What shall we say then? Paul continued, that the Gentiles who did not pursue (διώκοντα, a form of διώκω)^[1] righteousness (δικαιοσύνην, a form of δικαιοσύνη)^[2] 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]^[5] but by his calling [καλοῦντος, a form of καλέω]^[6]) – 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)^[8] 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),^[12] 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 (δικαιοσύνη, a form of δικαιοσύνη) (e.g., the righteousness that comes from God), godliness, faithfulness (πίστιν, a form of πίστις),^[15] love (ἀγάπην, a form of ἀγάπη),^[16] endurance,^[17] and gentleness (πραϋπαθίαν, a form of πρᾳότης);^[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),^[19] 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, a form of 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.