Isaiah 52:7
How Beautiful Are the Feet
NT follows the HebrewQuoted by the apostles in Romans 10:15, in the Hebrew wording
The Greek turned beauty into a season. Paul put the beauty back.
Side by Side
The Greek
Septuagint
As a season of beauty upon the mountains, as the feet of one preaching glad tidings of peace, as one preaching good news: for I will publish thy salvation, saying, O Sion, thy God shall reign.
The Hebrew
Masoretic
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
Quoted in Romans 10:15
Paul follows the Hebrew
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Your KJV reads: “How beautiful” in Isaiah with the Hebrew, and Paul’s wording in Romans stands with it.
See what changed and why ↓What Your Bible Says
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Romans 10:15 KJV
Paul is explaining how people come to call on Yahuah. They must hear, and to hear, someone must be sent. He crowns the point with Isaiah: the feet of the messenger are beautiful.
What the Greek Says
As a season of beauty upon the mountains, as the feet of one preaching glad tidings of peace.
Isaiah 52:7, Septuagint
In the Greek, the cry “How beautiful are the feet!” is gone. In its place is a comparison: like a season of beauty on the mountains. The feet are there, but the beauty has moved from the messenger to the season.
What Changed
The Hebrew opens with mah na’avu, “how lovely are.” It is a cry of joy at the sight of the runner coming over the hills. The Greek translators read the opening differently and produced “as a season.”
Paul did not follow the Greek here. His words, “How beautiful are the feet,” match the Hebrew. He shortened the line and left out “upon the mountains,” but the cry of joy is the Hebrew’s, not the Greek’s.
Which One Is Right?
The Hebrew reads how beautiful are the feet.
Romans 10:15 reads how beautiful are the feet.
The Greek Bible reads as a season of beauty. On this verse Paul’s wording stands with the Hebrew.
The Hebrew Is the Source
This section does not worship the Greek. The Hebrew is the source. The Greek is an early witness to what the Hebrew said before the later scribes finished their work. The apostles quoted it far more often than not, because it usually carried the older reading. Here Paul did not, because the Hebrew said it better. The apostles quoted what was true.
Purpose of the Change
No motive is evident; the Greek likely misread the opening words. The effect is that the joyful cry over the messenger fades into a comparison, and Paul went back to the Hebrew to restore it.
The Bottom Line
Paul’s “How beautiful are the feet” comes from the Hebrew, not the Greek.
The messenger’s news was “Thy God reigneth.” Revelation hears it shouted at last: “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (Revelation 19:6).
Dig Deeper The evidence, for anyone who wants it
The Same Runner in Nahum
Nahum uses nearly the same words: “Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!” (Nahum 1:15). Two prophets saw the same picture, a runner on the hilltops bringing word that the enemy is beaten.
From One Messenger to Many
Isaiah speaks of one messenger, “him.” Paul writes “them,” because he is speaking of everyone Yahuah sends with the message. The beauty belongs to every pair of feet that carries it.
Paul’s Word for Beautiful
The Greek of Isaiah uses hōra, a word for season or hour. Paul uses hōraioi, a word built on it that means beautiful or timely. His word sounds like the Greek, but it says what the Hebrew says: beautiful.
An Honest Note
Paul’s quotation is not word for word from either text. It is a short form of the line. Several of the oldest Greek copies of Romans also lack the words “preach the gospel of peace, and.” None of that changes the point: the opening cry, “How beautiful are the feet,” is the Hebrew’s, and Paul used it. This is one of several pages where an apostle follows the Hebrew, shown here on purpose.