Hello everyone,
In a recent video, I discussed Isaiah 9:6 which is a “proof text” that Trinitarians like to use to support their belief that Jesus is God.
Just to jog your memory, Isaiah 9:6 reads: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (NIV)
This translation of Isaiah 9:6 is based on the Masoretic Text, the manuscript of the Old Testament Scriptures that most Bible versions are based on. Since we always want to use exegesis in our Bible research, let’s not blindly trust in the Bible translations that are made based on a single manuscript when we have access to other sources.
Pretty much every Old Testament Bible version you find on BibleHub.com is translated from the Masoretic text.
What is the Masoretic Text?
The Masoretic Text (MT) is a compilation of the Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. It was assembled and codified by Jewish scholars known as the Masoretes between the 7th and 10th centuries CE. The oldest complete manuscript of the Masoretic Text is the Leningrad Codex, dating from the early 11th century CE.
So none of the first century Bible writers would have used the Masoretic Text because it didn’t exist when they lived. It wouldn’t be compiled for another 700 years. So what Old Testament manuscripts were available to the Apostles, men like John, Peter, and Paul? One manuscript that was available to them, a Greek translation of the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures, including Isaiah, would have been the Septuagint.
The Septuagint (LXX) is the earliest existing Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. It was translated by Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt, during the 3rd and 2nd centuries before Christ. The name "Septuagint" comes from the Latin word for seventy, referring to the seventy scholars who completed the translation. The Septuagint was widely used by Greek-speaking Jews and by early Christians.
Some scholars have suggested that the Jewish Rabbis that compiled the Masoretic text altered some parts to align with specific Jewish theological and doctrinal views. For instance, a comparison of the genealogy recorded at Genesis 11:10-26 shows that the Masoretic scribes have removed 650 years from the timeline. This is established by three independent witnesses: The Samaritan Pentateuch, Historian Flavius Josephus, and the Greek Septuagint. The reason why is open to speculation, but one valid theory is that it was a move to discredit the authenticity of Jesus Christ. I’ll put a link to a video explaining that theory at the conclusion of this one.
Given that there is reason to doubt the absolute authenticity of the primary manuscript upon which most modern translations of the Old Testament are based, what is there to say about the translation of Isaiah 9:6? Let’s compare that verse in both the Masoretic Text and the Greek Septuagint.
Masoretic Text:
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (King James Version based on the Masoretic Text)
Greek Septuagint:
“For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder: and his name is called the Messenger of great counsel: for I will bring peace upon the princes, and health to him.” (The Greek Septuagint)
Given the disparity we see here, we can hardly claim that Isaiah 9:6 is absolute proof of anything other than that it predicts the arrival of the Messiah. When we refer to a verse as being cherry-picked, as this one is used by Trinitarians to promote their idea that Jesus is God Almighty, it is because they have ignored evidence that calls their interpretation into question, as we’ve shown just now.
The much-older Septuagint that predates the Masoretic Text by over a 1000 years does not call Jesus “Eternal Father” nor “Mighty God”.
My point is not to say that it is wrong to refer to Jesus as an eternal father or as a mighty god. But if we are truly looking for our understanding to come from Scripture itself and not from the doctrines of men that we learned in Sunday School as children, we need to look at all the evidence.
Does it bother you that we have differing renderings of Scripture? For some people, these inconsistencies, such as we see between the Masoretic and Septuagint rendering of Isaiah 9:6 cause them to lose trust in the Scriptures as being inspired of God. But that need not be the case. If we examine the Bible exegetically, we learn how not to impose our own view on a verse, but rather to allow the Bible to speak to us.
Let me show how two different renderings can still be understood to harmonize with a true understanding of God’s truth. We’ll look at Isaiah 10:21 for this example:
The Berean Standard Bible which is based on the Masoretic Text renders Isaiah 10:21 this way:
“A remnant will return—a remnant of Jacob—to the Mighty God.”
The Septuagint renders it:
“And the remnant of Jacob shall trust on the mighty God.”
So, can you identify from just this verse who the Mighty God refers to? Did a remnant of the Jews in Jesus’ day return to Jesus? That makes no sense, since they never knew Jesus before, and you can’t return to someone you never left. So, the first version of this verse from the Masoretic Text can only be understood if we accept that Yehovah is the Mighty God being referred to.
But if we go with the second version, from the Septuagint, it can refer to Jesus as the Mighty God, since a remnant of the lost sheep of Israel did learn to trust Jesus. However, Jesus came not to become the God of the Jews, but rather to restore their relationship with God, so that Yehovah could become their Father. So, given that, we can see how both verses, though rendered differently, can still be made to harmonize. Jesus was the way of restoration of “a remnant of Jacob” back to God.
But why does God not eliminate these differences? Why are there some inconsistencies in the various manuscripts we have of the original inspired writings? How can God allow such ambiguity? Perhaps it causes you to question the very concept that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed.” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17 GNT)
Notice, however, that Paul says that all Scripture qualifies a person who serves God. What about a person who only claims to serve God? I’m referring to a false prophet, one of the “ministers of righteousness” Paul warns the Corinthians to watch out for? (2 Corinthians 11:15)
Can those false teachers really understand Scripture? Jesus says they can’t:
“I publicly praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intellectual ones and have revealed them to young children. Yes, O Father, because this is the way you approved. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one fully knows the Son except the Father; neither does anyone fully know the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son is willing to reveal him.” (Matthew 11:25-27 NWT)
The Bible isn’t written in code. It isn’t written in complex language that requires extensive learning to understand. So, if it is written to be understood by “little children”, then how is it possible to conceal truth from wise and intellectual people?
It is hard to explain, yet easy to see. We see it all the time when discussing Scripture with different people. The fact is that Jesus reveals truth to those that the Father brings to him. To the rest, it is hidden. This is a marvelous thing in our eyes. That is why we worship in spirit and in truth, for without the Spirit first, there can be no understanding of truth, for the Spirit reveals all things to us.
“But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.” (1 Corinthians 2:10 NLT)
“I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.” (1 John 2:26, 27 NLT)
But for that to work, we need to oppose the devil which is the spirit that operates in the sons of disobedience, those “ministers of righteousness” we just referred to. The devil’s primary attitude is that of pride. If pride operates within us, we will seek to impose our own interpretation on Scripture. Thus, we will be blocked from truly understanding the wisdom of God. Better to be humble:
“So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7 NLT)
This is something we all must strive for, humility before God.
Thank you for listening and for your support. Soon, we will be publishing these videos in many languages so that we can reach the children of God still trapped within Babylon the Great to get out while there is still time. Your continuing support for our work is greatly appreciated.