Yesaya 28:16

28:16 Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says:

“Look, I am laying ¹  a stone in Zion,

an approved ²  stone,

set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. ³ 

The one who maintains his faith will not panic. ⁴ 

Roma 9:32-33

9:32 Why not? Because they pursued ⁵  it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works. ⁶  They stumbled over the stumbling stone, ⁷  9:33 just as it is written,

“Look, I am laying in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble

and a rock that will make them fall, ⁸ 

yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ⁹ 

[28:16]  ¹ tc The Hebrew text has a third person verb form, which does not agree with the first person suffix that precedes. The form should be emended to יֹסֵד (yosed), a Qal active participle used in a present progressive or imminent future sense.

[28:16]  ² tn Traditionally “tested,” but the implication is that it has passed the test and stands approved.

[28:16]  ³ sn The reality behind the metaphor is not entirely clear from the context. The stone appears to represent someone or something that gives Zion stability. Perhaps the ideal Davidic ruler is in view (see 32:1). Another option is that the image of beginning a building project by laying a precious cornerstone suggests that God is about to transform Zion through judgment and begin a new covenant community that will experience his protection (see 4:3-6; 31:5; 33:20-24; 35:10).

[28:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “will not hurry,” i.e., act in panic.

[9:32]  ⁵ tn Grk “Why? Because not by faith but as though by works.” The verb (“they pursued [it]”) is to be supplied from the preceding verse for the sake of English style; yet a certain literary power is seen in Paul’s laconic style.

[9:32]  ⁶ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (א² D Ψ 33 Ï sy), read νόμου (nomou, “of the law”) here, echoing Paul’s usage in Rom 3:20, 28 and elsewhere. The qualifying phrase is lacking in א* A B F G 6 629 630 1739 1881 pc lat co. The longer reading thus is weaker externally and internally, being motivated apparently by a need to clarify.

[9:32]  tn Grk “but as by works.”

[9:32]  ⁷ tn Grk “the stone of stumbling.”

[9:33]  ⁸ tn Grk “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”

[9:33]  ⁹ sn A quotation from Isa 28:16; 8:14.