Wednesday, August 25, 2021

A man of suffering

Wednesday 2021.08.25

This morning I read chapters fifty-two through fifty-nine of the book of the prophet Isaiah in the OT.

Chapter 53 tells of a "man of suffering" (Isaiah 53:3) who was chosen by Yehovah to bear our sins (Isaiah 53:4, 11b, 12 LXX) and to die for the iniquities of His people. Verse 8 says,

Isaiah 53:8 LXX Brenton
In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken away from the earth: because of the iniquities of my people he was led to death.

Verse 10 in chapter 53, however, seem to be translated rather differently in the NIV (based on the Hebrew Masoretic text) compared to the Brenton translation (based on the Greek Septuagint). There is significant contrast in meaning between the phrase "though the LORD makes his life an offering" in the NIV against the phrase "if ye can give an offering for sin" in the Brenton LXX.

Isaiah 53:10 NIV
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
Esaias 53:10 LXX Brenton
The Lord also is pleased to purge him from his stroke.
If ye can give an offering for sin, your soul shall see a long-lived seed: