Excerpt from orthodox Jewish author Asher Norman’s must-read book, Twenty-Six Reasons Why Jews Don’t Believe in Jesus:
(The prophet) Isaiah said that God would send a redeemer (the Messiah ben David) to the Jewish People when the Jewish People turn from their willful sins. Isaiah’s distinction between intentional and unintentional sin corresponds to the fact that animal sacrifices could only be brought in the Temple to redeem unintentional sin. The author of the Epistle of Romans in the Christian Bible mistranslated Isaiah 59:20 and falsely inserted an additional phrase in the text to support Christian theology that Jesus supposedly “took away sin.” Significantly, the Christian Old Testament (NKJV) translation does not support the Romans translation.
Romans 11:26, the Christian Bible (NKJV):
“A deliverer will come out of Zion [Israel] and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob…when I take away their sins.” —Paul citing Isaiah 59:20
Isaiah 59:20, the Christian Bible (NKJV):
“A redeemer will come to Zion and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob.”
Isaiah 59:20, the Jewish Bible (Stone Edition):
“A redeemer will come to Zion, and to those of Jacob who repent from willful sin.”
Analysis: The author of Romans dropped Isaiah’s distinction between willful sin and unintentional sin because Jesus supposedly redeemed all sin. Romans and the “Old Testament” translation of Isaiah 59 therefore ignore this important distinction.
Escaping Christian Fundamentalism 