 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 19:6 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 19:6 (NET)
lest the avenger of blood pursue the manslayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and smite him mortally; whereas he was not deserving of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past. Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past. Otherwise the blood avenger will chase after the killer in the heat of his anger, eventually overtake him, and kill him, though this is not a capital case since he did not hate him at the time of the accident.

Deuteronomy 19:6 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 19:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἵνα μὴ διώξας ὁ ἀγχιστεύων τοῦ αἵματος ὀπίσω τοῦ φονεύσαντος ὅτι παρατεθέρμανται τῇ καρδίᾳ καὶ καταλάβῃ αὐτόν ἐὰν μακροτέρα ᾖ ἡ ὁδός καὶ πατάξῃ αὐτοῦ τὴν ψυχήν καὶ ἀποθάνῃ καὶ τούτῳ οὐκ ἔστιν κρίσις θανάτου ὅτι οὐ μισῶν ἦν αὐτὸν πρὸ τῆς ἐχθὲς καὶ πρὸ τῆς τρίτης ἵνα μὴ διώξας ὁ ἀγχιστεύων τοῦ αἵματος ὀπίσω τοῦ φονεύσαντος, ὅτι παρατεθέρμανται τῇ καρδίᾳ, καὶ καταλάβῃ αὐτόν, ἐὰν μακροτέρα ᾖ ἡ ὁδός, καὶ πατάξῃ αὐτοῦ ψυχήν, καὶ ἀποθάνῃ, καὶ τούτῳ οὐκ ἔστι κρίσις θανάτου, ὅτι οὐ μισῶν ἦν αὐτὸν πρὸ τῆς χθές, οὐδὲ πρὸ τῆς τρίτης

Deuteronomy 19:6 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:6 (English Elpenor)
lest the avenger of blood pursue after the murderer, because his heart is hot, and overtake him—if the road was rather long—and he strike his soul, and he dies, and to this one there is not a death sentence, since he did not hate him before yesterday and before the third day. Lest the avenger of blood pursue after the slayer, because his heart is hot, and overtake him, if the way be too long, and slay him, though there is to this man no sentence of death, because he hated him not in time past.

Deuteronomy 19:7 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 19:7 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 19:7 (NET)
Wherefore I command thee, saying: ‘Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.’ Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee. Therefore, I am commanding you to set apart for yourselves three cities.

Deuteronomy 19:7 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 19:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
διὰ τοῦτο ἐγώ σοι ἐντέλλομαι τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο λέγων τρεῗς πόλεις διαστελεῗς σεαυτῷ διὰ τοῦτο ἐγώ σοι ἐντέλλομαι τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο λέγων· τρεῖς πόλεις διαστελεῖς σεαυτῷ

Deuteronomy 19:7 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:7 (English Elpenor)
Therefore I command you this thing, saying: You shall set apart three cities for yourself. Therefore I charge thee, saying, Thou shalt separate for thyself three cities.

Deuteronomy 19:11 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 19:11 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 19:11 (NET)
But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die; and he flee into one of these cities; But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities: However, suppose a person hates someone else and stalks him, attacks him, kills him, and then flees to one of these cities.

Deuteronomy 19:11 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 19:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐὰν δὲ γένηται ἄνθρωπος μισῶν τὸν πλησίον καὶ ἐνεδρεύσῃ αὐτὸν καὶ ἐπαναστῇ ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν καὶ πατάξῃ αὐτοῦ ψυχήν καὶ ἀπεθάνῃ καὶ φύγῃ εἰς μίαν τῶν πόλεων τούτων ἐὰ[8] δὲ γένηται ἐν σοὶ ἄνθρωπος μισῶν τὸν πλησίον καὶ ἐνεδρεύσῃ αὐτὸν καὶ ἐπαναστῇ ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν καὶ πατάξῃ αὐτοῦ ψυχήν, καὶ ἀποθάνῃ, καὶ φύγῃ εἰς μίαν τῶν πόλεων τούτων

Deuteronomy 19:11 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:11 (English Elpenor)
But if there be a person hating his neighbor and he lies in wait for him and attacks him and strikes his life and he dies and flees into one of these cities, But if there should be in thee a man hating his neighbour, and he should lay wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him, that he die, and he should flee to one of these cities,

Deuteronomy 19:12 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 19:12 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 19:12 (NET)
then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. The elders of his own city must send for him and remove him from there to deliver him over to the blood avenger to die.

Deuteronomy 19:12 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 19:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἀποστελοῦσιν ἡ γερουσία τῆς πόλεως αὐτοῦ καὶ λήμψονται αὐτὸν ἐκεῗθεν καὶ παραδώσουσιν αὐτὸν εἰς χεῗρας τῷ ἀγχιστεύοντι τοῦ αἵματος καὶ ἀποθανεῗται καὶ ἀποστελοῦσιν ἡ γερουσία τῆς πόλεως αὐτοῦ καὶ λήψονται αὐτὸν ἐκεῖθεν καὶ παραδώσουσιν αὐτὸν εἰς χεῖρας τῶν ἀγχιστευόντων τοῦ αἵματος, καὶ ἀποθανεῖται

Deuteronomy 19:12 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:12 (English Elpenor)
then the council of elders of his city shall send and take him from there and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, and he shall die. then shall the elders of his city send, and take him thence, and they shall deliver him into the hands of the avengers of blood, and he shall die.

Deuteronomy 19:13 (Tanakh)

 Deuteronomy 19:13 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 19:13 (NET)
Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with thee. Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee. You must not pity him, but purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well with you.

Deuteronomy 19:13 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 19:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐ φείσεται ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ καὶ καθαριεῗς τὸ αἷμα τὸ ἀναίτιον ἐξ Ισραηλ καὶ εὖ σοι ἔσται οὐ φείσεται ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ καὶ καθαριεῖς τὸ αἷμα τὸ ἀναίτιον ἐξ ᾿Ισραήλ, καὶ εὖ σοι ἔσται

Deuteronomy 19:13 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 19:13 (English Elpenor)
Your eye shall not be sparing toward him, and you shall cleanse the innocent blood from Israel, and it shall be well with you. Thine eye shall not spare him; so shalt thou purge innocent blood from Israel, and it shall be well with thee.

Galatians 5:23 (NET)

Galatians 5:23 (KJV)
gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
πραΰτης ἐγκράτεια· κατὰ τῶν τοιούτων οὐκ ἔστιν νόμος πραοτης εγκρατεια κατα των τοιουτων ουκ εστιν νομος πραοτης εγκρατεια κατα των τοιουτων ουκ εστιν νομος

[1] John 3:7 (NET)

[2] John 3:10 (NET) Table

[3] The NET parallel Greek text had ἀλλὰ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus, Byzantine Majority Text and NA28 had ἀλλ’.

[4] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had πραΰτης here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had πραοτης (KJV: Meekness).

[5] Romans 13:10 (NET)

[6] Exodus 20:13 (NET)

[7] Matthew 5:17 (NET)

[8] This may be a typo in the Elpenor Septuagint.

Psalm 22, Part 8

Posted on by

This is a continuing look into Psalm 22 as the music in Jesus’ heart as He endured the cross.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Psalm 22:14c (Tanakh) Table Psalm 22:14c (NET) Psalm 21:15c (NETS)

Psalm 21:15c (Elpenor English)
my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My heart is like wax; it melts away inside me. my heart became like wax melting within my belly; my heart in the midst of my belly is become like melting wax.

Since the Masoretic text and Septuagint agree here, I want to spend some time considering what might have been on Jesus’ heart (Hebrew: לִ֖בִּי; Greek: ἡ καρδία μου).  Here are the first occurrences of לִבּ֔וֹ (lēḇ) in the Masoretic text.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Genesis 6:5, 6 (Tanakh) Genesis 6:5, 6 (NET) Genesis 6:5, 6 (NETS)

Genesis 6:5, 6 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart (לִבּ֔וֹ) was only evil continually. But the Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth.  Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds (lēḇ, לבו) was only evil all the time. And when the Lord God saw that the wicked deeds of humans were multiplied on the earth and that all think attentively in their hearts (τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ) on evil things all the days, And the Lord God, having seen that the wicked actions of men were multiplied upon the earth, and that every one in his heart (τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ) was intently brooding over evil continually,
And it repented HaShem that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart (לִבּֽוֹ) [Table]. The Lord regretted that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended (lēḇ, לבו) [Note 25: “and he was grieved to his heart”]. then God considered that he had made humankind on the earth, and he thought it over (διενοήθη). then God laid it to heart[1] that he had made man upon the earth, and he pondered [it] deeply (διενοήθη).

The end result of this repentance, regret, consideration and pondering was the flood (Genesis 6:9-8:20).  But the flood didn’t change the evil thoughts of human hearts.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Genesis 8:21 (Tanakh) Genesis 8:21 (NET) Genesis 8:21 (NETS)

Genesis 8:21 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem smelled the sweet savour; and HaShem said in His heart (לִבּ֗וֹ): ‘I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart (לֵ֧ב) is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done [Table]. And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma and said to himself (lēḇ, לבו) [Note 33: “in his heart”], “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, even though the inclination of their minds (lēḇ, לב) is evil from childhood on.  I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done. And the Lord God smelled an odor of fragrance, and the Lord God, when he had given it thought (διανοηθείς), said, “I will not proceed hereafter to curse the earth because of the deeds of humans, for the mind (διάνοια) of humankind applies itself attentively to evil things from youth; so I will not proceed hereafter to smite all living flesh, as I have done. And the Lord God smelled a smell of sweetness, and the Lord God having considered (διανοηθείς), said, I will not any more curse the earth, because of the works of men, because the imagination (διάνοια) of man is intently bent upon evil things from his youth, I will not therefore any more smite all living flesh as I have done.

Jesus continued this teaching about the human heart (Matthew 15:18, 19; Mark 7:20-23 NET):

But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart (καρδίας, a form of καρδία), and these things defile a person.  For out of the heart (καρδίας) come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

What comes out of a person defiles him.  For from within, out of the human heart (καρδίας), come evil ideas, sexual immorality,[2] theft,[3] murder, adultery,[4] greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly.  All these evils come from within and defile a person.

The first occurrences of לִבּ֔וֹ (lēḇ) in Genesis from the Masoretic text had me thinking this essay would be a contrast between the heart of human beings and the heart of God.  As I made or studied the tables for these verses, however, I noticed that the rabbis who translated the Septuagint veered away from a mechanical translation (if a form of לֵב [lēḇ] was actually in the Hebrew they translated) whenever God was the subject.  I took it to heart.  It was a human heart, THE human heart, that melted like wax on the cross.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Psalm 68:2 (Tanakh) Psalm 68:2 (NET) Psalm 67:3 (NETS)

Psalm 67:3 (English Elpenor)
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax (דּ֖וֹנַג) melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. As smoke is driven away by the wind, so you drive them away.  As wax (dônāḡ, דונג) melts before fire, so the wicked are destroyed before God. As smoke vanishes, let them vanish; as wax (κηρὸς) melts from before fire, so may sinners perish from before God. As smoke vanishes, let them vanish: as wax (κηρὸς) melts before the fire, so let the sinners perish from before God.

David’s prayer got a very literal answer in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark when NAZIs, the contemporary archetype of evil, and their French collaborator literally melted like wax before the ark of the covenant.  But NAZIs and their collaborators are not the only ones with evil human hearts, the source of evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly.

Do not be amazed that I said to you, Jesus said, ‘You must all be born from above.’[5]  Paul wrote of Jesus: For he hath made him…sin for us, who knew no sin…[6]  I don’t believe the phrase τὸν μὴ γνόντα ἁμαρτίαν (who knew no sin) means that Jesus lacked an evil human heart.  Quite the contrary, the Word became flesh,[7] John testified of Jesus.  Jesus stated explicitly how He knew (γνόντα, a form of γινώσκω) no sin: the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.[8]

Jesus is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,[9] the beginning, the firstborn from the dead:[10] Before his crucifixion He was a human being with an evil human heart so led by the Holy Spirit, so filled with God’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control that He knew no sin.  But the Word become flesh did not need anyone to testify about man, for he knew (ἐγίνωσκεν, another form of γινώσκω) what was in man.[11]  And God hath made him…sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made[12] the righteousness of God in him.[13]

The writer of Hebrews, who I think scribed what Jesus taught during the forty days between his resurrection and ascension, was fairly explicit about Jesus’ humanity (Hebrews 2:14-17; 4:15 NET):

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in their humanity, so that through death he could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death.  For surely his concern (ἐπιλαμβάνεται, a form of ἐπιλαμβάνω) is not for angels, but he is concerned (ἐπιλαμβάνεται, a form of ἐπιλαμβάνω) for Abraham’s descendants.  Therefore he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every respect (κατὰ πάντα), so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.

For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted[14] in every way just as we are (καθ᾿ ὁμοιότητα), yet without sin.

Through faith in Him we, too, receive his Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:21, 22 NET):

But it is God who establishes us together with you in Christ and who anointed us, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts (ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν) as a down payment.

Paul prayed for the inner strengthening each of us needs to be a dwelling place of God (Ephesians 3:14-19 NET):

I kneel before the Father [Table], from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.  I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he will grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person [Table], that Christ will dwell in your hearts (ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν) through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love, you will be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth [Table], and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you will be filled up to all the fullness of God.

I can think of no better way to end this essay than to conclude with Paul’s own benediction (Ephesians 3:20, 21 NET):

Now to him who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond[15] all that we ask or think, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.  Amen [Table].

Tables comparing Genesis 6:5 and Psalm 68:2 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing Genesis 6:5 and Psalm 68:2 (67:3) in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Mark 7:21, 22; Hebrews 4:15 and Ephesians 3:20 in the NET and KJV follow.

Genesis 6:5 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 6:5 (KJV)

Genesis 6:5 (NET)
And HaShem saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. But the Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth.  Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time.

Genesis 6:5 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 6:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἰδὼν δὲ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὅτι ἐπληθύνθησαν αἱ κακίαι τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ πᾶς τις διανοεῗται ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ ἐπιμελῶς ἐπὶ τὰ πονηρὰ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ᾿Ιδὼν δὲ Κύριος ὁ Θεός, ὅτι ἐπληθύνθησαν αἱ κακίαι τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ πᾶς τις διανοεῖται ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ ἐπιμελῶς ἐπὶ τὰ πονηρὰ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας,

Genesis 6:5 (NETS)

Genesis 6:5 (English Elpenor)
And when the Lord God saw that the wicked deeds of humans were multiplied on the earth and that all think attentively in their hearts on evil things all the days, And the Lord God, having seen that the wicked actions of men were multiplied upon the earth, and that every one in his heart was intently brooding over evil continually,

Psalm 68:2 (Tanakh)

 Psalm 68:2 (KJV)

Psalm 68:2 (NET)
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. As smoke is driven away by the wind, so you drive them away.  As wax melts before fire, so the wicked are destroyed before God.

Psalm 68:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 67:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὡς ἐκλείπει καπνός ἐκλιπέτωσαν ὡς τήκεται κηρὸς ἀπὸ προσώπου πυρός οὕτως ἀπόλοιντο οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ ὡς ἐκλείπει καπνός, ἐκλιπέτωσαν· ὡς τήκεται κηρὸς ἀπὸ προσώπου πυρός, οὕτως ἀπολοῦνται οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ

Psalm 67:3 (NETS)

Psalm 67:3 (English Elpenor)
As smoke vanishes, let them vanish; as wax melts from before fire, so may sinners perish from before God. As smoke vanishes, let them vanish: as wax melts before the fire, so let the sinners perish from before God.

Mark 7:21, 22 (NET)

Mark 7:21, 22 (KJV)
For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder, For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἔσωθεν γὰρ ἐκ τῆς καρδίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων οἱ διαλογισμοὶ οἱ κακοὶ ἐκπορεύονται, πορνεῖαι, κλοπαί, φόνοι εσωθεν γαρ εκ της καρδιας των ανθρωπων οι διαλογισμοι οι κακοι εκπορευονται μοιχειαι πορνειαι φονοι εσωθεν γαρ εκ της καρδιας των ανθρωπων οι διαλογισμοι οι κακοι εκπορευονται μοιχειαι πορνειαι φονοι
adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly. Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
μοιχεῖαι, πλεονεξίαι, πονηρίαι, δόλος, ἀσέλγεια, ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός, βλασφημία, ὑπερηφανία, ἀφροσύνη κλοπαι πλεονεξιαι πονηριαι δολος ασελγεια οφθαλμος πονηρος βλασφημια υπερηφανια αφροσυνη κλοπαι πλεονεξιαι πονηριαι δολος ασελγεια οφθαλμος πονηρος βλασφημια υπερηφανια αφροσυνη

Hebrews 4:15 (NET)

Hebrews 4:15 (KJV)
For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
οὐ γὰρ ἔχομεν ἀρχιερέα μὴ δυνάμενον συμπαθῆσαι ταῖς ἀσθενείαις ἡμῶν, πεπειρασμένον δὲ κατὰ πάντα καθ᾿ ὁμοιότητα χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας ου γαρ εχομεν αρχιερεα μη δυναμενον συμπαθησαι ταις ασθενειαις ημων πεπειραμενον δε κατα παντα καθ ομοιοτητα χωρις αμαρτιας ου γαρ εχομεν αρχιερεα μη δυναμενον συμπαθησαι ταις ασθενειαις ημων πεπειραμενον δε κατα παντα καθ ομοιοτητα χωρις αμαρτιας

Ephesians 3:20 (NET)

Ephesians 3:20 (KJV)
Now to him who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think, Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Τῷ δὲ δυναμένῳ ὑπὲρ πάντα ποιῆσαι ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ ὧν αἰτούμεθα ἢ νοοῦμεν κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν τὴν ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ἡμῖν τω δε δυναμενω υπερ παντα ποιησαι υπερ εκπερισσου ων αιτουμεθα η νοουμεν κατα την δυναμιν την ενεργουμενην εν ημιν τω δε δυναμενω υπερ παντα ποιησαι υπερ εκπερισσου ων αιτουμεθα η νοουμεν κατα την δυναμιν την ενεργουμενην εν ημιν

[1] The phrase laid it to heart is an English translation of the Greek word ἐνεθυμήθη (a form of ἐνθυμέομαι).

[2] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μοιχειαι (KJV: adulteries) preceding sexual immorality (KJV: fornications).  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[3] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had κλοπαί here.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[4] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had μοιχειαι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had κλοπαί (KJV: Thefts).

[5] John 3:7 (NET)

[6] 2 Corinthians 5:21a (KJV) Table I deliberately dropped the words to be added by the translators.  They are not in the Greek and they add nothing to my understanding.

[7] John 1:14a (NET)

[8] John 14:10b (KJV) Table

[9] Hebrews 12:2b (NET) Table

[10] Colossians 1:18b (NET)

[11] John 2:25 (NET)

[12] The Sephanus Textus Receptus had γινωμεθα here, where the NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had γενώμεθα (NET: would become).

[13] 2 Corinthians 5:21 (KJV) Table

[14] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had πεπειρασμένον here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had πεπειραμενον (KJV: was…tempted).

[15] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had υπερ εκπερισσου (KJV: abundantly above).

A Monotonous Cycle Revisited, Part 5

Posted on by

After the flood God spoke to Noah and his sons.[1]

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Genesis 9:5, 6 (Tanakh) Genesis 9:5, 6 (NET) Genesis 9:5, 6 (NETS)

Genesis 9:5, 6 (English Elpenor)
And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it; and at the hand of man, even at the hand of every man’s brother, will I require the life of man. For your lifeblood I will surely exact punishment, from every living creature I will exact punishment.  From each person I will exact punishment for the life of the individual since the man was his relative. For truly, your blood of your lives I will seek out: from the hand of all the animals I will seek it out, and from the hand of a fellow human I will seek out the life of the human. For your blood of your lives will I require at the hand of all wild beasts, and I will require the life of man at the hand of [his] brother man.
Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man (בָּֽאָדָ֖ם) shall his blood be shed; for in the image of G-d made He man. “Whoever sheds human blood, by other humans (‘āḏām, באדם) must his blood be shed; for in God’s image God has made humankind. As for the one who sheds a human’s blood, in return for this blood shall it be shed.  For by divine image I made humankind. He that sheds man’s blood, instead of that blood shall his own be shed, for in the image of God I made man.

Rashi’s commentary reads:

through man shall his blood be shed: If there are witnesses, you kill him. Why? “For in the image of God, etc.”

In another essay, reading only from the Masoretic text, I called this “a righteous expectation of the law God gave Noah and his sons after the flood.”  I wrote, “God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהים) spoke one law to address violence” in another.  And in another, even after checking the Septuagint but not yet giving it the weight I do today, I used this “law” to justify killing the Canaanites: “In this sense then Israel’s army became a limited cleansing flood, as opposed to the flood yehôvâh promised not to unleash again to destroy the earth.”

The Septuagint doesn’t include the phrase by man (בָּֽאָדָ֖ם), or by other humans (NET).  It is entirely possible that אֱלֹהִ֔ים (‘ĕlōhîm) described his own attitude and actions toward murderers henceforward rather than delegating that authority to human beings through a law, regardless if human beings understood his words as open season on those who killed their loved ones.

He said: your blood of your lives will I require (אֶדְר֔שׁ), I will surely exact punishment[2] (NET), I will seek out (ἐκζητήσω), will I require it (אֶדְרְשֶׁ֑נּוּ), I will exact punishment (NET), I will seek it out (ἐκζητήσω), will I require (English Elpenor), will I require (אֶדְר֖שׁ) the life of man (Tanakh), I will exact punishment (NET), I will seek out (ἐκζητήσω), and I will require (English Elpenor).

At any rate it finally got through to me how I may be blaspheming God and the law by calling this brief passage law.  When this issue is finally addressed in the law it is described in detail and in the context of cities of refuge:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Numbers 35:9-11 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:9-11 (NET) Numbers 35:9-11 (NETS)

Numbers 35:9-11 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem spoke unto Moses, saying: Then the Lord spoke to Moses: And the Lord spoke to Moyses, saying: And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
‘Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you cross over the Jordan River into the land of Canaan, Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: As for you, you are crossing the Jordan into the land of Chanaan, Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Ye are to cross over Jordan into the land of Chanaan.
then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer that killeth any person through error may flee thither. you must then designate some towns as towns of refuge for you, to which a person who has killed someone unintentionally may flee. and you shall set aside for yourselves cities; they shall be places of refuge for you for the murderer to flee there, everyone who strikes a soul unintentionally. And ye shall appoint to yourselves cities: they shall be to you cities of refuge for the slayer to flee to, every one who has killed another unintentionally.

As one might expect, the legal concept through error (בִּשְׁגָגָֽה) or unintentionally (ἀκουσίως) was spelled out in some detail in the law:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Numbers 35:22-25 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:22-25 (NET) Numbers 35:22-25 (NETS)

Numbers 35:22-25 (English Elpenor)
But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or hurled upon him any thing without lying in wait, [Table] “But if he strikes him suddenly, without enmity, or throws anything at him unintentionally But if he pushes him suddenly, not out of enmity, or throws at him any object not from an ambush But if he should thrust him suddenly, not through enmity, or cast any thing upon him, not from an ambuscade,
or with any stone, whereby a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, so that he died, and he was not his enemy, neither sought his harm; [Table] or with any stone large enough that a man could die, without seeing him, and throws it at him, and he dies, even though he was not his enemy nor sought his harm, or with any stone—by which he may die—unknowingly, and it falls upon him and he dies but he is not his enemy nor was he seeking to harm him, or [smite him] with any stone, whereby a man may die, unawares, and it should fall upon him, and he should die, but he was not his enemy, nor sought to hurt him;
then the congregation shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances; [Table] then the community must judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these decisions. then the congregation shall judge between the striker and between the one doing the relative’s blood duty, according to these judgments, then the assembly shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood, according to these judgments.
and the congregation shall deliver the manslayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, whither he was fled; and he shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil [Table]. The community must deliver the slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the community must restore him to the town of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the consecrated oil. and the congregation shall rescue the one that committed murder from the one doing the relative’s blood duty.  And the congregation shall restore him to the city of his place of refuge, where he fled for refuge.  And he shall live there until the great priest dies, him whom they anointed with the holy oil. And the congregation shall rescue the slayer from the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, whither he fled for refuge; and he shall dwell there till the death of the high-priest, whom they anointed with the holy oil.

This was contrasted to the conditions that called for a guilty verdict and the death penalty:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint

Numbers 35:16-21 (Tanakh)

 Numbers 35:16-21 (NET) Numbers 35:16-21 (NETS)

Numbers 35:16-21 (English Elpenor)
But if he smote him with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. “‘But if he hits someone with an iron tool so that he dies, he is a murderer.  The murderer must surely be put to death. But if he strikes him with an iron instrument and he dies, he is a murderer; let the murderer be put to death by death. And if he should smite him with an iron instrument, and the man should die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death.
And if he smote him with a stone in the hand (יָד֩), whereby a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. If he strikes him by throwing (yāḏ, יד) a stone large enough that he could die, and he dies, he is a murderer.  The murderer must surely be put to death. Now if he strikes him with a stone out of hand (ἐκ χειρός)—by which he may die—and he dies, he is a murderer; let the murderer be put to death by death. And if he should smite him with a stone [thrown] from his hand (ἐκ χειρός), whereby a man may die, and he [thus] die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death.
Or if he smote him with a weapon of wood in the hand (יָד֩), whereby a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. Or if he strikes him with a wooden hand (yāḏ, יד) weapon so that he could die, and he dies, he is a murderer.  The murderer must surely be put to death. Now if he strikes him with a wooden instrument out of hand (ἐκ χειρός)—from which he may die—and he dies, he is a murderer; let the murderer be put to death by death. And if he should smite him with an instrument of wood from his hand (ἐκ χειρός), whereby he may die, and he [thus] die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death.
The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meeteth him, he shall put him to death. The avenger of blood himself must kill the murderer; when he meets him, he must kill him. As for the one doing the relative’s blood duty, he shall kill the one that committed murder; when he meets up with him, he shall kill him. The avenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: whensoever he shall meet him he shall slay him.
And if he thrust him of hatred, or hurled at him any thing, lying in wait, so that he died; [Table] “‘But if he strikes him out of hatred or throws something at him intentionally so that he dies, Now if out of enmity he pushes him and hurls at him any object from an ambush and he dies And if he should thrust him through enmity, or cast any thing upon him from an ambuscade, and the man should die,
or in enmity smote him with his hand, that he died; he that smote him shall surely be put to death: he is a murderer; the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meeteth him [Table]. or with enmity he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must surely be put to death, for he is a murderer.  The avenger of blood must kill the murderer when he meets him. or out of rage he struck him with the hand and he dies, let the one who struck be put to death by death—he is a murderer; let the murderer be put to death by death; the one doing the relative’s blood duty shall strike the one that committed murder when he meets him. or if he have smitten him with his hand through anger, and the man should die, let the man that smote him be put to death by all means, he is a murderer: let the murderer by all means be put to death: the avenger of blood shall slay the murderer when he meets him.

The law continued to clarify the meaning of the cities of refuge:

Masoretic Text Septuagint
Numbers 35:12-15 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:12-15 (NET) Numbers 35:12-15 (NETS) Numbers 35:12-15 (English Elpenor)
And the cities shall be unto you for refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation for judgment. And they must stand as your towns of refuge from the avenger in order that the killer may not die until he has stood trial before the community. And the cities shall be for you places of refuge from one doing the relative’s blood duty, and the one that commits murder will not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment. And the cities shall be to you places of refuge from the avenger of blood, and the slayer shall not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.
And as to the cities which ye shall give, there shall be for you six cities of refuge. These towns that you must give shall be your six towns for refuge. And the cities that you give as the six cities shall be places of refuge for you. And the cities which ye shall assign, [even] the six cities, shall be places of refuge for you.
Ye shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan; they shall be cities of refuge. “‘You must give three towns on this side of the Jordan, and you must give three towns in the land of Canaan; they must be towns of refuge. Three cities you shall give beyond the Jordan, and three cities you shall give in the land of Chanaan. Ye shall assign three cities on the other side of Jordan, and ye shall assign three cities in the land of Chanaan.
For the children of Israel, and for the stranger and for the settler among them, shall these six cities be for refuge, that every one that killeth any person through error may flee thither. These six towns will be places of refuge for the Israelites, and for the resident foreigner, and for the settler among them, so that anyone who kills any person accidentally may flee there. They shall be an asylum for the sons of Israel and for the guest and for the resident alien among you.  These cities shall be a place of refuge for everyone to flee there when he strikes a soul unintentionally. It shall be a place of refuge for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for him that sojourns among you; these cities shall be for a place of refuge, for every one to flee thither who has killed a man unintentionally.

While the city of refuge was not exactly house arrest, it was an enforceable exile for an indeterminate period of time.

Masoretic Text Septuagint
Numbers 35:26-28 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:26-28 (NET) Numbers 35:26-28 (NETS) Numbers 35:26-28 (English Elpenor)
But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge, whither he fleeth; But if the slayer at any time goes outside the boundary of the town to which he had fled, But if he that commits murder by an exit leaves the bounds of the city, there where he fled for refuge, But if the slayer should in any wise go out beyond the bounds of the city whither he fled for refuge,
and the avenger of blood find him without the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood slay the manslayer; there shall be no bloodguiltiness for him; and the avenger of blood finds him outside the borders of the town of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the slayer, he will not be guilty of blood, and the one doing the relative’s blood duty finds him outside the bounds of the city of his refuge, and the one doing the relative’s blood duty kills the one that committed murder, he is not liable. and the avenger of blood should find him without the bounds of the city of his refuge, and the avenger of blood should kill the slayer, he is not guilty.
because he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest; but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return into the land of his possession. because the slayer should have stayed in his town of refuge until the death of the high priest.  But after the death of the high priest, the slayer may return to the land of his possessions. For let him live in the city of refuge until the great priest dies, and after the great priest dies, he that committed murder shall return to the land of his possession. For he ought to have remained in the city of refuge till the high-priest died; and after the death of the high-priest the slayer shall return to the land of his possession.

Some sentencing guidelines followed:

Masoretic Text Septuagint
Numbers 35:29-32 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:29-32 (NET) Numbers 35:29-32 (NETS) Numbers 35:29-32 (English Elpenor)
And these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. So these things must be a statutory ordinance for you throughout your generations, in all the places where you live. And these things shall be for you a requirement of judgment for your generations in all your settlements. And these things shall be to you for an ordinance of judgment throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be slain at the mouth of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify against any person that he die. “‘Whoever kills any person, the murderer must be put to death by the testimony of witnesses, but one witness cannot testify against any person to cause him to be put to death. Every one, when he strikes a soul, through witnesses you shall kill the murderer, and one witness shall not bear witness against a soul that he should die. Whoever kills a man, thou shalt slay the murderer on the testimony of witnesses; and one witness shall not testify against a soul that he should die.
Moreover ye shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer, that is guilty of death; but he shall surely be put to death. Moreover, you must not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death; he must surely be put to death. And you shall not receive ransom for a soul from the one that committed murder, liable to be killed, for he shall be put to death by death. And ye shall not accept ransoms for life from a murderer who is worthy of death, for he shall be surely put to death.
And ye shall take no ransom for him that is fled to his city of refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. And you must not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a town of refuge, to allow him to return home and live on his own land before the death of the high priest. And you shall not receive ransom to flee to a city of places of refuge to live again on the land until the great priest dies. Ye shall not accept a ransom [to excuse] his fleeing to the city of refuge, so that he should again dwell in the land, until the death of the high-priest.

The rationale for all of this legislation followed:

Masoretic Text Septuagint
Numbers 35:33, 34 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:33, 34 (NET) Numbers 35:33, 34 (NETS) Numbers 35:33, 34 (English Elpenor)
So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are; for blood, it polluteth the land; and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. “‘You must not pollute the land where you live, for blood defiles the land, and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed there, except by the blood of the person who shed it. And you shall not kill by murder the land on which you live.  For this blood kills the land by murder, and the land shall not be atoned for from the blood that was shed upon it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. So shall ye not pollute with murder the land in which ye dwell; for this blood pollutes the land, and the land shall not be purged from the blood shed upon it, but by the blood of him that shed it.
And thou shalt not defile the land which ye inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I HaShem dwell in the midst of the children of Israel.’ Therefore do not defile the land that you will inhabit, in which I live, for I the Lord live among the Israelites.’” And you shall not defile the land that you live upon, on which I will encamp among you, for I am the Lord, encamping in the midst of the sons of Israel. And ye shall not defile the land whereon ye dwell, on which I dwell in the midst of you; for I am the Lord dwelling in the midst of the children of Israel.

This rationale is very consistent with the Lord’s word to Cain after he had murdered Abel:

Masoretic Text Septuagint
Genesis 4:10b-12a (Tanakh) Genesis 4:10b-12a (NET) Genesis 4:10b-12a (NETS) Genesis 4:10b-12a (English Elpenor)
the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto Me from the ground [Table]. The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the earth! the voice of thy brother’s blood cries to me out of the ground.
And now cursed art thou from the ground, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand [Table]. So now you are banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. And now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened wide its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. And now thou [art] cursed from the earth which has opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand.
When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; [Table] When you try to cultivate the ground it will no longer yield its best for you. For you will till the earth, and it will not continue to yield its strength to you; When thou tillest the earth, then it shall not continue to give its strength to thee:

What is not consistent is the killing spree God inaugurated in Genesis 9:6 in the Masoretic text only.  It is so inconsistent it can serve as evidence that the phrase by man (בָּֽאָדָ֖ם), or by other humans (NET), was added erroneously to the original text.  I’ll pick this up in another essay.

Tables comparing Genesis 9:5; 9:6; Numbers 35:9; 35:10; 35:11; 35:16; 35:17; 35:18; 35:19; 35:12; 35:13; 35:14; 35:15; 35:26; 35:27; 35:28; 35:29; 35:30; 35:31; 35:32; 35:33 and 35:34 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Genesis 9:5; 9:6; Numbers 35:9; 35:10; 35:11; 35:16; 35:17; 35:18; 35:19; 35:12; 35:13; 35:14; 35:15; 35:26; 35:27; 35:28; 35:29; 35:30; 35:31; 35:32; 35:33 and 35:34 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.

Genesis 9:5 (Tanakh) Genesis 9:5 (KJV) Genesis 9:5 (NET)
And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it; and at the hand of man, even at the hand of every man’s brother, will I require the life of man. And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. For your lifeblood I will surely exact punishment, from every living creature I will exact punishment.  From each person I will exact punishment for the life of the individual since the man was his relative.
Genesis 9:5 (Septuagint BLB) Genesis 9:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ γὰρ τὸ ὑμέτερον αἷμα τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν ἐκζητήσω ἐκ χειρὸς πάντων τῶν θηρίων ἐκζητήσω αὐτὸ καὶ ἐκ χειρὸς ἀνθρώπου ἀδελφοῦ ἐκζητήσω τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ γὰρ τὸ ὑμέτερον αἷμα τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν ἐκ χειρὸς πάντων τῶν θηρίων ἐκζητήσω αὐτὸ καὶ ἐκ χειρὸς ἀνθρώπου ἀδελφοῦ ἐκζητήσω τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
Genesis 9:5 (NETS) Genesis 9:5 (English Elpenor)
For truly, your blood of your lives I will seek out: from the hand of all the animals I will seek it out, and from the hand of a fellow human I will seek out the life of the human. For your blood of your lives will I require at the hand of all wild beasts, and I will require the life of man at the hand of [his] brother man.
Genesis 9:6 (Tanakh) Genesis 9:6 (KJV) Genesis 9:6 (NET)
Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of G-d made He man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. “Whoever sheds human blood, by other humans must his blood be shed; for in God’s image God has made humankind.
Genesis 9:6 (Septuagint BLB) Genesis 9:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁ ἐκχέων αἷμα ἀνθρώπου ἀντὶ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ ἐκχυθήσεται ὅτι ἐν εἰκόνι θεοῦ ἐποίησα τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὁ ἐκχέων αἷμα ἀνθρώπου, ἀντὶ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ ἐκχυθήσεται, ὅτι ἐν εἰκόνι Θεοῦ ἐποίησα τὸν ἄνθρωπον
Genesis 9:6 (NETS) Genesis 9:6 (English Elpenor)
As for the one who sheds a human’s blood, in return for this blood shall it be shed.  For by divine image I made humankind. He that sheds man’s blood, instead of that blood shall his own be shed, for in the image of God I made man.
Numbers 35:9 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:9 (KJV) Numbers 35:9 (NET)
And HaShem spoke unto Moses, saying: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Then the Lord spoke to Moses:
Numbers 35:9 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐλάλησεν κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων Καὶ ἐλάλησε Κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων
Numbers 35:9 (NETS) Numbers 35:9 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord spoke to Moyses, saying: And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
Numbers 35:10 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:10 (KJV) Numbers 35:10 (NET)
‘Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan; “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you cross over the Jordan River into the land of Canaan,
Numbers 35:10 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
λάλησον τοῗς υἱοῗς Ισραηλ καὶ ἐρεῗς πρὸς αὐτούς ὑμεῗς διαβαίνετε τὸν Ιορδάνην εἰς γῆν Χανααν λάλησον τοῖς υἱοῖς ᾿Ισραὴλ καὶ ἐρεῖς πρὸς αὐτούς· ὑμεῖς διαβαίνετε τὸν ᾿Ιορδάνην εἰς γῆν Χαναὰν
Numbers 35:10 (NETS) Numbers 35:10 (English Elpenor)
Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: As for you, you are crossing the Jordan into the land of Chanaan, Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Ye are to cross over Jordan into the land of Chanaan.
Numbers 35:11 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:11 (KJV) Numbers 35:11 (NET)
then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer that killeth any person through error may flee thither. Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares. you must then designate some towns as towns of refuge for you, to which a person who has killed someone unintentionally may flee.
Numbers 35:11 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ διαστελεῗτε ὑμῗν αὐτοῗς πόλεις φυγαδευτήρια ἔσται ὑμῗν φυγεῗν ἐκεῗ τὸν φονευτήν πᾶς ὁ πατάξας ψυχὴν ἀκουσίως καὶ διαστελεῖτε ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς πόλεις· φυγαδευτήρια ἔσται ὑμῖν φυγεῖν ἐκεῖ τὸν φονευτήν, πᾶς ὁ πατάξας ψυχὴν ἀκουσίως
Numbers 35:11 (NETS) Numbers 35:11 (English Elpenor)
and you shall set aside for yourselves cities; they shall be places of refuge for you for the murderer to flee there, everyone who strikes a soul unintentionally. And ye shall appoint to yourselves cities: they shall be to you cities of refuge for the slayer to flee to, every one who has killed another unintentionally.
Numbers 35:16 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:16 (KJV) Numbers 35:16 (NET)
But if he smote him with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. “‘But if he hits someone with an iron tool so that he dies, he is a murderer.  The murderer must surely be put to death.
Numbers 35:16 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐὰν δὲ ἐν σκεύει σιδήρου πατάξῃ αὐτόν καὶ τελευτήσῃ φονευτής ἐστιν θανάτῳ θανατούσθω ὁ φονευτής ἐὰν δὲ ἐν σκεύει σιδήρου πατάξῃ αὐτόν, καὶ τελευτήσῃ, φονευτής ἐστι· θανάτῳ θανατούσθω ὁ φονευτής
Numbers 35:16 (NETS) Numbers 35:16 (English Elpenor)
But if he strikes him with an iron instrument and he dies, he is a murderer; let the murderer be put to death by death. And if he should smite him with an iron instrument, and the man should die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death.
Numbers 35:17 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:17 (KJV) Numbers 35:17 (NET)
And if he smote him with a stone in the hand, whereby a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. If he strikes him by throwing a stone large enough that he could die, and he dies, he is a murderer.  The murderer must surely be put to death.
Numbers 35:17 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐὰν δὲ ἐν λίθῳ ἐκ χειρός ἐν ᾧ ἀποθανεῗται ἐν αὐτῷ πατάξῃ αὐτόν καὶ ἀποθάνῃ φονευτής ἐστιν θανάτῳ θανατούσθω ὁ φονευτής ἐὰν δὲ ἐν λίθῳ ἐκ χειρός, ἐν ᾧ ἀποθανεῖται ἐν αὐτῷ, πατάξῃ αὐτόν, καὶ ἀποθάνῃ, φονευτής ἐστι· θανάτῳ θανατούσθω ὁ φονευτής
Numbers 35:17 (NETS) Numbers 35:17 (English Elpenor)
Now if he strikes him with a stone out of hand—by which he may die—and he dies, he is a murderer; let the murderer be put to death by death. And if he should smite him with a stone [thrown] from his hand, whereby a man may die, and he [thus] die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death.
Numbers 35:18 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:18 (KJV) Numbers 35:18 (NET)
Or if he smote him with a weapon of wood in the hand, whereby a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. Or if he strikes him with a wooden hand weapon so that he could die, and he dies, he is a murderer.  The murderer must surely be put to death.
Numbers 35:18 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐὰν δὲ ἐν σκεύει ξυλίνῳ ἐκ χειρός ἐξ οὗ ἀποθανεῗται ἐν αὐτῷ πατάξῃ αὐτόν καὶ ἀποθάνῃ φονευτής ἐστιν θανάτῳ θανατούσθω ὁ φονευτής ἐὰν δὲ ἐν σκεύει ξυλίνῳ ἐκ χειρός, ἐξ οὗ ἀποθανεῖται ἐν αὐτῷ, πατάξῃ αὐτόν, καὶ ἀποθάνῃ, φονευτής ἐστι· θανάτῳ θανατούσθω ὁ φονευτής
Numbers 35:18 (NETS) Numbers 35:18 (English Elpenor)
Now if he strikes him with a wooden instrument out of hand—from which he may die—and he dies, he is a murderer; let the murderer be put to death by death. And if he should smite him with an instrument of wood from his hand, whereby he may die, and he [thus] die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death.
Numbers 35:19 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:19 (KJV) Numbers 35:19 (NET)
The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meeteth him, he shall put him to death. The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him. The avenger of blood himself must kill the murderer; when he meets him, he must kill him.
Numbers 35:19 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁ ἀγχιστεύων τὸ αἷμα οὗτος ἀποκτενεῗ τὸν φονεύσαντα ὅταν συναντήσῃ αὐτῷ οὗτος ἀποκτενεῗ αὐτόν ὁ ἀγχιστεύων τὸ αἷμα, οὗτος ἀποκτενεῖ τὸν φονεύσαντα· ὅταν συναντήσῃ αὐτῷ, οὗτος ἀποκτενεῖ αὐτόν
Numbers 35:19 (NETS) Numbers 35:19 (English Elpenor)
As for the one doing the relative’s blood duty, he shall kill the one that committed murder; when he meets up with him, he shall kill him. The avenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: whensoever he shall meet him he shall slay him.
Numbers 35:12 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:12 (KJV) Numbers 35:12 (NET)
And the cities shall be unto you for refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation for judgment. And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment. And they must stand as your towns of refuge from the avenger in order that the killer may not die until he has stood trial before the community.
Numbers 35:12 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔσονται αἱ πόλεις ὑμῗν φυγαδευτήρια ἀπὸ ἀγχιστεύοντος τὸ αἷμα καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ ὁ φονεύων ἕως ἂν στῇ ἔναντι τῆς συναγωγῆς εἰς κρίσιν καὶ ἔσονται αἱ πόλεις ὑμῖν φυγαδευτήρια ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀγχιστεύοντος τὸ αἷμα, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ ὁ φονεύων ἕως ἂν στῇ ἔναντι τῆς συναγωγῆς εἰς κρίσιν
Numbers 35:12 (NETS) Numbers 35:12 (English Elpenor)
And the cities shall be for you places of refuge from one doing the relative’s blood duty, and the one that commits murder will not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment. And the cities shall be to you places of refuge from the avenger of blood, and the slayer shall not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.
Numbers 35:13 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:13 (KJV) Numbers 35:13 (NET)
And as to the cities which ye shall give, there shall be for you six cities of refuge. And of these cities which ye shall give six cities shall ye have for refuge. These towns that you must give shall be your six towns for refuge.
Numbers 35:13 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ αἱ πόλεις ἃς δώσετε τὰς ἓξ πόλεις φυγαδευτήρια ἔσονται ὑμῗν καὶ αἱ πόλεις ἃς δώσετε, τὰς ἓξ πόλεις, φυγαδευτήρια ἔσονται ὑμῖν
Numbers 35:13 (NETS) Numbers 35:13 (English Elpenor)
And the cities that you give as the six cities shall be places of refuge for you. And the cities which ye shall assign, [even] the six cities, shall be places of refuge for you.
Numbers 35:14 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:14 (KJV) Numbers 35:14 (NET)
Ye shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan; they shall be cities of refuge. Ye shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge. “‘You must give three towns on this side of the Jordan, and you must give three towns in the land of Canaan; they must be towns of refuge.
Numbers 35:14 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τὰς τρεῗς πόλεις δώσετε ἐν τῷ πέραν τοῦ Ιορδάνου καὶ τὰς τρεῗς πόλεις δώσετε ἐν γῇ Χανααν τὰς τρεῖς πόλεις δώσετε πέραν τοῦ ᾿Ιορδάνου καὶ τὰς τρεῖς πόλεις δώσετε ἐν γῇ Χαναάν
Numbers 35:14 (NETS) Numbers 35:14 (English Elpenor)
Three cities you shall give beyond the Jordan, and three cities you shall give in the land of Chanaan. Ye shall assign three cities on the other side of Jordan, and ye shall assign three cities in the land of Chanaan.
Numbers 35:15 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:15 (KJV) Numbers 35:15 (NET)
For the children of Israel, and for the stranger and for the settler among them, shall these six cities be for refuge, that every one that killeth any person through error may flee thither. These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither. These six towns will be places of refuge for the Israelites, and for the resident foreigner, and for the settler among them, so that anyone who kills any person accidentally may flee there.
Numbers 35:15 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:15 (Septuagint Elpenor)
φυγάδιον ἔσται τοῗς υἱοῗς Ισραηλ καὶ τῷ προσηλύτῳ καὶ τῷ παροίκῳ τῷ ἐν ὑμῗν ἔσονται αἱ πόλεις αὗται εἰς φυγαδευτήριον φυγεῗν ἐκεῗ παντὶ πατάξαντι ψυχὴν ἀκουσίως φυγαδεῖον ἔσται τοῖς υἱοῖς ᾿Ισραήλ, καὶ τῷ προσηλύτῳ καὶ τῷ παροίκῳ τῷ ἐν ὑμῖν ἔσονται αἱ πόλεις αὗται εἰς φυγαδευτήριον, φυγεῖν ἐκεῖ παντὶ πατάξαντι ψυχὴν ἀκουσίως
Numbers 35:15 (NETS) Numbers 35:15 (English Elpenor)
They shall be an asylum for the sons of Israel and for the guest and for the resident alien among you.  These cities shall be a place of refuge for everyone to flee there when he strikes a soul unintentionally. It shall be a place of refuge for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for him that sojourns among you; these cities shall be for a place of refuge, for every one to flee thither who has killed a man unintentionally.
Numbers 35:26 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:26 (KJV) Numbers 35:26 (NET)
But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge, whither he fleeth; But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled; But if the slayer at any time goes outside the boundary of the town to which he had fled,
Numbers 35:26 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:26 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐὰν δὲ ἐξόδῳ ἐξέλθῃ ὁ φονεύσας τὰ ὅρια τῆς πόλεως εἰς ἣν κατέφυγεν ἐκεῗ ἐὰν δὲ ἐξόδῳ ἐξέλθῃ ὁ φονεύσας τὰ ὅρια τῆς πόλεως εἰς ἣν κατέφυγεν ἐκεῖ
Numbers 35:26 (NETS) Numbers 35:26 (English Elpenor)
But if he that commits murder by an exit leaves the bounds of the city, there where he fled for refuge, But if the slayer should in any wise go out beyond the bounds of the city whither he fled for refuge,
Numbers 35:27 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:27 (KJV) Numbers 35:27 (NET)
and the avenger of blood find him without the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood slay the manslayer; there shall be no bloodguiltiness for him; And the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood: and the avenger of blood finds him outside the borders of the town of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the slayer, he will not be guilty of blood,
Numbers 35:27 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:27 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εὕρῃ αὐτὸν ὁ ἀγχιστεύων τὸ αἷμα ἔξω τῶν ὁρίων τῆς πόλεως καταφυγῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ φονεύσῃ ὁ ἀγχιστεύων τὸ αἷμα τὸν φονεύσαντα οὐκ ἔνοχός ἐστιν καὶ εὕρῃ αὐτὸν ὁ ἀγχιστεύων τὸ αἷμα ἔξω τῶν ὁρίων τῆς πόλεως καταφυγῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ φονεύσῃ ὁ ἀγχιστεύων τὸ αἷμα τὸν φονεύσαντα, οὐκ ἔνοχός ἐστιν
Numbers 35:27 (NETS) Numbers 35:27 (English Elpenor)
and the one doing the relative’s blood duty finds him outside the bounds of the city of his refuge, and the one doing the relative’s blood duty kills the one that committed murder, he is not liable. and the avenger of blood should find him without the bounds of the city of his refuge, and the avenger of blood should kill the slayer, he is not guilty.
Numbers 35:28 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:28 (KJV) Numbers 35:28 (NET)
because he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest; but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return into the land of his possession. Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession. because the slayer should have stayed in his town of refuge until the death of the high priest.  But after the death of the high priest, the slayer may return to the land of his possessions.
Numbers 35:28 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:28 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐν γὰρ τῇ πόλει τῆς καταφυγῆς κατοικείτω ἕως ἂν ἀποθάνῃ ὁ ἱερεὺς ὁ μέγας καὶ μετὰ τὸ ἀποθανεῗν τὸν ἱερέα τὸν μέγαν ἐπαναστραφήσεται ὁ φονεύσας εἰς τὴν γῆν τῆς κατασχέσεως αὐτοῦ ἐν γὰρ τῇ πόλει τῆς καταφυγῆς κατοικείτω, ἕως ἂν ἀποθάνῃ ὁ ἱερεὺς ὁ μέγας, καὶ μετὰ τὸ ἀποθανεῖν τὸν ἱερέα τὸν μέγαν ἐπαναστραφήσεται ὁ φονεύσας εἰς τὴν γῆν τῆς κατασχέσεως αὐτοῦ
Numbers 35:28 (NETS) Numbers 35:28 (English Elpenor)
For let him live in the city of refuge until the great priest dies, and after the great priest dies, he that committed murder shall return to the land of his possession. For he ought to have remained in the city of refuge till the high-priest died; and after the death of the high-priest the slayer shall return to the land of his possession.
Numbers 35:29 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:29 (KJV) Numbers 35:29 (NET)
And these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. So these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. So these things must be a statutory ordinance for you throughout your generations, in all the places where you live.
Numbers 35:29 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:29 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔσται ταῦτα ὑμῗν εἰς δικαίωμα κρίματος εἰς τὰς γενεὰς ὑμῶν ἐν πάσαις ταῗς κατοικίαις ὑμῶν καὶ ἔσται ταῦτα ὑμῖν εἰς δικαίωμα κρίματος εἰς τὰς γενεὰς ὑμῶν ἐν πάσαις ταῖς κατοικίαις ὑμῶν
Numbers 35:29 (NETS) Numbers 35:29 (English Elpenor)
And these things shall be for you a requirement of judgment for your generations in all your settlements. And these things shall be to you for an ordinance of judgment throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Numbers 35:30 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:30 (KJV) Numbers 35:30 (NET)
Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be slain at the mouth of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify against any person that he die. Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die. “‘Whoever kills any person, the murderer must be put to death by the testimony of witnesses, but one witness cannot testify against any person to cause him to be put to death.
Numbers 35:30 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:30 (Septuagint Elpenor)
πᾶς πατάξας ψυχήν διὰ μαρτύρων φονεύσεις τὸν φονεύσαντα καὶ μάρτυς εἷς οὐ μαρτυρήσει ἐπὶ ψυχὴν ἀποθανεῗν πᾶς πατάξας ψυχήν, διὰ μαρτύρων φονεύσεις τὸν φονεύσαντα, καὶ μάρτυς εἷς οὐ μαρτυρήσει ἐπὶ ψυχὴν ἀποθανεῖν
Numbers 35:30 (NETS) Numbers 35:30 (English Elpenor)
Every one, when he strikes a soul, through witnesses you shall kill the murderer, and one witness shall not bear witness against a soul that he should die. Whoever kills a man, thou shalt slay the murderer on the testimony of witnesses; and one witness shall not testify against a soul that he should die.
Numbers 35:31 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:31 (KJV) Numbers 35:31 (NET)
Moreover ye shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer, that is guilty of death; but he shall surely be put to death. Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death. Moreover, you must not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death; he must surely be put to death.
Numbers 35:31 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:31 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ οὐ λήμψεσθε λύτρα περὶ ψυχῆς παρὰ τοῦ φονεύσαντος τοῦ ἐνόχου ὄντος ἀναιρεθῆναι θανάτῳ γὰρ θανατωθήσεται καὶ οὐ λήψεσθε λύτρα περὶ ψυχῆς παρὰ τοῦ φονεύσαντος τοῦ ἐνόχου ὄντος ἀναιρεθῆναι· θανάτῳ γὰρ θανατωθήσεται
Numbers 35:31 (NETS) Numbers 35:31 (English Elpenor)
And you shall not receive ransom for a soul from the one that committed murder, liable to be killed, for he shall be put to death by death. And ye shall not accept ransoms for life from a murderer who is worthy of death, for he shall be surely put to death.
Numbers 35:32 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:32 (KJV) Numbers 35:32 (NET)
And ye shall take no ransom for him that is fled to his city of refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. And you must not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a town of refuge, to allow him to return home and live on his own land before the death of the high priest.
Numbers 35:32 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:32 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐ λήμψεσθε λύτρα τοῦ φυγεῗν εἰς πόλιν τῶν φυγαδευτηρίων τοῦ πάλιν κατοικεῗν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἕως ἂν ἀποθάνῃ ὁ ἱερεὺς ὁ μέγας οὐ λήψεσθε λύτρα τοῦ φυγεῖν εἰς πόλιν τῶν φυγαδευτηρίων, τοῦ πάλιν κατοικεῖν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἕως ἂν ἀποθάνῃ ὁ ἱερεὺς ὁ μέγας
Numbers 35:32 (NETS) Numbers 35:32 (English Elpenor)
And you shall not receive ransom to flee to a city of places of refuge to live again on the land until the great priest dies. Ye shall not accept a ransom [to excuse] his fleeing to the city of refuge, so that he should again dwell in the land, until the death of the high-priest.
Numbers 35:33 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:33 (KJV) Numbers 35:33 (NET)
So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are; for blood, it polluteth the land; and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. “‘You must not pollute the land where you live, for blood defiles the land, and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed there, except by the blood of the person who shed it.
Numbers 35:33 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:33 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ οὐ μὴ φονοκτονήσητε τὴν γῆν εἰς ἣν ὑμεῗς κατοικεῗτε τὸ γὰρ αἷμα τοῦτο φονοκτονεῗ τὴν γῆν καὶ οὐκ ἐξιλασθήσεται ἡ γῆ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἐκχυθέντος ἐπ᾽ αὐτῆς ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἐκχέοντος καὶ οὐ μὴ φονοκτονήσητε τὴν γῆν, εἰς ἣν ὑμεῖς κατοικεῖτε· τὸ γὰρ αἷμα τοῦτο φονοκτονεῖ τὴν γῆν, καὶ οὐκ ἐξιλασθήσεται ἡ γῆ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἐκχυθέντος ἐπ’ αὐτῆς, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἐκχέοντος
Numbers 35:33 (NETS) Numbers 35:33 (English Elpenor)
And you shall not kill by murder the land on which you live.  For this blood kills the land by murder, and the land shall not be atoned for from the blood that was shed upon it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. So shall ye not pollute with murder the land in which ye dwell; for this blood pollutes the land, and the land shall not be purged from the blood shed upon it, but by the blood of him that shed it.
Numbers 35:34 (Tanakh) Numbers 35:34 (KJV) Numbers 35:34 (NET)
And thou shalt not defile the land which ye inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I HaShem dwell in the midst of the children of Israel.’ Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel. Therefore do not defile the land that you will inhabit, in which I live, for I the Lord live among the Israelites.’”
Numbers 35:34 (Septuagint BLB) Numbers 35:34 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ οὐ μιανεῗτε τὴν γῆν ἐφ᾽ ἧς κατοικεῗτε ἐπ᾽ αὐτῆς ἐφ᾽ ἧς ἐγὼ κατασκηνώσω ἐν ὑμῗν ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι κύριος κατασκηνῶν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν υἱῶν Ισραηλ καὶ οὐ μιανεῖτε τὴν γῆν, ἐφ’ ἧς κατοικεῖτε ἐπ’ αὐτῆς, ἐφ’ ἧς ἐγὼ κατασκηνῶ ἐν ὑμῖν· ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι Κύριος κατασκηνῶν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν υἱῶν ᾿Ισραήλ
Numbers 35:34 (NETS) Numbers 35:34 (English Elpenor)
And you shall not defile the land that you live upon, on which I will encamp among you, for I am the Lord, encamping in the midst of the sons of Israel. And ye shall not defile the land whereon ye dwell, on which I dwell in the midst of you; for I am the Lord dwelling in the midst of the children of Israel.

[1] Genesis 9:1

[2] NET note 11: The word “punishment” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification. The verb דָּרָשׁ (darash) means “to require, to seek, to ask for, to exact.” Here it means that God will exact punishment for the taking of a life. See R. Mawdsley, “Capital Punishment in Gen. 9:6,” CentBib 18 (1975): 20-25.

Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 5

Posted on by

This is a continuation of a consideration of the differences between the Masoretic text and the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew before Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah.  The final clause of the first verse under consideration follows:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 53:10d (Tanakh) Table Isaiah 53:10d (NET) Isaiah 53:10d (NETS)

Isaiah 53:11a (Elpenor English)
and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him. And the Lord wishes to take away the Lord also is pleased to take away from

I have been considering negative examples,[1] as follows:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 20:2 (Tanakh) Isaiah 20:2 (NET) Isaiah 20:2 (NETS)

Isaiah 20:2 (Elpenor English)
At the same time spake the LORD by (בְּיַד) Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot.  And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. At that time the Lord announced through (yad, ביד) [Note 2: “spoke by the hand of”] Isaiah son of Amoz: “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet.”  He did as instructed and walked around in undergarments and barefoot. then the Lord spoke to (πρὸς) Esaias, saying, “Go, and take off the sackcloth from your loins, and untie your sandals off your feet,” and he did so, walking naked and barefoot. then the Lord spoke to (πρὸς) Esaias the son of Amos, saying, Go and take the sackcloth off thy loins, and loose thy sandals from off thy feet, and do thus, going naked and barefoot.

“By the hand of” Isaiah (yad, בְּיַד) in the Masoretic text is a self-conscious attribution of the literary source of the information passed through Isaiah.  Whether that self-consciousness was original and then subsequently ignored by the Greek translators, or a product of rethinking and revising the text, is more difficult to say.  I find myself arguing both ways with no clear advantage to either.  The word בְּיַד (yad) does appear to be in the Isaiah scroll found among the Dead Sea scrolls.

Rashi’s commentary is of no particular help here.  He engaged a more peripheral issue suited to medieval religious sensibilities,[2] asserting that וּפִתַּחְתָּ֚ (pāṯaḥ) meant you shall gird rather than and loose (Tanakh), remove (NET).  The rabbis’ choice ἄφελε (an imperative form of ἀφαιρέω)—“to separate, deduct, subtract; to remove, cut off, smite off; to strip off; to shift positions of; to deduct in advance and set apart (from the rest)”—entertained no such confusion in the Septuagint.

I’ll chase this negative example with a positive example, if for no other reason than to remind myself what it’s like when the Masoretic text and Septuagint agree.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 22:21 (Tanakh) Isaiah 22:21 (NET) Isaiah 22:21 (NETS)

Isaiah 22:21 (Elpenor English)
And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand (בְּיָד֑וֹ): and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. I will put your robe on him, tie your belt around him, and transfer your authority to him (yad, בידו) [Note 51: “in his hand”].  He will become a protector of the residents of Jerusalem and of the people of Judah. and will clothe him with your robe and give him your crown, and I will give your power and office into his hands (εἰς τὰς χεῗρας αὐτοῦ), and he shall be as a father to those who dwell in Ierousalem and to those who dwell in Ioudas. and I will put on him thy robe, and I will grant him thy crown with power, and I will give thy stewardship into his hands (εἰς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ): and he shall be as a father to them that dwell in Jerusalem, and to them that dwell in Juda.

The next negative example follows:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 25:10 (Tanakh) Isaiah 25:10 (NET) Isaiah 25:10 (NETS)

Isaiah 25:10 (Elpenor English)
For in this mountain shall the hand (יַד) of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. For the Lord’s power (yad, יד) [Note 23: “for the hand of the Lord”] will make this mountain secure.  Moab will be trampled down where it stands, as a heap of straw is trampled down in a manure pile. because God will give (δώσει) us rest on this mountain, and Moabitis shall be trodden down as they tread a threshing floor with wagons. God will give (δώσει) rest on this mountain, and the country of Moab shall be trodden down, as they tread the floor with waggons.

Rashi understood “For the hand of the Lord shall rest:” as “The might of the Omnipresent.”  It doesn’t seem to correspond to God will give rest (Elpenor) or God will give us rest (NETS).  It causes me to question whether יַד (yad) was the Hebrew word the rabbis sought to translate or explain in the Septuagint, though יַד (yad) does occur in the Isaiah scroll of the Dead Sea scrolls.

The positive example is the very next verse.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 25:11 (Tanakh) Isaiah 25:11 (NET) Isaiah 25:11 (NETS)

Isaiah 25:11 (Elpenor English)
And he shall spread forth his hands (יָדָיו֙) in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands (יָדָֽיו). Moab will spread out its hands (yad, ידיו) in the middle of it, just as a swimmer spreads his hands to swim; the Lord will bring down Moab’s pride as it spreads its hands (yad, ידיו). And he will send forth his hands (τὰς χεῗρας αὐτοῦ), as he himself brought him low to destroy him, and he will bring low his pride—things on which he laid his hands (τὰς χεῗρας). And he shall spread forth his hands (τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ), even as he also brings down [man] to destroy [him]: and he shall bring low his pride [in regard to the thing] on which he has laid his hands (τὰς χεῖρας).

Clearly, when hands occurred in the Hebrew text the rabbis had no particular aversion to translating them hands in the Septuagint.  The next negative example follows.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 29:23 (Tanakh) Isaiah 29:23 (NET) Isaiah 29:23 (NETS)

Isaiah 29:23 (Elpenor English)
But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands (יָדַ֛י), in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. For when they see their children, whom I will produce (yad, ידי) [Note 48: “the work of my hands”] among them, they will honor my name.  They will honor the Holy One of Jacob; they will respect the God of Israel. But when their children see my works (τὰ ἔργα μου), because of me they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Iakob and will fear the God of Israel. But when their children shall have seen my works (τὰ ἔργα μου), they shall sanctify my name for my sake, and they sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.

Though יָדַ֛י (yad) occurs in the Isaiah scroll of the Dead Sea scrolls, it seems likely to me that the Masoretes wanted the children to be the work of mine hands (יָדַ֛י) as a rejoinder to Jesus (John 8:44 NET Table):

You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth because there is no truth in him.  Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature because he is a liar and the father of lies.

This seems far more likely than the alternative idea that the rabbis found the children the work of mine hands (יָדַ֛י), dropped the word יָדַ֛י (yad) and made God’s works less specific.  It is possible perhaps that the rabbis translated יָדַ֛י (yad) δι᾽ ἐμὲ, because of me (NETS), for my sake (English Elpenor).  If that is the case, however, they didn’t understand יָדַ֛י (yad) here as of mine hands.  Rashi clearly understood “For, when he sees his children: who will be the work of My hands, i.e., righteous men.”

A nearby positive example follows.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 31:3 (Tanakh) Isaiah 31:3 (NET) Isaiah 31:3 (NETS)

Isaiah 31:3 (Elpenor English)
Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit.  When the LORD shall stretch out his hand (יָד֗וֹ), both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together. The Egyptians are mere humans, not God; their horses are made of flesh, not spirit.  The Lord will strike with his hand (yad, ידו); the one who helps will stumble and the one being helped will fall.  Together they will perish. an Egyptian, a man and not God—the flesh of horses, and there is no help.  But the Lord will turn his hand (τὴν χεῗρα αὐτοῦ) against them, and those who help will grow weary, and they will all perish together. [even] an Egyptian, a man, and not God; the flesh of horses, and there is no help [in them]: but the Lord shall bring his hand (τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ) upon them, and the helpers shall fail, and all shall perish together.

The next negative example follows:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 47:14 (Tanakh) Isaiah 47:14 (NET) Isaiah 47:14 (NETS)

Isaiah 47:14 (Elpenor English)
Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power (מִיַּ֣ד) of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. Look, they are like straw that the fire burns up; they cannot rescue themselves from the heat (yad, מיד) [Note 34: “hand”] of the flames.   There are no coals to warm them, no firelight to enjoy. See, they all will be burned like brushwood on a fire, and they will not deliver their soul from the flame (ἐκ φλογός); since you have coals of fire, sit on them— Behold, they all shall be burnt up as sticks in the fire; neither shall they at all deliver their life from the flame (ἐκ φλογός).  Because thou hast coals of fire, sit thou upon them;

The word מִיַּ֣ד is found in the Isaiah scroll of the Dead Sea scrolls.  It seems possible that the rabbis thought φλογός (a form of φλόξ) understood as a “blade (of fire)” was one Greek word to account for “hand” (מִיַּ֣ד) of the flame (לֶֽהָבָ֑ה).

The positive example follows:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 48:13 (Tanakh) Isaiah 48:13 (NET) Isaiah 48:13 (NETS)

Isaiah 48:13 (Elpenor English)
Mine hand (יָדִי֙) also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand (וִֽימִינִ֖י) hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. Yes, my hand (yad, ידי) founded the earth; my right hand (yāmîn, וימיני) spread out the sky.  I summon them; they stand together. And my hand (ἡ χείρ μου) laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand (ἡ δεξιά μου) bolstered heaven; I will call them, and they will stand together. My hand (ἡ χείρ μου) also has founded the earth, and my right hand (ἡ δεξιά μου) has fixed the sky: I will call them, and they shall stand together.

The final negative example I’ll consider in this essay follows:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 50:11 (Tanakh) Isaiah 50:11 (NET) Isaiah 50:11 (NETS)

Isaiah 50:11 (Elpenor English)
Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled.  This shall ye have of mine hand (מִיָּדִי֙); ye shall lie down in sorrow. Look, all of you who start a fire and who equip yourselves with flaming arrows, walk in the light of the fire you started and among the flaming arrows you ignited!  This is what you will receive from me (yad, מידי): You will lie down in a place of pain. Look, all of you, kindle a fire, and make a flame stronger.  Walk by the light of your fire and by the flame you have kindled.  Because of me (δι᾽ ἐμὲ), these things came upon you; you shall lie down in sorrow. Behold, ye all kindle a fire, and feed a flame: walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame which ye have kindled.  This has happened to you for my sake (δι᾿ ἐμὲ); ye shall lie down in sorrow.

It seems possible that δι᾿ ἐμὲ was the Rabbis’ Greek translation of מִיָּדִי֙.  It just didn’t quite register as of mine hand, as Rashi understood it: “from My hand: shall this retribution come to you.”  Because of me (NETS) sounds quite close, while for my sake (English Elpenor) strays farther afield to my ear.  The word מִיָּדִי֙ does occur in the Isaiah scroll of the Dead Sea scrolls.

The final positive example for this essay follows:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 50:2 (Tanakh) Isaiah 50:2 (NET) Isaiah 50:2 (NETS)

Isaiah 50:2 (Elpenor English)
Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer?  Is my hand (יָדִי֙) shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst. Why does no one challenge me when I come?  Why does no one respond when I call?  Is my hand (yad, ידי) too weak to deliver you?  Do I lack the power to rescue you?  Look, with a mere shout I can dry up the sea; I can turn streams into a desert, so the fish rot away and die from lack of water. Why was it that I came and no man was there?  I called, and there was none to answer?  Is not my hand (ἡ χείρ μου) strong to deliver?  Or am I not strong to rescue?  Look, by my threat I will make the sea desolate, and the rivers I will make deserts, and their fish shall be dried up because there is no water, and they will die by thirst. Why did I come, and there was no man? [why] did I call, and there was none to hearken?  Is not my hand (ἡ χείρ μου) strong to redeem? or can I not deliver? behold, by my rebuke I will dry up the sea, and make rivers a wilderness; and their fish shall be dried up because there is no water, and shall die for thirst.

I’ll continue with more of these negative and positive examples in another essay.

Tables comparing Isaiah 20:2; 22:21; 25:10; 25:11; 29:23; 31:3; 47:14; 48:13; 50:11 and 50:2 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing Isaiah 20:2; 22:21; 25:10; 25:11; 29:23; 31:3; 47:14; 48:13; 50:11 and 50:2 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.

Isaiah 20:2 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 20:2 (KJV)

Isaiah 20:2 (NET)
At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot.  And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot.  And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. At that time the Lord announced through Isaiah son of Amoz: “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet.”  He did as instructed and walked around in undergarments and barefoot.

Isaiah 20:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 20:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τότε ἐλάλησεν κύριος πρὸς Ησαιαν λέγων πορεύου καὶ ἄφελε τὸν σάκκον ἀπὸ τῆς ὀσφύος σου καὶ τὰ σανδάλιά σου ὑπόλυσαι ἀπὸ τῶν ποδῶν σου καὶ ἐποίησεν οὕτως πορευόμενος γυμνὸς καὶ ἀνυπόδετος τότε ἐλάλησε Κύριος πρὸς ᾿Ησαΐαν υἱὸν ᾿Αμὼς λέγων· πορεύου καὶ ἄφελε τὸν σάκκον ἀπὸ τῆς ὀσφύος σου καὶ τὰ σανδάλιά σου ὑπόλυσαι ἀπὸ τῶν ποδῶν σου· καὶ ποίησον οὕτως πορευόμενος γυμνὸς καὶ ἀνυπόδετος

Isaiah 20:2 (NETS)

Isaiah 20:2 (English Elpenor)
then the Lord spoke to Esaias, saying, “Go, and take off the sackcloth from your loins, and untie your sandals off your feet,” and he did so, walking naked and barefoot. then the Lord spoke to Esaias the son of Amos, saying, Go and take the sackcloth off thy loins, and loose thy sandals from off thy feet, and do thus, going naked and barefoot.

Isaiah 22:21 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 22:21 (KJV)

Isaiah 22:21 (NET)
And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. I will put your robe on him, tie your belt around him, and transfer your authority to him.  He will become a protector of the residents of Jerusalem and of the people of Judah.

Isaiah 22:21 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 22:21 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐνδύσω αὐτὸν τὴν στολήν σου καὶ τὸν στέφανόν σου δώσω αὐτῷ καὶ τὸ κράτος καὶ τὴν οἰκονομίαν σου δώσω εἰς τὰς χεῗρας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔσται ὡς πατὴρ τοῗς ἐνοικοῦσιν ἐν Ιερουσαλημ καὶ τοῗς ἐνοικοῦσιν ἐν Ιουδα καὶ ἐνδύσω αὐτὸν τὴν στολήν σου καὶ τὸν στέφανόν σου δώσω αὐτῷ καὶ κράτος καὶ τὴν οἰκονομίαν σου δώσω εἰς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσται ὡς πατὴρ τοῖς ἐνοικοῦσιν ἐν ῾Ιερουσαλὴμ καὶ τοῖς ἐνοικοῦσιν ἐν ᾿Ιούδᾳ

Isaiah 22:21 (NETS)

Isaiah 22:21 (English Elpenor)
and will clothe him with your robe and give him your crown, and I will give your power and office into his hands, and he shall be as a father to those who dwell in Ierousalem and to those who dwell in Ioudas. and I will put on him thy robe, and I will grant him thy crown with power, and I will give thy stewardship into his hands: and he shall be as a father to them that dwell in Jerusalem, and to them that dwell in Juda.

Isaiah 25:10 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 25:10 (KJV)

Isaiah 25:10 (NET)
For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. For the Lord’s power will make this mountain secure.  Moab will be trampled down where it stands, as a heap of straw is trampled down in a manure pile.

Isaiah 25:10 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 25:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὅτι ἀνάπαυσιν δώσει ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος τοῦτο καὶ καταπατηθήσεται ἡ Μωαβῗτις ὃν τρόπον πατοῦσιν ἅλωνα ἐν ἁμάξαις ὅτι ἀνάπαυσιν δώσει ὁ Θεὸς ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος τοῦτο, καὶ καταπατηθήσεται ἡ Μωαβῖτις, ὃν τρόπον πατοῦσιν ἅλωνα ἐν ἁμάξαις

Isaiah 25:10 (NETS)

Isaiah 25:10 (English Elpenor)
because God will give us rest on this mountain, and Moabitis shall be trodden down as they tread a threshing floor with wagons. God will give rest on this mountain, and the country of Moab shall be trodden down, as they tread the floor with waggons.

Isaiah 25:11 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 25:11 (KJV)

Isaiah 25:11 (NET)
And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands. And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands. Moab will spread out its hands in the middle of it, just as a swimmer spreads his hands to swim; the Lord will bring down Moab’s pride as it spreads its hands.

Isaiah 25:11 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 25:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἀνήσει τὰς χεῗρας αὐτοῦ ὃν τρόπον καὶ αὐτὸς ἐταπείνωσεν τοῦ ἀπολέσαι καὶ ταπεινώσει τὴν ὕβριν αὐτοῦ ἐφ᾽ ἃ τὰς χεῗρας ἐπέβαλεν καὶ ἀνήσει τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ, ὃν τρόπον καὶ αὐτὸς ἐταπείνωσε τοῦ ἀπολέσαι, καὶ ταπεινώσει τὴν ὕβριν αὐτοῦ, ἐφ᾿ ἃ τὰς χεῖρας ἐπέβαλε

Isaiah 25:11 (NETS)

Isaiah 25:11 (English Elpenor)
And he will send forth his hands, as he himself brought him low to destroy him, and he will bring low his pride—things on which he laid his hands. And he shall spread forth his hands, even as he also brings down [man] to destroy [him]: and he shall bring low his pride [in regard to the thing] on which he has laid his hands.

Isaiah 29:23 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 29:23 (KJV)

Isaiah 29:23 (NET)
But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. For when they see their children, whom I will produce among them, they will honor my name.  They will honor the Holy One of Jacob; they will respect the God of Israel.

Isaiah 29:23 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 29:23 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀλλ᾽ ὅταν ἴδωσιν τὰ τέκνα αὐτῶν τὰ ἔργα μου δι᾽ ἐμὲ ἁγιάσουσιν τὸ ὄνομά μου καὶ ἁγιάσουσιν τὸν ἅγιον Ιακωβ καὶ τὸν θεὸν τοῦ Ισραηλ φοβηθήσονται ἀλλ᾿ ὅταν ἴδωσι τὰ τέκνα αὐτῶν τὰ ἔργα μου, δι᾿ ἐμὲ ἁγιάσουσιν τὸ ὄνομά μου καὶ ἁγιάσουσιν τὸν ἅγιον ᾿Ιακὼβ καὶ τὸν Θεὸν τοῦ ᾿Ισραὴλ φοβηθήσονται

Isaiah 29:23 (NETS)

Isaiah 29:23 (English Elpenor)
But when their children see my works, because of me they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Iakob and will fear the God of Israel. But when their children shall have seen my works, they shall sanctify my name for my sake, and they sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.

Isaiah 31:3 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 31:3 (KJV)

Isaiah 31:3 (NET)
Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit.  When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together. Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit.  When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together. The Egyptians are mere humans, not God; their horses are made of flesh, not spirit.  The Lord will strike with his hand; the one who helps will stumble and the one being helped will fall.  Together they will perish.

Isaiah 31:3 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 31:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
Αἰγύπτιον ἄνθρωπον καὶ οὐ θεόν ἵππων σάρκας καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν βοήθεια ὁ δὲ κύριος ἐπάξει τὴν χεῗρα αὐτοῦ ἐπ᾽ αὐτούς καὶ κοπιάσουσιν οἱ βοηθοῦντες καὶ ἅμα πάντες ἀπολοῦνται Αἰγύπτιον ἄνθρωπον καὶ οὐ Θεόν, ἵππων σάρκας καὶ οὐκ ἔστι βοήθεια· ὁ δὲ Κύριος ἐπάξει τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς, καὶ κοπιάσουσιν οἱ βοηθοῦντες, καὶ ἅμα πάντες ἀπολοῦνται

Isaiah 31:3 (NETS)

Isaiah 31:3 (English Elpenor)
an Egyptian, a man and not God—the flesh of horses, and there is no help.  But the Lord will turn his hand against them, and those who help will grow weary, and they will all perish together. [even] an Egyptian, a man, and not God; the flesh of horses, and there is no help [in them]: but the Lord shall bring his hand upon them, and the helpers shall fail, and all shall perish together.

Isaiah 47:14 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 47:14 (KJV)

Isaiah 47:14 (NET)
Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. Look, they are like straw that the fire burns up; they cannot rescue themselves from the heat of the flames.   There are no coals to warm them, no firelight to enjoy.

Isaiah 47:14 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 47:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἰδοὺ πάντες ὡς φρύγανα ἐπὶ πυρὶ κατακαήσονται καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐξέλωνται τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν ἐκ φλογός ὅτι ἔχεις ἄνθρακας πυρός κάθισαι ἐπ᾽ αὐτούς ἰδοὺ πάντες ὡς φρύγανα ἐπὶ πυρὶ κατακαυθήσονται καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐξέλωνται τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν ἐκ φλογός· ὅτι ἔχεις ἄνθρακας πυρός, κάθισαι ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς

Isaiah 47:14 (NETS)

Isaiah 47:14 (English Elpenor)
See, they all will be burned like brushwood on a fire, and they will not deliver their soul from the flame; since you have coals of fire, sit on them— Behold, they all shall be burnt up as sticks in the fire; neither shall they at all deliver their life from the flame.  Because thou hast coals of fire, sit thou upon them;

Isaiah 48:13 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 48:13 (KJV)

Isaiah 48:13 (NET)
Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. Yes, my hand founded the earth; my right hand spread out the sky.  I summon them; they stand together.

Isaiah 48:13 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 48:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἡ χείρ μου ἐθεμελίωσεν τὴν γῆν καὶ ἡ δεξιά μου ἐστερέωσεν τὸν οὐρανόν καλέσω αὐτούς καὶ στήσονται ἅμα καὶ ἡ χείρ μου ἐθεμελίωσε τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἡ δεξιά μου ἐστερέωσε τὸν οὐρανόν. καλέσω αὐτούς, καὶ στήσονται ἅμα

Isaiah 48:13 (NETS)

Isaiah 48:13 (English Elpenor)
And my hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand bolstered heaven; I will call them, and they will stand together. My hand also has founded the earth, and my right hand has fixed the sky: I will call them, and they shall stand together.

Isaiah 50:11 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 50:11 (KJV)

Isaiah 50:11 (NET)
Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled.  This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled.  This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow. Look, all of you who start a fire and who equip yourselves with flaming arrows, walk in the light of the fire you started and among the flaming arrows you ignited!  This is what you will receive from me: You will lie down in a place of pain.

Isaiah 50:11 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 50:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἰδοὺ πάντες ὑμεῗς πῦρ καίετε καὶ κατισχύετε φλόγα πορεύεσθε τῷ φωτὶ τοῦ πυρὸς ὑμῶν καὶ τῇ φλογί ᾗ ἐξεκαύσατε δι᾽ ἐμὲ ἐγένετο ταῦτα ὑμῗν ἐν λύπῃ κοιμηθήσεσθε ἰδοὺ πάντες ὑμεῖς πῦρ καίετε καὶ κατισχύετε φλόγα· πορεύεσθε τῷ φωτὶ τοῦ πυρὸς ὑμῶν καὶ τῇ φλογί, ᾗ ἐξεκαύσατε· δι᾿ ἐμὲ ἐγένετο ταῦτα ὑμῖν, ἐν λύπῃ κοιμηθήσεσθε.

Isaiah 50:11 (NETS)

Isaiah 50:11 (English Elpenor)
Look, all of you, kindle a fire, and make a flame stronger.  Walk by the light of your fire and by the flame you have kindled.  Because of me, these things came upon you; you shall lie down in sorrow. Behold, ye all kindle a fire, and feed a flame: walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame which ye have kindled.  This has happened to you for my sake; ye shall lie down in sorrow.

Isaiah 50:2 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 50:2 (KJV)

Isaiah 50:2 (NET)
Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer?  Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst. Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer?  Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst. Why does no one challenge me when I come?  Why does no one respond when I call?  Is my hand too weak to deliver you?  Do I lack the power to rescue you?  Look, with a mere shout I can dry up the sea; I can turn streams into a desert, so the fish rot away and die from lack of water.

Isaiah 50:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 50:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τί ὅτι ἦλθον καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἄνθρωπος ἐκάλεσα καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὁ ὑπακούων μὴ οὐκ ἰσχύει ἡ χείρ μου τοῦ ῥύσασθαι ἢ οὐκ ἰσχύω τοῦ ἐξελέσθαι ἰδοὺ τῇ ἀπειλῇ μου ἐξερημώσω τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ θήσω ποταμοὺς ἐρήμους καὶ ξηρανθήσονται οἱ ἰχθύες αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ μὴ εἶναι ὕδωρ καὶ ἀποθανοῦνται ἐν δίψει τί ὅτι ἦλθον καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἄνθρωπος; ἐκάλεσα καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὁ ὑπακούων; μὴ οὐκ ἰσχύει ἡ χείρ μου τοῦ ῥύσασθαι ἢ οὐκ ἰσχύω τοῦ ἐξελέσθαι; ἰδοὺ τῇ ἀπειλῇ μου ἐξερημώσω τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ θήσω ποταμοὺς ἐρήμους, καὶ ξηρανθήσονται οἱ ἰχθύες αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ μὴ εἶναι ὕδωρ καὶ ἀποθανοῦνται ἐν δίψει

Isaiah 50:2 (NETS)

Isaiah 50:2 (English Elpenor)
Why was it that I came and no man was there?  I called, and there was none to answer?  Is not my hand strong to deliver?  Or am I not strong to rescue?  Look, by my threat I will make the sea desolate, and the rivers I will make deserts, and their fish shall be dried up because there is no water, and they will die by thirst. Why did I come, and there was no man? [why] did I call, and there was none to hearken?  Is not my hand strong to redeem? or can I not deliver? behold, by my rebuke I will dry up the sea, and make rivers a wilderness; and their fish shall be dried up because there is no water, and shall die for thirst.