Rom 12:19 and Deut 32:35: the form of the quotation
Says Rom 12:19 quotes Ἐμοὶ ἐκδίκησις, ἐγὼ ἀνταποδώσω, λέγει κύριος.
Says Ἐμοὶ ἐκδίκησις (emoi ekdikēsis, "vengeance is mine") matches the Hebrew לִי נָקָם, not the LXX's ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἐκδικήσεως ("in the day of vengeance"). ἐγὼ ἀνταποδώσω ("I will repay") shares the LXX's verb ἀνταποδώσω, where the Hebrew has the noun וְשִׁלֵּם ("and recompense"). λέγει κύριος ("says the Lord") is not in either text of 32:35.
Uncertain Where this form comes from. This note leans to a Greek wording that Paul shared rather than coined: in SBLGNT's text Heb 10:30 has the same four words, without λέγει κύριος, departing from the Hebrew and the LXX in the same ways. The alternative is Paul's own rendering of the Hebrew with the LXX's verb, which Hebrews could then have taken from Paul.
Claims
- SaysRom 12:19 quotes Ἐμοὶ ἐκδίκησις, ἐγὼ ἀνταποδώσω, λέγει κύριος.
- Says'Vengeance is mine' matches the Hebrew לִי נָקָם; ἀνταποδώσω is the LXX's verb; λέγει κύριος is in neither text of 32:35.
- UncertainSource of the form: lean, a Greek wording Paul shared rather than coined (the same four words in Heb 10:30); alternative, Paul's own rendering, with Hebrews then dependent on Paul.
Citations
- SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 Rom 12:19 (frozen input inputs/excerpts/sblgnt/src.sblgnt.Rom.12.19.txt)
- LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Deut 32:35 (vol. 1 p. 413, leaf n444); read on the page image (frozen input inputs/lxx/Deut.32.lxx-swete.overlay.jsonl, page_checked)
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Deut 32:35 (frozen input inputs/wlc/Deut.32.wlc.jsonl)
Quotations from LXX (Swete) are used under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits
2026-11-04
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