Isaiah 29:14
The Wisdom of the Wise
Wording onlyQuoted by the apostles in 1 Corinthians 1:19, in the older Greek wording
Paul says “I will destroy.” Your Isaiah says “shall perish.” Same warning, two wordings.
Side by Side
The Older Text
Septuagint, translated before Messiah
Therefore behold I will proceed to remove this people, and I will remove them: and I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will hide the understanding of the prudent.
The Later Text
Masoretic, finished about 1,000 years after the cross
Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
Quoted in 1 Corinthians 1:19
The apostle’s Old Testament
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
Your KJV reads: the Hebrew in Isaiah (“shall perish”), then Paul’s Greek wording in 1 Corinthians (“I will destroy”).
See what changed and why ↓What Your Bible Says
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
1 Corinthians 1:19 KJV
Paul writes “it is written” and quotes Yahuah speaking in the first person. A reader who turns to Isaiah 29:14 in the KJV finds the thought, but not those words.
What the Jewish Bible Says
For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
Isaiah 29:14 KJV
In the Hebrew, the wisdom of the wise simply perishes. Yahuah does a marvellous work, and their wisdom falls away.
What Changed
Only the way the sentence is built. The Greek says “I will destroy.” The Hebrew says “shall perish.” Either way, it is Yahuah’s work that brings the wise to nothing. The meaning is the same.
The first half of the verse also reads differently. The Hebrew promises “a marvellous work and a wonder.” The Greek says Yahuah will “remove this people.” Paul did not quote that part, so it does not touch his point.
Why Paul Used It
Paul was writing to Corinth, a Greek city proud of its thinkers. He told them the message of the cross looks like foolishness to the wise of this world. Then he reached for Isaiah to prove that Yahuah had said long ago He would bring their wisdom down. The line he quoted came straight from the Greek Bible his readers held in their hands.
Purpose of the Change
No motive evident: wording variation only. The pair still matters because Paul quoted the Greek wording, the Old Testament the assemblies of his day were reading.
The Bottom Line
Paul quoted the Greek. The Hebrew says the same thing in other words.
The wisdom of men falls. The wisdom of Elohim stands forever: “Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 7:12).
Dig Deeper The evidence, for anyone who wants it
Hide or Bring to Nothing?
Both Isaiah texts say the understanding of the prudent will be “hid.” Paul says “bring to nothing.” Here he used his own word, so the quote follows the Greek in its first half and sharpens the second.
The Verse Before
Isaiah 29:13 is the verse Messiah quoted against the teachers of His day: “in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). He rebuked them for setting aside “the commandment of God by your tradition” (Matthew 15:3). The wisdom that perishes is the wisdom of men that buries Yahuah’s commandments, not the commandments themselves.