Isaiah 28:16
A Precious Corner Stone
Messiah removedQuoted by the apostles in Romans 9:33; 10:11; 1 Peter 2:6, in the older Greek wording
Paul and Peter both quote this verse the same way. Neither matches your Isaiah.
Side by Side
The Older Text
Septuagint, translated before Messiah
Behold, I lay for the foundations of Sion a costly stone, a choice, a corner-stone, a precious stone, for its foundations; and he that believes on him shall by no means be ashamed.
The Later Text
Masoretic, finished about 1,000 years after the cross
Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
Quoted in Romans 9:33
The apostle’s Old Testament
As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Your KJV reads: “shall not make haste” in Isaiah, following the later Hebrew, and “believeth on him shall not be ashamed” in Romans and Peter, following the Greek.
See what changed and why ↓What Your Bible Says
For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Romans 10:11 KJV
Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
1 Peter 2:6 KJV
Paul quotes the verse twice and Peter once. Each time the stone is a person, Messiah, and the promise is that the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.
What the Jewish Bible Says
Therefore thus saith the Lord Yahuah, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
Isaiah 28:16 KJV
In the later Hebrew the stone is still there, but the promise has shifted. The one who believes will not hurry. Nothing says whom he believes, and nothing says he will be kept from shame.
What Changed
Two things. The older text says the believer trusts “on him,” on the stone, and so the stone is someone to be trusted. And the older text promises he “shall not be ashamed.” The later text has no “on him” and promises only that he “shall not make haste.”
The apostles built on both. The stone is Messiah. The one who trusts Him will not be ashamed when the judgment comes.
Shame in Scripture is the end of those who trusted the wrong thing. To promise that the one who trusts this stone will never be ashamed is to say the stone will hold on the day of judgment.
Which One Is Right?
The Greek Bible, translated before Messiah, reads “shall not be ashamed.”
Paul, writing to Rome, quotes it that way twice.
Peter, writing to scattered believers, quotes the same promise.
The Hebrew copies, the Masoretic among them, read “shall not make haste.”
Purpose of the Change
The effect is to turn a stone that people trust into a building stone, and a promise against shame into advice about patience. Read that way, the verse no longer clearly points to a person to be trusted.
The Bottom Line
The apostles read “believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” The stone was always a person.
The stone becomes the foundation of a temple, and those who trust Him become part of it: “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out” (Revelation 3:12).
Dig Deeper The evidence, for anyone who wants it
Two Stones in One Verse
Romans 9:33 joins Isaiah 28:16 to Isaiah 8:14, the “stone of stumbling” and “rock of offence.” The same stone that holds up those who trust it trips those who refuse it. Peter does the same in 1 Peter 2:6–8. To both apostles, Isaiah’s stone was Messiah.
My God
In Revelation 3:12 the risen Messiah says “the temple of my God” and goes on to speak of “the name of my God” and “the city of my God.” The corner stone is laid by Yahuah, and the One laid there still calls Yahuah His God.
Haste or Shame?
The Hebrew word in the later text means to hurry. The Greek translators wrote “be ashamed.” Some think they read a Hebrew word with similar letters; others think they gave the sense, since the one who panics and runs is the one who is put to shame. Either way, the apostles took the Greek wording as Scripture and quoted it three times.
An Honest Note
The Hebrew does say “he that believeth,” so belief itself is not removed. No Hebrew copy has “on him” or “ashamed,” so the Greek may be giving the sense rather than reading different letters. The words “on him” are also missing from some Greek copies of Isaiah, but Paul and Peter both have them. The clearest difference is shame against haste.