TH E JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.

... * v *..... TH E JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH. BY PROFESSOR GEORGE B. STEVENS, Ph.D., D.D., Yle University, New Hven, Conn. Hb. 2: 4, t^t mndu7:st p^nnx "But just live by his constcy." Septugint, ^ 8e 8tKtos sk 7riSCTeUs SUOV trystzx "But just live by my fith" (Alexdri text, "But my just one live by fith "). Rom. I: I 7; Gl 3: I I, ^ 8e 8tKtos sk 7riTewS trystz. A. V.: " just live by fith." R. V.: "But righteous live by fith." Heb. IO: 37: ^ & tktos [UOV] sk 7riTeUS trystz. A. V.: " Now just live by fith." R. V.: "But my righteous one live by fitb." THE object this rticle is to exhibit originl connection this celebrted " evgelicl text," to show how, through Septugint trsltion, its New Testment ppliction ws mde esy d nturl, d to inquire wht principles interprettion its quottion d use illustrte. Hbkkuk's prophecy hs principl reference to prospective Chlde invsion (probbly bout 605 B. C.). prophecy is drmtic in form; it is constructed on pl dilogue tween prophet d Jehovh. seer first rises bitter cry over lwless violence which previls in ld (I: 2-4). Jehovh swers: punishment for this is t hd. Chldes, "tht bitter d hsty ntion, which mrch through bredth erth, to possess dwelling-plces tht re not irs" ( I: 6), Wi11 soon sweep like storm over Judh, spreding desoltion fr d wide ( I: 5-I I). This reply gives rise to new perplexity: Will Jehovh, n, permit se rpcious idolters to overwhelm whole people, destroying innocent d guilty like? Will he hold his pece "when wicked swlloweth up m tht is more righteous th he " ( I: I 2- I 7)? 267

268 7XE BIBLICA1L WORLD prophet now scends (in imgintion) his wtch-tower d wits swer to his ' complint " ginst this impending injustice (2: I ). orcle speks: Write down vision d mke it plin; it hstens to its fulfilment ; Chlde is proud (d his pride prove his undoing), "but Se just, by his stedfstness, sall preserved vlive" (2: 4). In reminder chpter hughtiness d rpcity enemy re descrid, d series woes denounced ginst him. Chp. 3 is lyric ode celebrting Jehovh's own pperce in judgment upon he d for slvtion his people. This sketch mkes evident generl import text in question. "Shll live" mes " escpe destruction by enemy," " preserved live." word rendered " fith " (Emu?z*) in our English versions mes "fithfulness, stedfstness, constcy." Elsewhere it is used to denote "fidelity, equity, truth, d sincerity " (Hos. 2: 20; Prov. I 4: 5; I 2: I 7, 22). It is pplied to trustworthiness God: "A God fctit*<0?0lness d without iniquity, just d right is he" (Deut. 32: 4). Now Septugint rendered EmunvAd its corresponding djective by 7riTEs d wffvos (" fith " d " fithful ") words which nturlly express two relted, but distinguishble, ides which we designte by terms " fidelity" d "trust." I should not sy, with Dr. George Adm Smith,I tht Septugint "wrongly trslted" Emunh by 7riTEs, but rr tht term 7riTEs, ing word broder d more vried significce th EmunA in Hebrew, would esily mke pssge cpble wider ppliction th Old Testment originl suggests. We my sy furr tht, if originl setting verse should disregrded d term " live" tken in spiritul, insted its originl literl, meing, wy would opened to quite new ppliction pssge. We see tht this ws precisely wht hppened. uthor epistle to Hebrews ernployed text in question in sense closely resembling originl, though he pplied it to entirely new subject. He quotes from I Book TweZve Prophets, Vo1. II, p. I40.

7BE JUS7 SGALL LIME BY FXITE 269 Septugint vss. 3 d 4, reproducing meing Greek vritions originl. from principl phrse " For vritions yet re: (I) very little while," which by is which " nounced is coming" pictured s more corresponding immedite, to it hs in nothing LXX. It my ide hste elbortion involved in pssge derived s from whole, or prophetic my (2) lgugeelsewhere A used chge (e.g., subject Is.26:20). by which "It come," ( comes vision) '*He (God) surely surely doption come," etc. (3) Septugint's entire prt vs. 4 so misunderstd1ng tht first originl, is his "Behold, soul, it puffed is up not within him upright," is bck, trsformed my into soul " If hs he no shrink plesure in him." uthor (4) In trsposes quoting vs. 4 two prts order verse, so s reverse to give tht in one Septugint, live," thus: etc., "My "d if just he shrink ing to bck," etc. st (5) Accord- unticted text quoted Hebrews, pssge in uthor its hs (quite "My unsupported) just one Alexdri live form: by fith." his This is Alexdri nturl in trining. view Here whole pssge is used s tion ssurce speedy d coming descrip reders Messih to re judgment. enduring" gret conflict re proving sufferings," but mselves y brve d stedfst uthor under exhorts ir m to trils. courge d coming One confidence, ( for soon Messih) will pper, constt d he who hs sved on en ccount wek his d fidelity, vcillting wheres It rejected in will noted messiic tht 7rivTls judgment. here is v7ro,uozoqr (" prcticlly ptience, synonymous ptient with word continuce," v. which, I 36), should Greek think, ws nerest Hebrew possible Emunh. equivlent We note here, gret n, three freedom things: ( I ) used in deling (2) with form ppliction pssge; two verses s which whole to originl hs no subject to reference-in prospect Old Chlde Testment invsion; here, Christ; d (3) second coming close similrity sense borne by

270 TEE BIBLICAL WORLD words under immedite considertion to tht originl; in both cses slvtion is conditioned on fidelity, devozedness, pvzien! endurzzzlce, though slvtion referred to in Hbkkuk is temporl (d, in prt, ntionl), while in Hebrews it is eschtologicl conception. postle Pul quotes ( Rom. I: I 7; Gl. 3: I I ) only hlf-verse under review, in both cses omitting Septugint my (fith) erroneous rendering which hd probbly risen from trsltors' mistking Hebrew ending meing his (constcy) for tht meing my. We nturlly sk: (I) To wht subject does he pply text s whole? (2) Wht specific meing does word 7rivres r in his use it? To se questions we must swer: ( I ) text is pplied to subject justifiction; d (2) fis rs for Pul specific meing trust in Christ. In Roms ( I: I 7 ) rgument is: I glory in gospel, for in it is disclosed wy ttining cceptce with God, svhich gins d ends in fith-s Scripture sys: righteous m sved by fith. In Gltis (3:I I) this principle slvtion is set in shrp contrst with works-principle phrisic ology, thus: Scripture represents Abrhm s ing justified by fith, not by works. Indeed, slvtion by ltter is impossible, for in order to sved by deeds meritorious odience to lw, one must perfectly fulfil lw's demds. Scripture declres tht he is still ccursed who hs left y requirement unfulfilled. But men re powerless perfectlv to keep God's lw; refore, s Old Testment indictes, re is but one prcticble wy slvtion for sinners wy fith, tht is, humble selfrenouncing trust in Christ. We my thus summrize fcts cse respecting originl meing d lter uses text in question: Hbkkuk: He who remins constt in his devotion to Jehovh in midst clmities which re pproching, preserved live. Hebrews: He who ptiently endures present hrdships, holding fst his Christi confession, ttin blessedness Messih's kingdom t his second dvent. Pul: He who renounces ll clims d merits his own d trusts in

TEE JUST SHA]LL LIME BY FAITE 2 7 I Christ lone find justifiction, cceptce, cquittl from sin d guilt fore God. We conclude: ( I ) Both New Testment writers entirely neglect historic occsion d immedite reference text. (2) Hebrews cites (from LXX) sying in its mistrslted context, d chges order cluses for tter rhetoricl effect. (3) " live" Hbkkuk (meing" preserved in sfety") comes in i'ul " cquitted d forgiven (here d now) ;" in Hebrews, " inherit messiic kingdom in coming ge." (4) constcy originl pssge is genericlly sme in Hebrews (with Christi ppliction, course), while in Pul it comes: personl trust in Christ d life-union with him s condition cceptce with God. (S) This exmple illustrtes how New Testment writers commonly took ir cittions direct from LXX, with little regrd to verbl ccurcy (ten quoting from memory), d with s little regrd to immedite reference d connection in originl writing. It ws sufficient for m if y discerned some correspondence or connection in ides or principle tween lguge Old Testment d prticulr Christi truths with which y were deling. In cse fore us re ws such connection underlying differences d vritions which we hve trced. One generl principle runs through ll uses mde sying in question. It is this: Trustfulness towrd God is wht he requires; it is condition ttining his fvor d blessing.