Leviticus! the Video Game

Sharpen your knife and your priestly reflexes: are you ready for the Ultimate Rule Book? Leviticus!

Play the role of a busy priest working to keep God happy by sacrificing choice offerings of sheep, goats, and bulls with frantic speed and slicing precision. Combo your actions and the rewards get BIBLICAL!

Three sacrificial services a day, seven days a week. Can YOU make it to Shabbat? Download Leviticus! and start swiping to find out!

That’s the real description of this real iPhone and iPad app: Leviticus! It sounds like Fruit Ninja meets the Hebrew Bible.

I don’t think Leviticus can be wholly reduced to a rule book (it is also all about covenant), and I don’t think sacrifices are best described as just an attempt to “keep God happy,” but there is a lot of detail in Leviticus that most of us struggle through when (if) we read it.

Here’s a screen shot. Not for the weak of stomach, though neither is Leviticus the book:

From Tablet (via the agade email list):

Titled Leviticus!, the game, as its title suggests, is both irreverent and deeply faithful to the source text—all that business about doves and cows and purity is right there in the book. But whereas Leviticus is too thick with rules to make for a very compelling read, it’s perfect when played.

As irreverent as this game first seemed to me, it may actually help one better understand the book. At least, that’s one of its purposes, according to the creator:

And education is at the heart of [Sarah] Lefton’s efforts. The game, she hopes, will do more than just amuse. “We brought something to very visual life that’s normally left on the page,” she said, “and that a lot of people just never study.” Believing that Jewish literacy and digital literacy make for excellent bedfellows—learning how to code and create applications that, in turn, are designed to enhance Jewish education and engagement—she now has future plans that involve not only the production of more games like Leviticus!, but also workshops teaching students and educators how to create their own Jewish-themed software.

The app is free, and found here. I don’t have an iPhone or iPad, so if anyone reading this downloads and tries it, I’d love to hear more about what you think. And it’s not April 1, so, as far as I know, the app is real.

Greek Isaiah in a Year, Week 14=Isaiah 16:11-18:7

This week in Greek Isaiah in a Year covers Isaiah 16:11-18:7.

Here is the schedule and text for Monday through Friday, using again the text from R.R. Ottley’s Book of Isaiah According to the Septuagint. Ottley is also here in Logos (reviewed here) and here as a free, downloadable pdf in the public domain. The full reading plan for our group is here (pdf).

Monday, March 4: Isa 16:11-14

11 διὰ τοῦτο ἡ κοιλία μου ἐπὶ Μωὰβ ὡς κιθάρα· ἠχήσει, καὶ τὰ ἐντός μου ὡσεὶ τεῖχος ὃ ἐνεκαίνισας. 12 καὶ ἔσται ὡς τὸ ἐντραπῆναί σε, ἐκοπίασεν Μωὰβ ἐπὶ τοῖς βωμοῖς, καὶ εἰσελεύσεται εἰς τὰ χειροποίητα αὐτῆς ὥστε προσεύξασθαι, καὶ οὐ μὴ δύνηται ἐξελέσθαι αὐτόν. 13 τοῦτο τὸ ῥῆμα ὃ ἐλάλησεν Κύριος ἐπὶ Μωάβ, ὁπότε καὶ ἐλάλησεν. 14 καὶ νῦν λέγω Ἐν τρισὶν ἔτεσιν ἐτῶν μισθωτοῦ ἀτιμασθήσεται ἡ δόξα Μωὰβ ἐν παντὶ τῷ πλούτῳ τῷ πολλῷ, καὶ καταλειφθήσεται ὀλιγοστὸς καὶ οὐκ ἔντιμος.

Tuesday, March 5: Isa 17:1-5

Τὸ ῥῆμα τὸ κατὰ Δαμασκοῦ.

17 1 Ἰδοὺ Δαμασκὸς ἀρθήσεται ἀπὸ πόλεων, καὶ ἔσται εἰς πτῶσιν, 2 καταλελιμμένη εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, εἰς κοίτην ποιμνίων καὶ ἀνάπαυσιν βουκολίων, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ὁ διώκων· 3 καὶ οὐκέτι ἔσται ὀχυρὰ τοῦ καταφυγεῖν Ἐφράιμ· καὶ οὐκέτι ἔσται βασιλεία ἐν Δαμασκῷ, καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν τῶν Σύρων ἀπολεῖται· οὐ γὰρ σὺ βελτίων εἶ τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ καὶ τῆς δόξης αὐτῶν. 4 Τάδε λέγει Κύριος σαβαώθ Ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἔκλειψις τῆς δόξης Ἰακώβ, καὶ τὰ πίονα τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ σεισθήσεται. 5 καὶ ἔσται ὃν τρόπον ἐάν τις συναγάγῃ ἀμητὸν ἑστηκότα καὶ σπέρμα σταχύων ἐν τῷ βραχίονι αὐτοῦ ἀμήσῃ, καὶ ἔσται ὃν τρόπον ἐάν τις συναγάγῃ στάχυν ἐν φάραγγι στερεᾷ,

Wednesday, March 6: Isa 17:6-9

6 καὶ καταλειφθῇ ἐν αὐτῇ καλάμη, ἢ ὡς ῥῶγες ἐλαίας δύο ἢ τρεῖς ἐπʼ ἄκρου μετεώρου, ἢ τέσσαρες ἢ πέντε ἐπὶ τῶν κλάδων αὐτοῦ καταλειφθῇ. τάδε λέγει Κύριος ὁ θεὸς Ἰσραήλ. 7 τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ πεποιθὼς ἔσται ἄνθρωπος ἐπὶ τῷ ποιήσαντι αὐτόν, οἱ δὲ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν ἅγιον τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐμβλέψονται, 8 καὶ οὐ μὴ πεποιθότες ὦσιν ἐπὶ τοῖς βωμοῖς οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν αὐτῶν ἃ ἐποίησαν οἱ δάκτυλοι αὐτῶν, καὶ οὐκ ὄψονται τὰ ἄλση αὐτῶν οὐδὲ τὰ βδελύγματα αὐτῶν. 9 τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἔσονται αἱ πόλεις σου ἐγκαταλελιμμέναι ὃν τρόπον ἐγκατέλιπον οἱ Ἀμορραῖοι καὶ οἱ Εὑαῖοι ἀπὸ προσώπου τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ· καὶ ἔσονται ἔρημοι·

Thursday, March 7: Isa 17:10-14

10 διότι ἐγκατέλιπες τὸν θεὸν τὸν σωτῆρά σου, καὶ Κυρίου τοῦ βοηθοῦ σου οὐκ ἐμνήσθης. διὰ τοῦτο φυτεύσεις φύτευμα ἄπιστον καὶ σπέρμα ἄπιστον· 11 τῇ δὲ ἡμέρᾳ ᾗ ἂν φυτεύσῃς, πλανηθήσῃ· τὸ δὲ πρωὶ ἐὰν <σπείρῃς>, ἀνθήσει εἰς ἀμητὸν ᾗ ἂν ἡμέρᾳ κληρώσῃ, καὶ ὥσπερ πατὴρ ἀνθρώπου κληρώσῃ τοῖς υἱοῖς.

12 Οὐαὶ πλῆθος ἐθνῶν πολλῶν· ὡς θάλασσα κυμαίνουσα, οὕτως ταραχθήσεσθε, καὶ νῶτος ἐθνῶν πολλῶν ὡς ὕδωρ ἠχήσει· 13 ὡς ὕδωρ πολὺ ἔθνη πολλά, ὡς ὕδατος πολλοῦ βίᾳ καταφερομένου. καὶ ἀποσκορακιεῖ αὐτόν, καὶ πόρρω αὐτὸν διώξεται ὡς χνοῦν ἀχύρου λικμώντων ἀπέναντι ἀνέμου, καὶ ὡς κονιορτὸν τροχοῦ καταιγὶς φέρουσα. 14 πρὸς ἑσπέραν ἔσται πένθος· πρὶν ἢ πρωί, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται. αὕτη ἡ μερὶς τῶν ὑμᾶς προνομευσάντων, καὶ κληρονομία τῶν ὑμᾶς κληρονομησάντων.

Friday, March 8: Isa 18

18 1 Οὐαὶ γῆς πλοίων πτέρυγες ἐπέκεινα ποταμῶν Αἰθιοπίας, 2 ὁ ἀποστέλλων ἐν θαλάσσῃ ὅμηρα καὶ ἐπιστολὰς βυβλίνας ἐπάνω τοῦ ὕδατος. πορεύσονται γὰρ ἄγγελοι κοῦφοι πρὸς ἔθνος μετέωρον, καὶ ξένον λαὸν καὶ χαλεπόν· τί αὐτοῦ ἐπέκεινα; ἔθνος ἀνέλπιστον καὶ καταπεπατημένον. νῦν οἱ ποταμοὶ τῆς γῆς 3 πάντες ὡς χώρα κατοικουμένη κατοικηθήσεται· ἡ χώρα αὐτῶν ὡσεὶ σημεῖον ἀπὸ ὄρους ἀρθῇ, ὡς σάλπιγγος φωνὴ ἀκουστὸν ἔσται. 4 ὅτι οὕτως εἶπέν μοι Κύριος Ἀσφάλεια ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἐμῇ πόλει ὡς φῶς καύματος μεσημβρίας, καὶ ὡς νεφέλη δρόσου ἡμέρας ἀμήτου ἔσται. 5 πρὸ τοῦ θερισμοῦ, ὅταν συντελεσθῇ ἄνθος, καὶ ὄμφαξ ἀνθήσῃ ἄνθος ὀμφακίζουσα· καὶ ἀφελεῖ τὰ βοτρύδια τὰ μικρὰ τοῖς δρεπάνοις, καὶ τὰς κληματίδας ἀφελεῖ καὶ κατακόψει, 6 καὶ καταλείψει ἅμα τοῖς πετεινοῖς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τοῖς θηρίοις τῆς γῆς· καὶ συναχθήσεται ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ παντὰ τὰ θηρία τῆς γῆς ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἥξει. 7 ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ ἀνενεχθήσεται δῶρα Κυρίῳ σαβαὼθ ἐκ λαοῦ τεθλιμμένου καὶ τετιλμένου, καὶ ἀπὸ λαοῦ μεγάλου ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα χρόνον· ἔθνος ἐλπίζον καὶ καταπεπατημένον, ὅ ἐστιν ἐν μέρει τοῦ ποταμοῦ τῆς χώρας αὐτοῦ, εἰς τὸν τόπον οὗ τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου σαβαώθ, ὄρος Σιών.

See here for more resources and links to texts for Greek Isaiah.

And here are the Week 14 readings above, but in pdf form.

Greek Isaiah in a Year, Week 13=Isaiah 14:28-16:10

This week in Greek Isaiah in a Year covers Isaiah 14:28-16:10. I’ve been behind off and on the last few weeks, but am caught up now. It’s amazing how even five verses a day can be a challenge to keep up with.

Here is the schedule and text for Monday through Friday, using again the text from R.R. Ottley’s Book of Isaiah According to the Septuagint (pictured at left; click on image to go to Amazon product page). Ottley is also here in Logos (I reviewed that edition here) and here as a free, downloadable pdf in the public domain. The full reading plan for our group is here (pdf).

Monday, February 25: Isa 14:28-32

28 Τοῦ ἔτους οὗ ἀπέθανεν Ἀχὰζ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐγενήθη τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο.

29 Μὴ εὐφρανθείητε, πάντες οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι, συνετρίβη γὰρ ὁ ζυγὸς τοῦ παίοντος ὑμᾶς· ἐκ γὰρ σπέρματος ὄφεων ἐξελεύσεται ἔγγονα ἀσπίδων, καὶ τὰ ἔκγονα αὐτῶν ἐξελεύσονται ὄφεις πετόμενοι. 30 καὶ βοσκηθήσονται πτωχοὶ διʼ αὐτοῦ· πτωχοὶ δὲ ἄνδρες ἐπʼ εἰρήνης ἀναπαύσονται· ἀνελεῖ δὲ λιμῷ τὸ σπέρμα σου, καὶ τὸ κατάλιμμά σου ἀνελεῖ. 31 ὀλολύζετε, πύλαι πόλεων, κεκραγέτωσαν πόλεις τεταραγμέναι, οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι πάντες, ὅτι καπνὸς ἀπὸ βαρρᾶ ἔρχεται, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν τοῦ εἶναι. 32 καὶ τί ἀποκριθήσονται βασιλεῖς τῶν ἐθνῶν; ὅτι Κύριος ἐθεμελίωσεν Σιών, καὶ διʼ αὐτοῦ σωθήσονται οἱ ταπεινοὶ τοῦ λαοῦ.

Tuesday, February 26: Isa 15:1-4

15 1 Νυκτὸς ἀπολεῖται ἡ Μωαβῖτις, νυκτὸς γὰρ ἀπολεῖται τὸ τεῖχος τῆς Μωαβίτιδος. 2 λυπεῖσθε ἐφʼ ἑαυτοῖς, ἀπολεῖται γὰρ Δαιβηδών, οὗ ὁ βεμὸς ὑμῶν· ἐκεῖ ἀναβήσεσθε κλαίειν, ἐπὶ Ναβαῦ τῆς Μωαβίτιδος. ὀλολύζετε, ἐπὶ πάσης κεφαλῆς φαλάκρωμα, πάντες βραχίονες κατατετμημένοι, 3 ἐν ταῖς πλατείαις αὐτῆς περιζώσασθε σάκκους, καὶ κόπτεσθε ἐπὶ τῶν δωμάτων αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐν ταῖς πλατείαις αὐτῆς καὶ ἐν ταῖς ῥύμαις αὐτῆς, πάντες ὀλολύζετε μετὰ κλαυθμοῦ. 4 ὅτι κέκραγεν Ἑσεβὼν καὶ <Ἐλεαλή>, ἕως ἠκούσθη ἡ φωνὴ αὐτῆς· διὰ τοῦτο ἡ ὀσφὺς τῆς Μωαβίτιδος βοᾷ, ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτῆς γνώσεται.

Wednesday, February 27: Isa 15:5-9

5 ἡ καρδία τῆς Μωαβίτιδος βοᾷ ἐν ἑαυτῇ ἕως Σήγωρ· δάμαλις γὰρ ἐστὶν τριετής· ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς ἀναβάσεως τῆς πρὸς σὲ κλαίοντες ἀναβήσονται τῇ ὁδῷ Ἀδωνίειμ· βοᾷ σύντριμμα καὶ σεισμός, 6 τὸ ὕδωρ τῆς Νεμρεὶμ ἔρημον ἔσται, καὶ ὁ χόρτος αὐτῆς ἐκλείψει· χόρτος γὰρ χλωρὸς οὐκ ἔσται. 7 μὴ καὶ οὕτως μέλλει σωθῆναι; ἐπάξω γὰρ ἐπὶ τὴν φάραγγα Ἄραβας, καὶ λήμψονται αὐτήν. 8 συνῆψεν γὰρ ἡ βοὴ τὸ ὄρος τῆς Μωαβίτιδος τῆς Ἀγαλλείμ, καὶ ὀλολυγμὸς αὐτῆς ἕως τοῦ φρέατος τοῦ Αἰλείμ. 9 τὸ δὲ ὕδωρ τὸ Ῥεμμὼν πλησθήσεται αἵματος· ἐπάξω γὰρ ἐπὶ Ῥεμμὼν Ἄραβας, καὶ ἀρῶ τὸ σπέρμα Μωὰβ καὶ Ἀριὴλ καὶ τὸ κατάλοιπον Ἀδαμά.

Thursday, February 28: Isa 16:1-5

16 1 Ἀποστελῶ ὡς ἑρπετὰ ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν· μὴ πέτρα ἔρημός ἐστιν τὸ ὄρος Σιών; 2 ἔσῃ γὰρ ὡς πετεινοῦ ἀνιπταμένου νεοσσὸς ἀφῃρημένος, θυγάτηρ Μωάβ· ἐπὶ τάδε, Ἀρνών, πλείονα 3 βουλεύου, ποίει τε σκέπην πένθους αὐτῇ διὰ παντός· ἐν μεσημβρινῇ σκοτιᾷ φεύγουσιν, ἐξέστησαν· μὴ <ἀχθῇς>. 4 παροικήσουσιν οἱ φυγάδες Μωάβ· ἔσονται γὰρ σκέπη ὑμῖν ἀπὸ προσώπου διώκοντος, ὅτι ἤρθη ἡ συμμαχία σου, συνετελέσθη ταλαιπωρία, καὶ ὁ ἄρχων ἀπώλετο ὁ καταπατῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. 5 καὶ διορθωθήσεται μετὰ ἐλέους θρόνος, καὶ καθιεῖται ἐπʼ αὐτοῦ μετὰ ἀληθείας ἐν σκηνῇ Δαυείδ, κρίνων καὶ ἐκζητῶν κρίμα καὶ σπεύδων δικαιοσύνην.

Friday, March 1: Isa 16:6-10

6 Ἠκούσαμεν τὴν ὕβριν Μωάβ, ὑβριστὴς σφόδρα, τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν ἐξῆρας. οὐχ οὕτως ἡ μαντεία σου, οὐχ οὕτως. 7 ὀλολύξει Μωάβ, ἐν γὰρ τῇ Μωαβίτιδι πάντες ὀλολύξουσιν· τοῖς κατοικοῦσιν Δέσεθ μελετήσεις, καὶ οὐκ ἐντραπήσῃ. 8 τὰ πεδία Ἐσεβὼν πενθήσει, ἄμπελος Σεβαμά· καταπίνοντες τὰ ἔθνη, καταπατήσατε τὰς ἀμπέλους αὐτῆς ἕως Ἰαζήρ· οὐ μὴ συνάψητε, πλανήθητε τὴν ἔρημον· οἱ ἀπεσταλμένοι ἐγκατελείφθησαν, διέβησαν γὰρ τὴν ἔρημον. 9 διὰ τοῦτο κλαύσομαι ὡς τὸν κλαυθμὸν Ἰαζὴρ ἄμπελον Σεβαμά· τὰ δένδρα σου κατέβαλεν Ἐσεβὼν καὶ <Ἐλεαλή>, ἐπὶ τῷ θερισμῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ τρυγητῷ σου καταπατήσω, καὶ πάντα πεσοῦνται. 10 καὶ ἀρθήσεται εὐφροσύνη καὶ ἀγαλλίαμα ἐκ τῶν ἀμπελώνων σου, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀμπελῶσίν σου οὐ μὴ εὐφρανθήσονται, καὶ οὐ μὴ πατήσουσιν οἶνον εἰς τὰ ὑπολήνια, πέπαυται γάρ.

See here for more resources and links to texts for Greek Isaiah.

And here are the Week 13 readings above, but in pdf form.

Review of Basics of Biblical Hebrew: Video Lectures

Miles Van Pelt keeps turning out the hits. Through Zondervan he has published resources that fill a gap in original language learning in biblical studies. I’ve reviewed (with approval) his Biblical Hebrew: A Compact Guide, his Basics of Biblical Aramaic, and have been grateful in my Göttingen Septuagint primer to link to a short two-page abbreviations sheet he produced for that critical edition of the Septuagint.

This fall Zondervan released Basics of Biblical Hebrew: Video Lectures.

The DVDs work “chapter by chapter, section by section” through Pratico and Van Pelt’s Basics of Biblical Hebrew grammar textbook. The videos are “the basic content in lecture form for the grammar.” Here’s how Van Pelt recommends using the DVDs:

Read the chapter of Basics for Biblical Hebrew “for simple content overview.”
Watch the lectures.
Go back to the printed chapter and memorize the relevant information (vocabulary, paradigms, charts, grammar).
Complete the workbook exercises.
Check your answers.

Each DVD chapter corresponds to a chapter in the textbook. The DVDs come with a pdf file that includes summary charts. Throughout the lectures Van Pelt refers to these charts and the screen moves to them as he is speaking.

There is nothing particularly novel or revolutionary in the videos that is not already covered to some degree in the textbook. But especially for a student who is making her or his way through the book alone, the video lectures serve to reinforce the material in a new medium. Even a student taking a course with a live lecturer could benefit from watching these alongside the class.

Van Pelt is a solid lecturer. If not overly exciting, he communicates concepts clearly. For just about anyone making their way through the grammar, it will be easy to follow these lectures.

He offers good study tips in the introduction, and continues to encourage learners throughout the 36 lectures. My favorite tip: “Begin reading your Hebrew Bible as soon as possible,” and, “Take that Bible with you everywhere.” I remember that often in my first year of Hebrew (I used the Van Pelt and Pratico text), I wanted to just be able to read the Hebrew Bible. There are examples throughout the grammar from the Bible, but learning charts and paradigms first can be tedious. This is perhaps a necessary tedium.

Or is it? Some people disagree that paradigm memorization outside the context of a text or conversation is ideal pedagogy for language learning. (Look at how babies acquire language, after all, the argument goes–by hearing, talking, etc., not by memorizing grammatical rules.) Even dead or ancient languages should be taught as “living languages,” proponents say. So some Hebrew textbooks encourage instead a text-based inductive approach.

Van Pelt at one point in the lectures says, “Languages are meant to be accessed and decoded in your mind,” though “decoding” is something a language learner ought to try to move away from as quickly as possible, as she or he seeks fluency. And an early strong verb paradigm has Van Pelt saying, “You must memorize this paradigm, like a ROBOT!”

Hebrew and other languages have been taught this way for a long time, and some language learners may not mind it. I, for example, find paradigm memorization tedious, but not overly difficult. If I have an end goal firmly in mind–reading the Hebrew Bible–I have motivation to repeatedly go over verb conjugations.

But I don’t think this approach will work for everyone, and the potential viewer of these videos should understand that Van Pelt takes a paradigm-memorizing approach to learning Hebrew, with not much inductive learning or interaction with the biblical text. (I think of my high school Spanish teacher, who would not answer classroom questions asked in English, but would simply say, “¡En Español, por favor!”)

Van Pelt and Pratico’s materials use verbal diagnostics. Paradigm charts show in red what the unique prefixes and suffixes and vowels are for each verbal stem, so that it is not just rote memorization of multiple verbs. The diagnostics are a time-saving feature in this sense. As here:

For those interested in verbal theory, Van Pelt uses perfect (“completed action”) and imperfect (“incomplete action”) nomenclature to describe verbs.

The lectures are well-produced and alternate between views of charts like the one above, real-time writing (like a dry-erase board), and Van Pelt speaking. The clarity of the lectures is a strong point, as they reinforce the material in the textbook well.

If a student is already assigned the Pratico and Van Pelt text, he or she should seriously consider using the lectures as an additional study aid, if one is needed. If a student or professor has a choice as to which text to use for learning Hebrew, though, it is worth considering (either in addition or instead) other “living language”/inductive approaches. Randall Buth’s Living Biblical Hebrew or John H. Dobson’s Learn Biblical Hebrew are two possible texts.

Chapter 1 of the lectures is here, if you want to get a flavor of the lectures (it’s just over an hour):

Thanks to Zondervan for the review copy. You can find the Basics of Biblical Hebrew Video Lectures here at Amazon. The Zondervan product page is here.

Greek Isaiah in a Year, Week 12=Isaiah 14:1-27

This week in Greek Isaiah in a Year covers Isaiah 14:1-27.

Cretan, 1545 (Prophet Isaiah)

Here is the schedule and text for Monday through Friday, using again the text from R.R. Ottley’s Book of Isaiah According to the Septuagint. (As always, Ottley is here on Amazon, here in Logos, and here as a free, downloadable pdf in the public domain.) The full reading plan for our group is here (pdf).

Monday, February 18: Isa 14:1-6

14 1 Καὶ ἐλεήσει Κύριος τὸν Ἰακώβ, καὶ ἐκλέξεται ἔτι τὸν Ἰσραήλ, καὶ ἀναπαύσονται ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς αὐτῶν, καὶ ὁ γειώρας προστεθήσεται πρὸς αὐτούς, καὶ προστεθήσεται ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰακώβ, 2 καὶ λήμψονται αὐτοὺς ἔθνη καὶ εἰσάξουσιν εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτῶν, καὶ κατακληρονομήσουσιν, καὶ πληθυνθήσονται ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς δούλους καὶ δούλας· καὶ ἔσονται αἰχμάλωτοι οἱ αἰχμαλωτεύσαντες αὐτούς, καὶ κυριευθήσονται οἱ κυριεύσαντες αὐτῶν.

3 Καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἀναπαύσει σε ὁ θεὸς ἐκ τῆς ὀδύνης καὶ τοῦ θυμοῦ σοῦ καὶ τῆς δουλίας τῆς σκληρᾶς ἧς ἐδούλευσας αὐτοῖς. 4 καὶ λήμψῃ τὸν θρῆνον τοῦτον ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλέα Βαβυλῶνος, καὶ ἐρεῖς ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ Πῶς ἀναπέπαυται ὁ ἀπαιτῶν, καὶ ἀναπέπαυται ὁ ἐπισπουδαστής; 5 συνέτριψεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ζυγὸν τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν, τὸν ζυγὸν τῶν ἀρχόντων· 6 πατάξας ἔθνος θυμῷ, πληγῇ ἀνιάτῳ, παίων ἔθνος πληγὴν θυμοῦ ἣ οὐκ ἐφείσατο, ἀνεπαύσατο πεποιθώς.

Tuesday, February 19: Isa 14:7-11

7 πᾶσα ἡ γῆ βοᾷ μετʼ εὐφροσύνης, 8 καὶ τὰ ξὺλα τοῦ Λιβάνου ηὐφράνθησαν ἐπὶ σοὶ καὶ ἡ κέδρος τοῦ Λιβάνου Ἀφʼ οὗ σὺ κεκοίμησαι, οὐκ ἀνέβη ὁ κόπτων ἡμᾶς. 9 ὁ ᾅδης κάτωθεν ἐπικράνθη συναντήσας σοι· συνηγέρθησάν σοι πάντες οἱ γίγαντες οἱ ἄρξαντες τῆς γῆς, οἱ ἐγείραντες ἐκ τῶν θρόνων αὐτῶν πάντας βασιλεῖς ἐθνῶν. 10 πάντες ἀποκριθήσονται καὶ ἐροῦσίν σοι Καὶ σὺ ἑάλως ὥσπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἐν ἡμῖν δὲ κατελογίσθης. 11 κατέβη δὲ εἰς ᾅδου ἡ δόξα σου, ἡ πολλὴ εὐφροσύνη σου· ὑποκάτω σου στρώσουσιν σῆψιν, καὶ τὸ κατακάλυμμά σου σκώληξ.

Wednesday, February 20: Isa 14:12-16

12 πῶς ἐξέπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὁ ἑωσφόρος ὁ πρωὶ ἀνατέλλων; συνετρίβη εἰς τὴν γῆν ὁ ἀποστέλλων πρὸς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη. 13 σὺ δὲ εἶπας ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ σου Εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀναβήσομαι, ἐπάνω τῶν ἄστρων τοῦ οὐρανοῦ θήσω τὸν θρόνον μου, καθιῶ ἐν ὄρει ὑψηλῷ ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη τὰ ὑψηλὰ τὰ πρὸς βορρᾶν, 14 ἀναβήσομαι ἐπάνω τῶν νεφελῶν, ἔσομαι ὅμοιος τῷ ὑψίστῳ. 15 νῦν δὲ εἰς ᾅδου καταβήσῃ καὶ εἰς τὰ θεμέλια τῆς γῆς. 16 οἱ ἰδόντες σε θαυμάσουσιν ἐπὶ σοὶ καὶ ἐροῦσιν Οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ παροξύνων τὴν γῆν, σείων βασιλεῖς,

Thursday, February 21: Isa 14:17-23

17 ὁ θεὶς τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅλην ἔρημον, <καὶ τὰς πόλεις καθεῖλεν,> τοὺς ἐν ἐπαγωγῇ οὐκ ἔλυσεν. 18 πάντες οἱ βασιλεῖς τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐκοιμήθησαν ἐν τιμῇ, ἕκαστος ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ. 19 σὺ δὲ ῥιφήσῃ ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσιν, ὡς νεκρὸς ἐβδελυγμένος, μετὰ πολλῶν τεθνηκότων ἐκκεκεντημένων μαχαίραις καταβαινόντων εἰς ᾅδου. ὃν τρόπον ἐν αἵματι ἱμάτιον πεφυρμένον οὐκ ἔσται καθαρόν, 20 οὕτως οὐδὲ σὺ ἔσῃ καθαρός, διότι τὴν γῆν μου ἀπώλεσας καὶ τὸν λαόν μου ἀπέκτεινας· οὐ μὴ μείνῃς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα χρόνον, σπέρμα πονηρόν. 21 ἑτοίμασον σφαγῆναι τὰ τέκνα σου ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις τοῦ πατρός σου, ἵνα μὴ ἀναστῶσιν καὶ τὴν γῆν κληρονομήσωσιν καὶ ἐμπλήσωσιν τὴν γῆν πολέμων. 22 καὶ ἐπαναστήσομαι αὐτοῖς, λέγει Κύριος σαβαώθ, καὶ ἀπολῶ αὐτῶν ὄνομα καὶ κατάλειμμα καὶ σπέρμα· τάδε λέγει Κύριος. 23 καὶ θήσω τὴν Βαβυλωνίαν ἔρημον, ὥστε κατοικεῖν ἐχίνους, καὶ ἔσται εἰς οὐδέν· καὶ θήσω αὐτὴν πηλοῦ <βάραθρον> εἰς ἀπώλειαν.

Friday, February 22: Isa 14:24-27

24 Τάδε λέγει Κύριος σαβαώθ Ὃν τρόπον εἴρηκα οὕτως ἔσται, καὶ ὃν τρόπον βεβούλευμαι οὕτως μενεῖ, 25 τοῦ ἀπολέσαι τοὺς Ἀσσυρίους ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς τῆς ἐμῆς καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ὀρέων μου· καὶ ἔσονται ἐς καταπάτημα, καὶ ἀφαιρεθήσεται ἀπʼ αὐτῶν ὁ ζυγὸς αὐτῶν, καὶ τὸ κῦδος αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τῶν ὤμων ἀφαιρεθήσεται. 26 αὕτη ἡ βουλὴ ἣν βεβούλευται Κύριος ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅλην, καὶ οὕτη ἡ χεὶρ ἡ ὑψηλὴ ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τῆς οἰκουμένης. 27 ἃ γὰρ ὁ θεὸς ὁ ἅγιος βεβούλευται τίς διασκεδάσει; καὶ τὴν χεῖρα τὴν ὑψηλὴν τίς ἀποστρέψει;

See here for more resources and links to texts for Greek Isaiah.

And here are the Week 12 readings above, but in pdf form.

Greek Isaiah in a Year, Week 11=Isaiah 13

This week in Greek Isaiah in a Year covers Isaiah 13 in its entirety.

Monday, February 11: Isa 13:1-4

1 Ὅρασις ἣν εἶδεν Ἠσαίας υἱὸς Ἀμὼς κατὰ Βαβυλῶνος. 2 Ἐπʼ ὄρους πεδινοῦ ἄρατε σημεῖον, ὑψώσατε τὴν φωνὴν ἑαυτοῖς, μὴ φοβεῖσθε· παρακαλεῖτε τῇ <χειρι> · ἀνοίξατε, οἱ ἄρχοντες· 3 ἐγὼ συντάσσω, καὶ ἐγώ, αὐτούς· ἡγιασμένοι εἰσίν, καὶ ἐγὼ ἄγω αὐτούς· γίγαντες ἔρχονται πληρῶσαι τὸν θυμόν μου χαίροντες ἅμα καὶ ὑβρίζοντες. 4 φωνὴ ἐθνῶν πολλῶν ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρέων, ὁμοία ἐθνῶν πολλῶν, φωνὴ βασιλέων καὶ ἐθνῶν συνηγμένων. Κύριος σαβαὼθ ἐντέταλται ἔθνει ὁπλομάχῳ

Tuesday, February 12: Isa 13:5-8

5 ἔρχεσθαι ἐκ γῆς πόρρωθεν ἀπʼ ἄκρου θεμελίου τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, Κύριος καὶ οἱ ὁπλομάχοι αὐτοῦ, τοῦ καταφθεῖραι τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅλην. 6 ὀλολύζετε· ἐγγὺς γὰρ ἡ ἡμέρα Κυρίου, καὶ συντριβὴ παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ἥξει. 7 διὰ τοῦτο <πᾶσα χεὶρ> ἐκλυθήσεται, καὶ πᾶσα ψυχὴ ἀνθρώπου δειλιάσει· 8 καὶ ταραχθήσονται οἱ πρέσβεις, καὶ ὠδῖνες αὐτοὺς ἕξουσιν ὡς γυναικὸς τικτούσης· καὶ συμφοράσουσιν ἕτερος πρὸς τὸν ἕτερον καὶ ἐκστήσονται, καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτῶν ὡς φλὸξ μεταβαλοῦσιν.

Wednesday, February 13: Isa 13:9-13

9 Ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἡ ἡμέρα Κυρίου ἀνίατος ἔρχεται θυμοῦ καὶ ὀργῆς, θεῖναι τὴν οἰκουμένην ἔρημον καὶ τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς ἀπολέσαι ἐξ αὐτῆς. 10 οἱ γὰρ ἀστέρες τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ὁ Ὠρίων καὶ πᾶς ὁ κόσμος τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τὸ φῶς οὐ δώσουσιν, καὶ σκοτισθήσεται τοῦ ἡλίου ἀνατέλλοντος, καὶ ἡ σελήνη οὐ δώσει τὸ φῶς αὐτῆς. 11 καὶ ἐντελοῦμαι τῇ οἰκουμένῃ ὅλῃ κακά, καὶ τοῖς ἀσεβέσι τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν· καὶ ἀπολῶ ὕβριν ἀνόμων, καὶ ὕβριν ὑπερηφάνων ταπεινώσω. 12 καὶ ἔσονται οἱ καταλελιμμένοι ἔντιμοι μᾶλλον ἢ τὸ χρυσίον τὸ ἄπυρον, καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος μᾶλλον ἔντιμος ἔσται ἢ ὁ λίθος ὁ ἐκ Σουφείρ. 13 ὁ γὰρ οὐρανὸς θυμωθήσεται, καὶ ἡ γῆ σεισθήσεται ἐκ τῶν θεμελίων αὐτῆς, διὰ θυμὸν ὀργῆς Κυρίου σαβαώθ, τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ᾗ ἂν ἐπέλθῃ ὁ θυμὸς αὐτοῦ.

Thursday, February 14: Isa 13:14-18

14 καὶ ἔσονται οἱ καταλελιμμένοι ὡς δορκάδιον φεῦγον καὶ ὡς πρόβατον πλανώμενον, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ὁ συνάγων, ὥστε ἄνθρωπον εἰς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀποστραφῆναι, καὶ ἄνθρωπον εἰς τὴν χώραν αὐτοῦ διῶξαι. 15 ὃς γὰρ ἐὰν ἁλῷ ἡττηθήσεται, καὶ ὅσοι συνηγμένοι εἰσὶν μαχαίρᾳ πεσοῦνται. 16 καὶ τὰ τέκνα αὐτῶν ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν ῥάξουσιν, καὶ τὰς οἰκίας αὐτῶν προνομεύσουσιν, καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας αὐτῶν ἕξουσιν.17 ἰδοὺ ἐπεγείρω ὑμῖν τοὺς Μήδους, οἳ οὐ λογίζονται ἀργύριον οὐδὲ χρυσίου χρείαν ἔχουσιν. 18 τοξεύματα νεανίσκων συντρίψουσιν, καὶ τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν οὐ μὴ ἐλεήσουσιν, οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τοῖς τέκνοις σου φείσονται οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτῶν.

Friday, February 15: Isa 13:19-22

19 καὶ ἔσται Βαβυλών, ἣ καλεῖται ἔνδοξος ὑπὸ βασιλέως Χαλδαίων, ὃν τρόπον κατέστρεψεν ὁ θεὸς Σόδομα καὶ Γόμορρα. 20 οὐ κατοικηθήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα χρόνον, οὐδὲ μὴ εἰσέλθωσιν εἰς αὐτὴν διὰ πολλῶν γενεῶν, οὐδὲ μὴ διέλθωσιν αὐτὴν Ἄραβες, οὐδὲ ποιμένες οὐ μὴ ἀναπαύσωνται ἐν αὐτῇ. 21 καὶ ἀναπαύσονται ἐκεῖ θηρία, καὶ πλησθήσονται οἰκίαι ἤχου· καὶ ἀναπαύσονται ἐκεῖ σειρῆνες, καὶ δαιμόνια ἐκεῖ ὀρχήσονται, 22 καὶ ὀνοκένταυροι ἐκεῖ κατοικήσουσιν, καὶ νοσσοποιήσουσιν ἐχῖνοι ἐν τοῖς οἴκοις αὐτῶν. ταχὺ ἔρχεται καὶ οὐ χρονιεῖ.

See here for more resources and links to texts for Greek Isaiah.

And here are the Week 11 readings above, but in pdf form.

Greek Isaiah in a Year, Week 10=Isaiah 10:30-Isaiah 12

First things first: Friday is International Septuagint Day. I’ll post again more then. This week in Greek Isaiah in a Year covers Isaiah 10:30 through the end of Isaiah 12 (a six-verse chapter). Friday we celebrate International Septuagint Day by reading a whole chapter of the Old Greek of Isaiah.

Monday, February 4: Isa 10:30-34

³⁰ἡ θυγάτηρ Γαλείμ, ἐπακούσεται ἐν Σά, ἐπακούσεται ἐν Ἀναθώθ· ³¹ἐξέστη Μαδεβηνὰ καὶ οἱ κατοικοῦντες Γιββείρ. ³²παρακαλεῖτε σήμερον ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ τοῦ μεῖναι, τῇ χειρὶ παρακαλεῖτε τὸ ὄρος τὴν θυγατέρα Σιών, καὶ οἱ βουνοὶ οἱ ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ. ³³ἰδοὺ γὰρ ὁ δεσπότης Κύριος σαβαὼθ συνταράσσει τοὺς ἐνδόξους μετὰ ἰσχύος, καὶ οἱ ὑψηλοὶ τῇ ὕβρει συντριβήσονται, καὶ ταπεινωθήσονται οἱ ὑψηλοί, ³⁴<καὶ πεσοῦνται ὑψηλοὶ> μαχαίρᾳ, ὁ δὲ Λίβανος σὺν τοῖς ὑψηλοῖς πεσεῖται.

Tuesday, February 5: Isa 11:1-5

11 ¹Καὶ ἐξελεύσεται ῥάβδος ἐκ τῆς ῥίζης Ἰεσσαί, καὶ ἄνθος ἐκ τῆς ῥίζης ἀναβήσεται. ²καὶ ἀναπαύσεται ἐπʼ αὐτὸν πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ, πνεῦμα σοφίας καὶ συνέσεως, πνεῦμα βουλῆς καὶ ἰσχύος, πνεῦμα γνώσεως καὶ εὐσεβείας· ³ἐμπλήσει αὐτὸν πνεῦμα φόβου θεοῦ. οὐ κατὰ τὴν δόξαν κρινεῖ, οὐδὲ κατὰ τὴν λαλιὰν ἐλέγξει, ⁴ἀλλὰ κρινεῖ ταπεινῷ κρίσιν, καὶ ἐλέγξει τοὺς ταπεινοὺς τῆς γῆς, καὶ πατάξει γῆν τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν πνεύματι διὰ χειλέων ἀνελεῖ ἀσεβῆ· ⁵καὶ ἔσται δικαιοσύνῃ ἐζωσμένος τὴν ὀσφὺν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀληθείᾳ εἱλημμένος τὰς πλευράς.

Wednesday, February 6: Isa 11:6-11

⁶καὶ συν βοσκηθήσεται λύκος μετὰ ἀρός, καὶ πάρδαλις συναναπαύσεται ἐρίφῳ, καὶ μοσχάριον καὶ ταῦρος καὶ λέων ἅμα βοσκηθήσονται, καὶ παιδίον μικρὸν ἄξει αὐτούς· ⁷καὶ βοῦς καὶ ἄρκος ἅμα βοσκηθήσονται, καὶ ἅμα τὰ παιδία αὐτῶν βοσκηθήσονται, καὶ λεὼν καὶ βοῦς ἅμα φάγονται ἄχυρα· ⁸καὶ παιδίον νήπιον ἐπὶ τρώγλην ἀσπίδων, καὶ ἐπὶ κοίτην ἐκγόνων ἀσπίδων τὴν χεῖρα ἐπιβαλεῖ. ⁹καὶ οὐ μὴ κακοποιήσωσιν, οὐδʼ οὐ μὴ δύνωνται ἀπολέσαι οὐδένα ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος τὸ ἅγιόν μου, ὅτι ἐνεπλήσθη ἡ σύμπασα τοὐ γνῶναι τὸν κύριον, ὡς ὕδωρ πολὺ κατακαλύψαι θαλάσσας. ¹⁰καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἡ ῥίζα τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ καὶ ὁ ἀνιστάμενος ἄρχειν ἐθνῶν, ἐπʼ αὐτῷ ἔθνη ἐλπιοῦσιν. καὶ ἔσται ἡ ἀνάπαυσις αὐτοῦ τιμή. ¹¹Καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ προσθήσει Κύριος τοῦ δεῖξαι τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ τοῦ ζηλῶσαι τὸ καταλειφθὲν ὑπόλοιπον τοῦ λαοῦ, ὃ ἂν καταλειφθῇ ἀπὸ τῶν Ἀσσυρίων καὶ ἀπὸ Αἰγύπτου καὶ Βαβυλωνίας καὶ Αἰθιοπίας καὶ ἀπὸ Αἰλαμιτῶν καὶ ἀπὸ ἡλίου ἀνατολῶν καὶ ἐξ Ἀραβείας.

Thursday, February 7: Isa 11:12-16

¹²καὶ ἀρεῖ σημεῖον εἰς τὰ ἔθνη, καὶ συνάξει τοὺς ἀπολομένους Ἰσραήλ, καὶ τοὺς διεσπαρμένους Ἰούδα συνάξει ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων πτερύγων τῆς γῆς. ¹³καὶ ἀφαιρεθήσεται ὁ <ζῆλος> Ἐφράιμ, καὶ οἱ ἐχθροὶ Ἰοὺδα ἀπολοῦνται· Ἐφράιμ οὐ ζηλώσει Ἰούδαν, καὶ Ἰούδας οὐ θλίψει Ἐφράιμ. ¹⁴καὶ πετασθήσονται ἐν πλοίοις ἀλλοφύλων· θάλασσαν ἅμα προνομεύσουσιν καὶ τοὺς ἀφʼ ἡλίου ἀνατολῶν καὶ Ἰδουμαίαν, καὶ ἐπὶ Μωὰβ πρῶτον τὰς χεῖρας ἐπιβαλοῦσιν, οἱ δὲ υἱοὶ Ἀμμὼν πρῶτοι ὑπακούσονται. ¹⁵καὶ ἐρημώσει Κύριος τὴν θάλασσαν Αἰγύπτου, καὶ ἐπιβαλεῖ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν ποταμὸν πνεύματι βιαίῳ, καὶ πατάξει ἑπτὰ φάραγγας ὥστε διαπορεύεσθαι αὐτὸν ἐν ὑποδήμασιν· ¹⁶καὶ ἔσται ὁδὸς τῷ καταλειφθέντι μου λαῷ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, καὶ ἔσται τῷ Ἰσραὴλ ὡς ἡ ἡμέρα ὅτε ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου.

Friday, February 8: Isa 12 (1-6)

12 ¹Καὶ ἐρεῖς ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ Εὐλογήσω σε, Κύριε, διότι ὠργίσθης μοι, καὶ ἀπέστρεψας τὸν θυμόν σου καὶ ἠλέησάς με. ²ἰδοὺ ὁ θεός μου σωτήρ μου, πεποιθὼς ἔσομαι ἐν αὐτῷ, καὶ οὐ φοβηθήσομαι· διότι ἡ δόξα μου καὶ ἡ αἴνεσίς μου Κύριος, καὶ ἐγένετό μοι εἰς σωτηρίαν. ³καὶ ἀντλήσετε ὕδωρ μετʼ εὐφροσύνης ἐκ τῶν πηγῶν τοῦ σωτηρίου. ⁴καὶ ἐρεῖς ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ Ὑμνεῖτε Κύριον, βοᾶτε τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, ἀναγγείλατε ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν τὰ ἔνδοξα αὐτοῦ· μιμνήσκεσθε ὅτι ὑψώθη τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ. ⁵ὑμνήσατε τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου, ὅτι ὑψηλὰ ἐποίησεν· ἀναγγείλατε ταῦτα ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ. ⁶ἀγαλλιᾶσθε καὶ εὐφραίνεσθε, οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐν Σιών, ὅτι ὑψώθη ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐν μέσῳ σου.

See here for more resources and links to texts for Greek Isaiah. Here are previous weeks’ readings: Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 / Week 6 / Week 7 / Week 8 / Week 9

And here are the Week 10 readings above, but in pdf form.

Greek Isaiah in a Year, Week 9=Isaiah 10:5-10:29

Andrei Rublev's Last Judgment: Isaiah — Andrei Rublev’s Last Judgment: Isaiah

This week in Greek Isaiah in a Year covers Isaiah 10:5-29.

Monday, January 28: Isa 10:5-9

5 Οὐαὶ Ἀσσυρίοις, ἡ ῥάβδος τοῦ θυμοῦ μου καὶ ὀργῆς ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτῶν. 6 τὴν ὀργήν μου εἰς ἔθνος ἄνομον ἀποστέλλω, καὶ τῷ ἐμῷ λαῷ συντάξω τοῦ ποιῆσαι σκῦλα καὶ προνομήν, καὶ καταπατεῖν τὰς πόλεις καὶ θεῖναι αὐτὰς εἰς κονιορτόν. 7 αὐτὸς δὲ οὐχ οὕτως ἐνεθυμήθη, καὶ τῇ ψυχῇ οὐχ οὕτως λελόγισται· ἀλλὰ ἀπαλλάξει ὁ νοῦς αὐτοῦ, καὶ τοῦ ἐξολεθρεῦσαι ἔθνη οὐκ ὀλίγα. 8 καὶ ἐὰν εἴπωσιν αὐτῷ Σὺ μόνος εἶ ἄρχων, 9 καὶ ἐρεῖ Οὐκ ἔλαβον τὴν χώραν τὴν ἐπάνω Βαβυλῶνος καὶ Χαλαννή, οὗ ὁ πύργος ᾠκοδομήθη; καὶ ἔλαβον Ἀραβείαν καὶ Δαμασκὸν καὶ Σαμάρειαν·

Tuesday, January 29: Isa 10:10-14

10 ὃν τρόπον ταύτας ἔλαβον ἐν τῇ χειρί μου, καὶ πάσας τὰς χώρας λήμψομαι. ὀλολύξατε, τὰ γλυπτὰ ἐν Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ ἐν Σαμαρείᾳ· 11 ὃν τρόπον γὰρ ἐποίησα Σαμαρείᾳ καὶ τοῖς χειροποιήτοις <αὐτῆς,> οὕτως ποιήσω καὶ Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ τοῖς εἰδώλοις αὐτῆς. 12 Καὶ ἔσται ὅταν συντελέσῃ Κύριος πάντα ποιῶν ἐν τῷ ὄρει Σιὼν καὶ ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ, ἐπάξει ἐπὶ τὸν νοῦν τὸν μέγαν, τὸν ἄρχοντα τῶν Ἀσσυρίων, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ὕψος τῆς δόξης τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ. 13 εἶπεν γὰρ Τῇ ἰσχύι ποιήσω, καὶ <τῇ σοφίᾳ τῆς συνέσεως> ἀφελῶ ὅρια ἐθνῶν, καὶ τὴν ἰσχὺν αὐτῶν προνομεύσω· 14 καὶ σείσω πόλεις κατοικουμένας, καὶ τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅλην καταλήμψομαι τῇ χειρί μου ὡς νοσσιάν, καὶ ὡς καταλελιμμένα ὠὰ ἀρῶ· καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὃς διαφεύξεταί με ἢ ἀντείπῃ μοι.

Wednesday, January 30: Isa 10:15-19

15 Μὴ δοξασθήσεται ἀξίνη ἄνευ τοῦ κόπτοντος ἐν αὐτῇ; ἢ ὑψωθήσεται πρίων ἄνευ τοῦ ἕλκοντος αὐτόν; ὡσαύτως ἐάν τις ἄρῃ ῥάβδον ἢ ξύλον, καὶ οὐχ οὕτως; 16 ἀλλὰ ἀποστελεῖ Κύριος σαβαὼθ εἰς τὴν σὴν τιμὴν ἀτιμίαν, καὶ εἰς τὴν σὴν δόξαν πῦρ καιόμενον καυθήσεται· 17 καὶ ἔσται τὸ φῶς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ὡς πῦρ, καὶ ἁγιάσει αὐτὸ ἐν πυρὶ καιομένῳ, καὶ φάγεται ὡσεὶ χόρτον τὴν ὕλην. 18 τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἀποσβεσθήσεται τὰ ὄρη καὶ οἱ δρυμοὶ καὶ οἱ βουνοί, καὶ καταφάγεται ἀπὸ ψυχῆς ἕως σαρκῶν· καὶ ἔσται ὁ φεύγων ὡς ὁ φεύγων ἀπὸ φλογὸς καιομένης· 19 καὶ οἱ καταλειφθέντες ἀπʼ αὐτῶν ἔσονται ἀριθμός, καὶ παιδίον γράψει αὐτούς.

Thursday, January 31: Isa 10:20-24

20 Καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ οὐκέτι προστεθήσεται τὸ καταλειφθὲν Ἰσραήλ, καὶ οἱ σωθέντες τοῦ Ἰακὼβ οὐκέτι μὴ πεποιθότες ὦσιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀδικήσαντας αὐτούς, ἀλλʼ ἔσονται πεποιθότες ἐπὶ τὸν θεὸν τὸν ἅγιον τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. 21 καὶ ἔσται τὸ καταλειφθὲν τοῦ Ἰακὼβ ἐπὶ θεὸν ἰσχύοντα. 22 καὶ ἐὰν γένηται ὁ λαὸς Ἰσραὴλ ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς θαλάσσης, τὸ κατάλειμμα σωθήσεται· λόγον γὰρ συντελῶν καὶ συντέμνων ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, 23 ὅτι λόγον συντετμημένον ποιήσει ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῇ οἰκουμένῃ ὅλῃ. 24 Διὰ τοῦτο τάδε λέγει Κύριος ὁ θεὸς σαβαώθ Μὴ φοβοῦ, ὁ λαός μου, οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐν Σιών, ἀπὸ Ἀσσυρίων, ὅτι ἐν ῥάβδῳ πατάξει σε· πληγὴν γὰρ ἐπάγω ἐπὶ σέ, τοῦ ἰδεῖν ὁδὸν Αἰγύπτου.

Friday, February 1: Isa 10:25-29

25 ἔτι γὰρ μικρὸν καὶ παύσεται ἡ ὀργή, ὁ δὲ θυμός μου ἐπὶ τὴν βουλὴν αὐτῶν· 26 καὶ ἐπεγερεῖ ὁ θεὸς ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς κατὰ τὴν πληγὴν τὴν Μαδιὰμ ἐν τόπῳ θλίψεως, καὶ ὁ θυμὸς αὐτοῦ τῇ ὁδῷ τῇ κατὰ θάλασσαν, εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν τὴν κατʼ Αἴγυπτον. 27 καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἀφαιρεθήσεται ὁ φόβος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ σοῦ, καὶ ὁ ζυγὸς αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὤμου σου, καὶ καταφθαρήσεται ὁ ζυγὸς ἀπὸ τῶν ὤμων ὑμῶν. 28 ἥξει γὰρ εἰς τὴν πόλιν Ἀγγαί, 29 καὶ παρελεύσεται εἰς Μαγεδδώ, καὶ ἐν Μαχμὰς θήσει τὰ σκεύη αὐτοῦ· καὶ παρελεύσεται φάραγγα καὶ ἥξει εἰς Ἀγγαί, φόβος λήμψεται Ῥαμὰ πόλιν Σαούλ. φεύξεται ….

See here for more resources and links to texts for Greek Isaiah. Here are previous weeks’ readings: Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 / Week 6 / Week 7 / Week 8

And here are the Week 9 readings above, but in pdf form.

Jesus Makes a Pun in the Synagogue

Jesus makes a pun in Luke 4. I’m not the first one to notice this, but it stood out to me as I read my way through Luke 4:14-21 this past week. I’m preaching on the passage at my church tomorrow.

Jesus enters the synagogue at his hometown of Nazareth in Galilee and opens the Isaiah scroll to Isaiah 61. In the NIV, the Luke passage reads as follows:

The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

But a few verses later (v. 24) Jesus tells the people, “No prophet is accepted in his hometown.” (They tried then to throw him off a cliff.)

The play on words Jesus uses is not readily evident in most translations, but Jesus uses the same word for favor (“year of the Lord’s favor“) as he does for accepted (“no prophet is accepted“). It’s a rare enough Greek word Luke uses, that I can only conclude it’s deliberate–this is the only passage in all the Gospels to use this word. (For Hellenophiles who read this blog, the word is δεκτός.)

The translations aren’t necessarily wrong to obscure the fact that it’s the same word in each verse. After all, context determines meaning, so even this same word carries different nuances the two times it’s used.

But the irony is that in this year of the Lord’s favor, which Jesus notes later in the passage begins “today,” even his hometown will not accept him. There is no acceptance (δεκτός) of this favor (δεκτός).

And before we rush to point backwards at the hard-heartedness of 1st century Nazareth, perhaps we easily enough realize those ways in which we fail to accept the favor that God would lavish on us. May Jesus give us sight where we do not see all that he comes to offer us.

Greek Isaiah in a Year, Week 8=Isaiah 9:1-10:4

Greek Isaiah in a Year rolls on!

In this last week (week 7) we covered chapter 8. Note that 8:23 in the reading plan is actually 9:1 in the Göttingen and Ottley editions, but marked as 8:23 in the Hebrew Masoretic text, as well as Rahlfs. Note Ken Penner’s versification comparison chart here.

Monday, January 21: Isa 9:1 MT=9:2 LXX – Isa 9:6 MT=9:7 LXX

²ὁ λαὸς ὁ καθήμενος ἐν σκότει, ἴδετε φῶς μέγα· οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐν χώρᾳ καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου, φῶς λάμψει ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς. ³τὸ πλεῖστον τοῦ λαοῦ ὃ κατήγαγες ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ σου, καὶ εὐφρανθήσονται ἐνώπιόν σου ὡς οἱ εὐφραινόμενοι ἐν ἀμήτῳ, καὶ ὃν τρόπον εὐφραίνονται οἱ διαιρούμενοι σκῦλα. ⁴διότι ἀφαιρεθήσεται ὁ ζυγὸς ὁ ἐπʼ αὐτῶν κείμενος, καὶ ἡ ῥάβδος ἡ ἐπὶ τοῦ τραχήλου αὐτῶν· τὴν γὰρ ῥάβδον τῶν ἀπαιτούντων διεσκέδασεν Κύριος, ὡς τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἐπὶ Μαδιάμ. ⁵ὅτι πᾶσαν στολὴν ἐπισυνηγμένην δόλῳ καὶ ἱμάτιον μετὰ καταλλαγῆς ἀποτίσουσιν, καὶ θελήσουσιν εἰ ἐγενήθησαν πυρίκαυστοι. ⁶ὅτι παιδίον ἐγενήθη ἡμῖν, υἱὸς καὶ ἐδόθη <ἡμῖν>, οὗ ἡ ἀρχὴ ἐγενήθη ἐπὶ τοῦ ὤμου αὐτοῦ, καὶ καλέσει τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελος, θαυμαστὸς σύμβουλος, ἰσχυρός, ἐξουσιαστής, ἄρχων εἰρήνης, πατὴρ τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος· ἐγὼ γὰρ ἄξω εἰρήνην ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄρχοντας, εἰρήνην καὶ ὑγίαν αὐτῷ. ⁷Μεγάλη ἡ ἀρχὴ αὐτοῦ, καὶ τῆς εἰρήνης αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ὅριον, ἐπὶ τὸν θρόνον Δαυεὶδ καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτοῦ, κατορθῶσαι αὐτὴν καὶ ἀντιλαβέσθαι αὐτῆς ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ ἐν κρίματι, ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα χρόνον· ὁ ζῆλος Κυρίου σαβαὼθ ποιήσει ταῦτα.

Tuesday, January 22: Isa 9:7-10 (=9:8-11)

⁸Θάνατον ἀπέστειλεν Κύριος ἐπὶ Ἰακώβ, καὶ ἦλθεν ἐπὶ Ἰσραήλ. ⁹καὶ γνώσονται πᾶς ὁ λαὸς τοῦ Ἐφράιμ, καὶ οἱ ἐγκαθήμενοι ἐν Σαμαρείᾳ ἐφʼ ὕβρει καὶ ὑψηλῇ καρδίᾳ, λέγοντες ¹⁰Πλίνθοι πεπτώκασιν, ἀλλὰ δεῦτε λαξεύσωμεν λίθους, καὶ ἐκκόψωμεν συκαμίνους καὶ κέδρους, καὶ οἰκοδομήσωμεν ἑαυτοῖς πύργον. ¹¹καὶ ῥάξει ὁ θεὸς τοὺς ἐπανιστανομένους ἐπʼ ὄρους Σιὼν ἐπʼ αὐτούς, καὶ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς αὐτῶν διασκεδάσει,

Wednesday, January 23: Isa 9:11-15 (=9:12-16)

¹²Συρίαν ἀφʼ ἡλίου ἀνατολῶν καὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἀφʼ ἡλίου δυσμῶν, τοὺς κατεσθίοντας τὸν Ἰσραὴλ ὅλῳ τῷ στόματι. ἐπὶ τούτοις πᾶσιν οὐκ ἀπεστράφη ὁ θυμός, ἀλλʼ ἔτι ἡ χεὶρ ὑψηλή. ¹³καὶ ὁ λαὸς οὐκ ἀπεστράφη ἕως ἐπλήγη, καὶ τὸν κύριον οὐκ ἐξεζήτησαν. ¹⁴Καὶ ἀφεῖλεν Κύριος ἀπὸ Ἰσραὴλ κεφαλὴν καὶ οὐράν, μέγαν καὶ μικρὸν ἐν μίᾳ ἡμέρᾳ, πρεσβύτην καὶ τοὺς τὰ πρόσωπα θαυμάζοντας, αὕτη ἡ ἀρχή, ¹⁵καὶ προφήτην διδάσκοντα ἄνομα, οὗτος ἡ οὐρά. ¹⁶καὶ ἔσονται οἱ μακαρίζοντες τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον πλανῶντες, καὶ πλανῶσιν ὅπως καταπίωσιν αὐτούς.

Thursday, January 24: Isa 9:16–20 (=9:17-21)

¹⁷διὰ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τοὺς νεανίσκους οὐκ εὐφρανθήσεται ὁ θεός, καὶ τοὺς ὀρφανοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ τὰς χήρας αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐλεήσει· ὅτι πάντες ἄνομοι καὶ πονηροί, καὶ πᾶν στόμα λαλεῖ ἄδικα. ἐπὶ πᾶσι τούτοις οὐκ ἀπεστράφη ὁ θυμός, ἀλλʼ ἔτι ἡ χεὶρ ὑψηλή. ¹⁸Καὶ καυθήσεται ὡς πῦρ ἡ ἀνομία, καὶ ὡς ἄγρωστις ξηρὰ βρωθήσεται ὑπὸ πυρός· καὶ καυθήσεται ἐν τοῖς δάσεσιν τοῦ δρυμοῦ, καὶ συγκαταφάγεται τὰ κύκλῳ τῶν βουνῶν πάντα· ¹⁹διὰ θυμὸν ὀργῆς Κυρίου συγκαυθήσεται ἡ γῆ ὅλη, καὶ ἔσται ὁ λαὸς ὡς ὑπὸ πυρὸς κατακεκαυμένος. ἄνθρωπος τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐλεήσει, ²⁰ἀλλὰ ἐκκλινεῖ εἰς τὰ δεξιά, ὅτι πεινάσει, καὶ φάγεται ἐκ τῶν ἀριστερῶν, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐμπλησθῇ, ἄνθρωπος ἔσθων τὰς σάρκας τοῦ βραχίονος [τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ] αὐτοῦ. ²¹φάγεται γὰρ Μαννασσὴ τοῦ Ἐφράιμ, καὶ Ἐφράιμ τοῦ Μαννασσή, ὅτι ἅμα πολιορκήσουσιν τὸν Ἰούδαν. ἐπὶ τούτοις πᾶσιν οὐκ ἀπεστράφη ὁ θυμός, ἀλλʼ ἔτι ἡ χεὶρ ὑψηλή.

Friday, January 25: Isa 10:1-4

10 ¹Οὐαὶ τοῖς γράφουσιν πονηρίαν· γράφοντες γὰρ πονηρίαν γράφουσιν, ²ἐκκλίνοντες κρίσιν πτωχῶν, καὶ ἁρπάζοντες κρίμα πενήτων τοῦ λαοῦ μου, ὥστε εἶναι αὐτοῖς χήραν εἰς ἁρπαγήν, καὶ ὀρφανὸν εἰς προνομήν. ³καὶ τί ποιήσουσιν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐπισκοπῆς; ἡ γὰρ θλίψις ὑμῖν πόρρωθεν ἥξει· καὶ πρὸς τίνα καταφεύξεσθε τοῦ βοηθηθῆναι; καὶ ποῦ καταλείψετε τὴν δόξαν ὑμῶν, ⁴τοῦ μὴ ἐμπεσεῖν εἰς ἐπαγωγήν; καὶ ὑποκάτω ἀνῃρημένων πεσοῦνται. ἐπὶ τούτοις πᾶσιν οὐκ ἀπεστράφη ὁ θυμός, ἀλλʼ ἔτι ἡ χεὶρ ὑψηλή.

See here for more resources and links to texts for Greek Isaiah. Here are previous weeks’ readings: Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 / Week 6 / Week 7

And here are the Week 8 readings above, but in pdf form.

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