Romans, Part 36

What shall we say then? Paul continued, that the Gentiles who did not pursue (διώκοντα, a form of διώκω) righteousness (δικαιοσύνην, a form of δικαιοσύνη) obtained it (δικαιοσύνην, a form of δικαιοσύνη), that is, a righteousness (δικαιοσύνην, a form of δικαιοσύνη) that is by faith, but Israel even though pursuing (διώκων, another form of διώκω) a law of righteousness (δικαιοσύνης, another form of δικαιοσύνη) did not attain it.[3]  In other words, people who really worked at achieving righteousness by pursuing God’s law did not attain that righteousness, while people who did not pursue righteousness at all did attain it.

Isolated from any context, this sounds extraordinarily unfair.  But this decision was made so far beyond any judgment of mine regarding what is fair, it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.[4]

When Rebekah had conceived children by one man, Paul had written earlier, our ancestor Isaac – even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election would stand, not by works [ἔργων, a form of ἔργον] but by his calling [καλοῦντος, a form of καλέω]) – it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger,” just as it is written:Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[7]  Complaining about this is about as productive as complaining about who my parents were.  But just as God knows my parents and my upbringing, what advantages or debilities that afforded me, He knows who has received mercy and who He has hardened: God has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens (σκληρύνει, a form of σκληρύνω) whom he chooses to harden.[9]

Why not? Paul continued.  Why didn’t Israel attain the righteousness they pursued by law?  Because they pursued it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works (ἔργων, a form of ἔργον).[10]  Paul wasn’t writing about faith alone, dead faith that produces no works: So also faith, if it does not have works (ἔργα, another form of ἔργον), is dead being by itself.[11]  Instead he wrote of deeds that have been done in God through faith in His credited righteousness: For everyone who does evil deeds (φαῦλα, a form of φαῦλος), Jesus said, hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds (ἔργα, another form of ἔργον) will not be exposed.  But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds (ἔργα, another form of ἔργον) have been done in God.[13]

Israel did not attain righteousness because they pursued it by dead works, if you will, apart from faith in the righteousness that comes from God:  For ignoring the righteousness (δικαιοσύνην, a form of δικαιοσύνη) that comes from God, Paul wrote early in the next chapter, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, (δικαιοσύνην, a form of δικαιοσύνη) they did not submit to God’s righteousness (δικαιοσύνῃ, another form of δικαιοσύνη).[14]

One more point of clarification before moving on:  The Gentiles who did not pursue (διώκοντα, a form of διώκω) righteousness (δικαιοσύνην, a form of δικαιοσύνη) before Paul preached the Gospel to them, did pursue it afterward, but not a law of righteousness (except those he wrote to at Galatia and Colossae in order to correct that very error).  Paul’s instructions to the young Gospel preacher Timothy are helpful here: pursue (δίωκε, another form of διώκω) righteousness (δικαιοσύνην, a form of δικαιοσύνη) (e.g., the righteousness that comes from God), godliness, faithfulness (πίστιν, a form of πίστις), love (ἀγάπην, a form of ἀγάπη), endurance (ὑπομονὴν, a form of ὑπομονή), and gentleness (πραϋπαθίαν, a form of πραϋπάθεια);[18] and again, pursue (δίωκε, another form of διώκω) righteousness (δικαιοσύνην, a form of δικαιοσύνη), faithfulness (πίστιν, a form of πίστις), love (ἀγάπην, a form of ἀγάπη), and peace (εἰρήνην, a form of εἰρήνη), in company with others who call on the Lord from a pure heart.[20]  I note again how much of this flows directly from the Holy Spirit: the fruit of the Spirit is love (ἀγάπη), joy, peace (εἰρήνη), patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness (πίστις), gentleness (πραΰτης), and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.[21]

They stumbled over the stumbling stone, Paul wrote of those who pursued a law of righteousness, just as it is written,Look, I am laying in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble and a rock that will make them fall, yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame.[22]  I think it is worthwhile to unpack this a bit.  The first phrase is very reminiscent of Isaiah 28:16.

#

Paul (NET)

Blue Letter Bible (Septuagint)

NET Bible (Greek parallel text)

1

Look, I am laying in Zion a stone…

Romans 9:33

ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐμβαλῶ εἰς τὰ θεμέλια[24] Σιων λίθον

Isaiah 28:16

ἰδοὺ τίθημι ἐν Σιὼν λίθον

Romans 9:33

Look, I am laying a stone in Zion, Isaiah wrote, an approved stone, set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation…I will make justice the measuring line, fairness the plumb line…[26]  The rabbis who translated the Septuagint chose ἐγὼ ἐμβαλῶ (I throw) a stone, which is quite evocative of Moses and the stone tablets of the law: When he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became extremely angry.  He threw the tablets from his hands and broke them to pieces at the bottom of the mountain.[27]  Paul did not believe that the cornerstone for the foundation (θεμέλια) stone (λίθον, a form of λίθος) of Zion was the law.  He chose the word τίθημι (I will lay) instead.

For no one can lay (θεῖναι, a form of τίθημι) any foundation (θεμέλιον, another form of θεμέλιος) other than what is being laid, Paul wrote the Corinthians, which is Jesus Christ.[28]  And Jesus said, I am the good shepherd.  I know my own and my own know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down (τίθημι) my life for the sheep…This is why the Father loves me – because I lay down (τίθημι) my life, so that I may take it back again.  No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down (τίθημι) of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down (θεῖναι, a form of τίθημι), and I have the authority to take it back again.[29]

Then Paul alluded to Isaiah 8:14—a stone that will cause people to stumble and a rock that will make them fall—but he didn’t quote from the Septuagint.  Indeed this is what the Lord told me, Isaiah wrote.  He took hold of me firmly and warned me not to act like these people (Isaiah 8:11-16 NET):

“Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word.  Don’t be afraid of what scares them; don’t be terrified.  You must recognize the authority of the Lord who commands armies.  He is the one you must respect; he is the one you must fear.  He will become a sanctuary, but a stone that makes a person trip, and a rock that makes one stumble – to the two houses of Israel.  He will become a trap and a snare to the residents of Jerusalem.  Many will stumble over the stone and the rock, and will fall and be seriously injured, and will be ensnared and captured.”  Tie up the scroll as legal evidence, seal the official record of God’s instructions and give it to my followers.

So Paul equated the stone the Lord would lay and the stone He would become to Jacob (the two houses of Israel).  Did the translators of the Septuagint make this connection?  It’s hard to say.  They amended the text apparently to read, “and you shall not come against him as against a stumbling-stone, neither as against the falling of a rock.”[30]

Finally Paul concluded with, yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame, which is quite similar to the end of Isaiah 28:16 in the Septuagint.

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Paul (NET)

Blue Letter Bible (Septuagint)

NET Bible (Greek parallel text)

2

…yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame

Romans 9:33

καὶ ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ[31]

Isaiah 28:16

καὶ ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ οὐ καταισχυνθήσεται

Romans 9:33

The differences here are subtle.  The Septuagint “uses the stronger negation, οὐ μὴ, whereas the NT uses the more normal weaker negation of merely, ‘οὐ’.”[32]  The words καταισχυνθῇ and καταισχυνθήσεται are different forms of the same verb.  “Thus, the difference here is only in regards to the mood and tense of the verb, having the aorist form and subjunctive mood in the LXX [Septuagint] and the future form and indicative mood in the NT.  In the end since the subjunctive can be said to represent the verbal action (or state) as uncertain but probable (GGBB, 461), both Greek texts look forward to a future pleasant fulfillment for those who trust in him.  While the LXX’s subjunctive may be a bit weaker in force, do not forget the strong οὐ μὴ which precedes the subjunctive, thus putting away any doubt as to its completion.  Both Greek texts follow the MT equally as well, and the sense is not changed by this variation.”[33]

 

Addendum (6/20/2015): Jim Searcy has published that the Septuagint is a hoax written by Origen and Eusebius 200 hundred years after Christ.  “In fact, the Septuagint ‘quotes’ from the New Testament and not vice versa…”  His contention is that the “King James Version is the infallible Word of God.”  So, I’ll re-examine the quotations above with the KJV.

#

Paul (KJV)

KJV

NET Bible (Greek parallel text)

1

Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone…

Romans 9:33

Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone…

Isaiah 28:16

ἰδοὺ τίθημι ἐν Σιὼν λίθον προσκόμματος

Romans 9:33

I’ll leave it to others to reason why Origen or Eusebius changed τίθημι (I lay) to ἐμβαλῶ (I throw) in their false Septuagint rather than copying Paul here.

#

Paul (KJV)

KJV

NET Bible (Greek parallel text)

2

…and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Romans 9:33

…he that believeth shall not make haste.

Isaiah 28:16

καὶ ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ οὐ καταισχυνθήσεται

Romans 9:33

The KJV here is similar to the NET: The one who maintains his faith will not panic.[34] If the original Hebrew read make haste or panic rather than be ashamed (καταισχυνθήσεται), I leave it to Mr Searcy or others to understand why Paul changed it and why Origen or Eusebius almost (καταισχυνθῇ) but not quite copied Paul.


[3] Romans 9:30, 31 (NET)

[4] Romans 9:16 (NET)

[7] Romans 9:10-12 (NET)

[9] Romans 9:18 (NET)

[10] Romans 9:32a (NET)

[11] James 2:17 (NET)

[13] John 3:20, 21 (NET)

[14] Romans 10:3 (NET)

[18] 1 Timothy 6:11b (NET)

[20] 2 Timothy 2:22 (NET)

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

[22] Romans 9:32b, 33 (NET)

[24] Suddenly a great earthquake occurred, so that the foundations (θεμέλια, a form of θεμέλιος) of the prison were shaken (Acts 16:26 NET).

[26] Isaiah 28:16a, 17a (NET)

[27] Exodus 32:19 (NET)

[28] 1 Corinthians 3:11 (NET)

[29] John 10:14, 15, 17, 18a (NET)

[34] Isaiah 28:16b (NET)

Romans, Part 35

After the crescendo of faith and victory in Christ at the end of chapter eight, Paul’s abrupt admission at the beginning of chapter nine is disconcerting.  I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me in the Holy Spirit – I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.1
But the sense of his great sorrow and unceasing anguish comes with its cause.  For I could wish that I myself were accursed – cut off from Christ – for the sake of my people, my fellow countrymen [Table], who are Israelites.2
This has become more personal to me as I reflect on the fundamentalist Christians who are my people by birth.

To them, Paul continued writing about the descendants of Israel, belong the adoption as sons, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.  To them belong the patriarchs, and from them, by human descent, came the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever!  Amen.3  While this is objectively true of Israel I grew up feeling it subjectively, that fundamentalist Christians were the true heirs of it all.  It is not as though the word of God had failed,4 Paul continued.  What does it mean for the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe5 when the people for whom it was prepared rejected the Gospel of Christ?

This sounds, even to my ear, like a harsh judgment of the fundamentalist Christians I call my people.  But I am taking the absence of internet chatter regarding the movie “Courageous” as anecdotal evidence.  I only found one comment from a Lutheran theologian criticizing “Courageous” for being too synergistic (not monergistic enough).  I had to look it up, too, so I won’t choose up sides and argue theological jargon.  It makes me feel a little too much like a Gentile living in the futility of [my] thinking.6

I will simply say that the character Adam in the movie sought to have his own righteousness derived from his own reading of the Bible as a list of rules he resolved (or, swore an oath) to keep.  Then he became a stumblingblock to others as they followed him in his defection from Christ’s righteousness.  This is clearly part of the dung7 Paul had rejected of his past life as a Pharisee.  And the silence on the internet is deafening when compared to the outrage over the movie “End of the Spear,” when a gay Christian was hired to portray a missionary and his son.

As I have written before I didn’t see this either as I watched the movie.  We fundamentalist Christians are so accustomed to being tossed back and forth by waves of the latest spiritual fad, and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes,8 and so dissatisfied with the lives we lead by faith alone9 that Adam’s neo-Phariseeism seems completely right and natural to us.  We are they who maintain the outward appearance of religion buthave repudiated its power,10 the power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the11 dead,12 the righteousness that comes from his Spirit, his love, his joy, his peace, his patience, his kindness, his goodness, his faithfulness, his gentleness, and his self-control [Table].13

For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel,14 Paul began to explain how the word of God had not failed, nor are all the children Abraham’s true descendants; ratherthrough Isaac will your descendants be counted.”15  This seemed like an ad hoc argument to me, since all the descendants of Israel (Jacob) were also descendents of Isaac his father.  But then Paul reiterated the point he had made over and over in Romans, This means it is not the children of the flesh (σαρκὸς, a form of σάρξ) who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise (ἐπαγγελίας, a form of ἐπαγγελία) are counted (λογίζεται, a form of λογίζομαι) as descendants.16  This is the same distinction Paul made between those born only of the flesh and those born of the flesh and of the Spirit,17 and those who live according to the flesh and those who live according the Spirit.18

And look, I am sending you what my Father promised19 (ἐπαγγελίαν, another form of ἐπαγγελία), the resurrected Jesus told the children of promise (all descended from Israel) just before He was taken up into heaven.20  While [Jesus] was with them, Luke reiterated in Acts, he declared, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait there for what my Father promised (ἐπαγγελίαν, another form of ἐπαγγελία), which you heard about from me.  For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”21  This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it, Peter declared in his first sermon on Pentecost.  So then, exalted to the right hand of God, and having received the promise (ἐπαγγελίαν, another form of ἐπαγγελία) of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he has poured out what you both see and hear [Table].22

For this is what the promise (ἐπαγγελίας, a form of ἐπαγγελία) declared: Paul continued.  “About a year from now I will return and Sarah will have a son.”23  Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our ancestor Isaac – even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election would stand, not by works but by his calling) – it was said to her, The older will serve the younger,” [see Table for comparison] just as it is written:Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”24  This kind of talk rubs those born only of the flesh of Adam, those who are content with their own works, the wrong way.  Paul knew that.

What shall we say then? Paul continued.  Is there injustice with God?25  In other words, by what right did God distinguish between Esau and Jacob before they were born or had done anything good or bad?  Too often, I have missed the point here, rationalizing that God knew what Esau and Jacob would do before they were born.  But Paul said, Absolutely not!  For he says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” [see Table for comparison].26  Even as He gave Moses the law that defined sin, God reserved for Himself the right to have mercy and compassion on any He chose to have mercy and compassion.  So then, Paul concluded, it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.27

For the scripture says to Pharaoh: Paul continued to make his point doubly strong and doubly clear by declaring its inverse.  “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth” [see Table for comparison].  So then, God has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden.28  Again, such talk infuriates one depending on his own works for glory, honor and salvation.  You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault?  For who has ever resisted his will?”29  But Paul didn’t back down (Romans 9:20-29 NET).

But who indeed are you – a mere human being – to talk back to God?  Does what is molded say to the molder, Why have you made me like this?[see Table for comparison] Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use?  But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction?  And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory – even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?  As he also says in Hosea: “I will call those who were not my people, My people, and I will call her who was unloved, My beloved.’” [see Table for comparison]  “And in the very place where it was said to them, You are not my people, there they will be called sons of the living God’” [see Table for comparison].  And Isaiah cries out on behalf of Israel, “Though the number of the children of Israel are as the sand of the sea, only the remnant30 will be saved, for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth completely and quickly31  Just as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of armies had not left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have resembled Gomorrah.”

Now if one reads the passage above, and suspects that he or she has been hardened by God into an object of wrath, and begins to fear rather than to mock, take heart.  You have begun to hear the word of the Lord.  He is calling you.  And the righteous prayer that justifies is near you, on your lips.  God, be merciful (ἱλάσθητι, a passive imperative form of ἱλάσκομαι) to me, sinner that I am!32

 

Addendum: February 11, 2025
A table comparing some English translations of Isaiah 1:9 in the Masoretic text and Septuagint follows:

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Isaiah 1:9 (Tanakh/KJV)

Isaiah 1:9 (NET)

Isaiah 1:9 (NETS)

Isaiah 1:9 (English Elpenor)

Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small (כִּמְעָ֑ט) remnant (שָׂרִ֖יד), we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had not left us a few survivors (śārîḏ, שׁריד), we would have quickly (mᵊʿaṭ, כמעט) been like Sodom, we would have become like Gomorrah.

And if the Lord Sabaoth had not left us offspring (σπέρμα), we would have become like Sodoma and been made similar to Gomorra.

And if the Lord of Sabaoth had not left us a seed (σπέρμα), we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been made like Gomorrha.

In the Tanakh and KJV כִּמְעָ֑ט (mᵊʿaṭ) was translated very small, while it was translated quickly in the NET and soon in a more recently translated version of the Tanakh. There is no Greek counterpart in the Septuagint. The word שָׂרִ֖יד (śārîḏ) was translated aremnant in the Tanakh and KJV (a remnant in the Tanakh on chabad.org), and a few survivors in the NET. It was translated σπέρμα in the Septuagint: offspring (NETS), a seed (English Elpenor).

Considering the previous verse one might naturally assume that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was in view.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Isaiah 1:8 (Tanakh/KJV)

Isaiah 1:8 (NET)

Isaiah 1:8 (NETS)

Isaiah 1:8 (English Elpenor)

And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.

Daughter Zion is left isolated, like a hut in a vineyard or a shelter in a cucumber field; she is a besieged city.

Daughter Sion will be forsaken like a booth in a vineyard and like a garden-watcher’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.

The daughter of Sion shall be deserted as a tent in a vineyard, and as a storehouse of fruits in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.

The following verse, however, lends credence to the idea that the Lord had the manner of life of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, rather than their death, in view.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Isaiah 1:10 (Tanakh/KJV)

Isaiah 1:10 (NET)

Isaiah 1:10 (NETS)

Isaiah 1:10 (English Elpenor)

Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

Listen to the Lord’s message, you leaders of Sodom! Pay attention to our God’s rebuke, people of Gomorrah!

Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodoma! Pay attention to the law of God, you people of Gomorra!

Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodoma; attend to the law of God, thou people of Gomorrha.

According to a note (54) in the NET, Paul quoted from Isaiah 1:9 in Romans 9:29. A table comparing the Greek of that quotation with that of the Septuagint follows.

Romans 9:29b (NET Parallel Greek)

Isaiah 1:9b (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 1:9b (Septuagint Elpenor)

εἰ μὴ κύριος σαβαὼθ ἐγκατέλιπεν ἡμῖν σπέρμα, ὡς Σόδομα ἂν ἐγενήθημεν καὶ ὡς Γόμορρα ἂν ὡμοιώθημεν

εἰ μὴ κύριος σαβαωθ ἐγκατέλιπεν ἡμῖν σπέρμα ὡς Σοδομα ἂν ἐγενήθημεν καὶ ὡς Γομορρα ἂν ὡμοιώθημεν

εἰ μὴ Κύριος σαβαὼθ ἐγκατέλιπεν ἡμῖν σπέρμα, ὡς Σόδομα ἂν ἐγενήθημεν καὶ ὡς Γόμορρα ἂν ὡμοιώθημεν

Romans 9:29b (NET)

Isaiah 1:9b (NETS)

Isaiah 1:9b (English Elpenor)

“If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had not left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have resembled Gomorrah.”

if the Lord Sabaoth had not left us offspring, we would have become like Sodoma and been made similar to Gomorra.

if the Lord of Sabaoth had not left us a seed, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been made like Gomorrha.

So, Paul and the Septuagint represent two witnesses that compel one to consider σπέρμα as the more original reading. Did the rabbis who translated the Septuagint understand שָׂרִ֖יד (śārîḏ) and כִּמְעָ֑ט (mᵊʿaṭ) as σπέρμα? Or, did the Masoretes remove an ambiguous form of זֶרַע (zeraʿ) and replace it with שָׂרִ֖יד (śārîḏ) and כִּמְעָ֑ט (mᵊʿaṭ) to fix a single interpretation, to eliminate the possibility that a seed (זֶרַע), who is Christ, was also in view?

Tables comparing Isaiah 1:9; 1:8 and 1:10 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Isaiah 1:9; 1:8 and 1:10 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Ephesians 1:20 and Romans 9:27, 28 in the KJV and NET follow.

Isaiah 1:9 (Tanakh)

Isaiah 1:9 (KJV)

Isaiah 1:9 (NET)

Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had not left us a few survivors, we would have quickly been like Sodom, we would have become like Gomorrah.

Isaiah 1:9 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 1:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ εἰ μὴ κύριος σαβαωθ ἐγκατέλιπεν ἡμῖν σπέρμα ὡς Σοδομα ἂν ἐγενήθημεν καὶ ὡς Γομορρα ἂν ὡμοιώθημεν καὶ εἰ μὴ Κύριος σαβαὼθ ἐγκατέλιπεν ἡμῖν σπέρμα, ὡς Σόδομα ἂν ἐγενήθημεν καὶ ὡς Γόμορρα ἂν ὡμοιώθημεν

Isaiah 1:9 (NETS)

Isaiah 1:9 (English Elpenor)

And if the Lord Sabaoth had not left us offspring, we would have become like Sodoma and been made similar to Gomorra. And if the Lord of Sabaoth had not left us a seed, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been made like Gomorrha.

Isaiah 1:8 (Tanakh)

Isaiah 1:8 (KJV)

Isaiah 1:8 (NET)

And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Daughter Zion is left isolated, like a hut in a vineyard or a shelter in a cucumber field; she is a besieged city.

Isaiah 1:8 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 1:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐγκαταλειφθήσεται ἡ θυγάτηρ Σιων ὡς σκηνὴ ἐν ἀμπελῶνι καὶ ὡς ὀπωροφυλάκιον ἐν σικυηράτῳ ὡς πόλις πολιορκουμένη ἐγκαταλειφθήσεται ἡ θυγάτηρ Σιὼν ὡς σκηνὴ ἐν ἀμπελῶνι καὶ ὡς ὀπωροφυλάκιον ἐν σικυηράτῳ, ὡς πόλις πολιορκουμένη

Isaiah 1:8 (NETS)

Isaiah 1:8 (English Elpenor)

Daughter Sion will be forsaken like a booth in a vineyard and like a garden-watcher’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. The daughter of Sion shall be deserted as a tent in a vineyard, and as a storehouse of fruits in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.

Isaiah 1:10 (Tanakh)

Isaiah 1:10 (KJV)

Isaiah 1:10 (NET)

Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. Listen to the Lord’s message, you leaders of Sodom! Pay attention to our God’s rebuke, people of Gomorrah!

Isaiah 1:10 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 1:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἀκούσατε λόγον κυρίου ἄρχοντες Σοδομων προσέχετε νόμον θεοῦ λαὸς Γομορρας ᾿Ακούσατε λόγον Κυρίου, ἄρχοντες Σοδόμων· προσέχετε νόμον Θεοῦ λαὸς Γομόρρας

Isaiah 1:10 (NETS)

Isaiah 1:10 (English Elpenor)

Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodoma! Pay attention to the law of God, you people of Gomorra! Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodoma; attend to the law of God, thou people of Gomorrha.

Ephesians 1:20 (NET)

Ephesians 1:20 (KJV)

This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

Ephesians 1:20 (NET Parallel Greek)

Ephesians 1:20 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Ephesians 1:20 (Byzantine Majority Text)

῞Ην |ἐνήργησεν| ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ ἐγείρας αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν καὶ καθίσας ἐν δεξιᾷ αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ην ενηργησεν εν τω χριστω εγειρας αυτον εκ νεκρων και εκαθισεν εν δεξια αυτου εν τοις επουρανιοις ην ενηργησεν εν τω χριστω εγειρας αυτον εκ των νεκρων και εκαθισεν εν δεξια αυτου εν τοις επουρανιοις

Romans 9:27, 28 (NET)

Romans 9:27, 28 (KJV)

And Isaiah cries out on behalf of Israel, “Though the number of the children of Israel are as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved, Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:

Romans 9:27 (NET Parallel Greek)

Romans 9:27 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Romans 9:27 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Ἠσαΐας δὲ κράζει ὑπὲρ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ· ἐὰν ᾖ ὁ ἀριθμὸς τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς θαλάσσης, τὸ ὑπόλειμμα σωθήσεται ησαιας δε κραζει υπερ του ισραηλ εαν η ο αριθμος των υιων ισραηλ ως η αμμος της θαλασσης το καταλειμμα σωθησεται ησαιας δε κραζει υπερ του ισραηλ εαν η ο αριθμος των υιων ισραηλ ως η αμμος της θαλασσης το καταλειμμα σωθησεται
for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth completely and quickly.” For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.

Romans 9:28 (NET Parallel Greek)

Romans 9:28 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Romans 9:28 (Byzantine Majority Text)

λόγον γὰρ συντελῶν καὶ συντέμνων ποιήσει κύριος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς λογον γαρ συντελων και συντεμνων εν δικαιοσυνη οτι λογον συντετμημενον ποιησει κυριος επι της γης λογον γαρ συντελων και συντεμνων εν δικαιοσυνη οτι λογον συντετμημενον ποιησει κυριος επι της γης

1 Romans 9:1, 2 (NET)

2 Romans 9:3, 4a (NET)

3 Romans 9:4b, 5 (NET)

4 Romans 9:6a (NET)

5 Romans 3:22 (NET) Table

8 Ephesians 4:14 (NET)

10 2 Timothy 3:5 (NET)

11 The Byzantine Majority Text had the article των here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

12 Ephesians 1:20 (NET)

13 Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

14 Romans 9:6b (NET)

15 Romans 9:7 (NET) Table comparing Paul’s quotation to Genesis in the Septuagint.

16 Romans 9:8 (NET)

19 Luke 24:49a (NET) Table

20 Luke 24:51 (NET)

21 Acts 1:4, 5 (NET)

22 Acts 2:32, 33 (NET)

23 Romans, Part 20 Table comparing Paul’s quotation to Genesis in the Septuagint.

24 Romans 9:9-13 (NET) Table comparing Paul’s quotation to Malachi in the Septuagint.

25 Romans 9:14a (NET)

26 Romans 9:14b, 15 (NET)

27 Romans 9:16 (NET) Table

28 Romans 9:17, 18 (NET)

29 Romans 9:19 (NET) Table

31 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εν δικαιοσυνη οτι λογον συντετμημενον (KJV: For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.) interspersed here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

32 Luke 18:13, 14 (NET) Table; Religious and Righteous Prayer