In the previous post, we left off considering Matthew and Luke’s citations from Psalm 6, which I will lay out in a bit of detail below:

Matthew 7:23

…separate from me workers of lawlessness.

…apoxōreite ap’ emou hoi ergazomenoi tēn anomian

…ἀποχωρεῖτε ἀπ᾽ἐμοῦ οί ἐργαζόμενοι τὴν ἀνομίαν

Luke 13:27

…Stand apart from me all workers of injustice

…apostēte ap’ emou pantes ergatai adikias

…ἀποστητε ἀπ᾽εμοῦ πάντες έργάται άδικίας

For the most part this phrasing is quite similar. Both ἀποχωρεῖτε apoxōreite and ἀποστητε apostēte mean to depart, so this is essentially a stylistic choice between synonyms.  This is less true, however for the difference between ἀνομίαν anomian and άδικίας adikias, however. Both words are alpha privatives, which means the prefix α is negating something.  In the case of ἀνομίαν anomian, the word being negated is νομός nomos, which means custom or law, and in the context of the New Testament is used consistently to describe “the law” in the sense of Mosaic law.  In the case of άδικίας adikias, the thing being negated is δίκη dikē, which has a variety of meaning (order, law, right, a lawsuit, the judgment issued at the end of a trial), or perhaps the related word δίκαιος dikaios, which means just, righteous, fair, moderate, or strict.  So where ἀνομίαν anomian means “lawlessness” straightforwardly, άδικίας adikias refers to the injustice or unrighteousness that is the result of lawlessness. This distinction is somewhat subtle, but it is not uncommon in the New Testament to see δίκαιος dikaios (or the related δικαιοσύνη dikaiosynē “righteousness”) used to describe behaviors that are technically unlawful (for example Joseph is described as wanted to quietly divorce Mary for her pregnancy rather than stoning her to death for adultery as prescribed by the law because he is a righteous man). So although the distinction is subtle, it is also quite important.  

Now let us consider Psalm 6.  I’ve alternated between the NRSV text and LXX (which is in italics) below: 

Psalm 6

[1] O Lord Do not rebuke me in your anger,

Lord, do no reproach my in your anger¹,

Or discipline me in your wrath.

Nor discipline me in your wrath.

[2] Be gracious to me , O LORD, for I am languishing;

Have mercy on me, Lord, because I am weak.

O LORD, heal me for my bones are shaking with terror.

Heal me, Lord, because my bones were troubled.

[3] My soul also is struck with terror, while you O LORD – how long?

And my soul was exceedingly troubled. And you, Lord, until when?

[4] Turn, O Lord, save my life; deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love.

Turn, Lord, to deliver my soul, save me on account of your mercy.

[5] For in death there is no remembrance of you;

Because in death there is no one who mentions you,

In Sheol, who can give you praise?

And in Hades, who shall profess to you?

[6] I was weary with my moaning, every night I flood my bed with tears;

I am wearied by my moaning, I shall bathe my bed each night,

I drench my couch with weeping.

I shall drench my seat in my tears.

[7] My eyes waste away because of grief; they grow weak because of all my foes.

My eye was troubled from anger, I grew old among all my enemies

[8] Depart from me, all you workers of evil,

Stand apart from me, everyone who works lawlessness,

For the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.

Because the Lord has hearkened to the sound of my wailing.

[9] The LORD has heard my supplication;

The Lord has hearkened to my entreaty,

The LORD accepts my prayer.  

The Lord received my prayer. 

[10] All my enemies shall be ashamed and struck with terror; 

May all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled,

They shall turn back and in a moment be put to shame. 

They shall turn away and be exceedingly shamed in a moment.

I suspect that what we are seeing here is the result of multiple different manuscript traditions.  Granted I do not actually know Hebrew, but it seems likely to me that what we are actually seeing is a root Hebrew text that reads “depart from me all workers of unrighteousness,” in which some manuscripts have dropped the “all”, “unrighteousness” stands for the specific act of being unjust by failing to follow the law, and different translators made reasonable choices in how they translate from Hebrew into Greek.  But again, this is speculation, since I do not know Hebrew (or really have much sense of the manuscript tradition here). 

With that being said, it is not impossible that Luke has deliberately rephrased this citation from ἀνομίαν anomian to άδικίας adikias for a specific purpose, and obviously the idea of of replacing lawful observance with righteousness would serve a theological purpose for early Christians, particularly in the case of Luke, whose heavy emphasis is on the validity of Christianity’s spread among the Gentiles.  Whether this is the case is somewhat outside the scope of our current discussion, but it is certainly worth filing away to revisit at some point in the future.  

In the interest of keeping this post a manageable length I think that I will end here, and in the next post will focus on a discussion of Psalm 6 and how its larger context should shape our interpretation of the New Testament passages we have been discussing. 

1. In the LXX, vv. 1 reads “Regarding the end, in hymns, over the eight.  A psalm to David.” In the NRSV text a similar prefatory note is omitted from the versification system, so that verse 1 in the NRSV text corresponds to verse 2 in LXX.  For simplicity’s sake I am using the NRSV versification here.   
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