These verses are rather a free extract from, than a quotation of, Isaiah 59:7-8. They describe the moral corruption of Israel in the age of the prophet. According to Lipsius, σύντριμμα καὶ ταλαιπωρία refer to the spiritual misery which comes upon the Jews in the path of self-righteousness. But it is much more natural to suppose that the Apostle is pointing to the destruction and misery which human wickedness inflicts on others, than to any such spiritual results of it. It is as if he had said, “Wherever they go, you can trace them by the ruin and distress they leave behind”. The same consideration applies to Romans 3:17. It does not mean, “They have failed to discover the way of salvation,” but “they tread continually in paths of violence”.

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Old Testament