Many Protestants believe they hold the same Old Testament that Jesus and the Apostles read. The truth is harder: The Old Testament you hold was edited against Christ by Jewish leaders who rejected Him. Not before Christ — but after

Before Christ, the Scriptures the Jews revered were the ones preserved in the Septuagint — a Greek translation made around 250 B.C. The Apostles quoted it. The early Church read it. It was full of prophecies about the Virgin birth, the Messiah’s suffering, the Resurrection, and more.

But after the Resurrection, the Jewish authorities faced a crisis. The Scriptures too clearly pointed to Jesus. The prophecies fit Him too well. Rather than repent, they quietly began to edit. Word changes. Book removals. Shifting doctrines. The goal: erase Christ from the page.

One of the clearest examples is Isaiah 7:14. In the Septuagint, it reads, “Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son,” a miraculous prophecy fulfilled directly in Christ. But the Masoretic Text changes it: “Behold, the young woman shall conceive,” reducing it to an ordinary birth. The miracle was erased. Matthew 1:23 quotes the Septuagint — not the Masoretic

Psalm 22 offers another undeniable change. In the Septuagint, David writes, “They have pierced my hands and my feet” — a prophecy fulfilled in the crucifixion of Christ. But the Masoretic version twists the line into nonsense: “Like a lion are my hands and my feet.” Precision was replaced with confusion. The vivid witness to the Crucifixion was blurred.

Wisdom of Solomon 2 — The Death of the Righteous One Entire books were dropped — not because they were “new,” but because they said too much. Wisdom 2 describes Christ’s trial and death centuries before it happened: “Let us lie in wait for the righteous man… for he boasts that God is his Father.” Sound familiar?

Wisdom of Solomon 7 — The Divine Nature of Wisdom Wisdom 7 describes Wisdom — a type of Christ — as: “For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty… For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of His goodness.” (Wisdom 7:25–26, LXX) Stunning descriptions that echo Christ as the “radiance of the glory of God” (Hebrews 1:3). Too much for those who rejected the Incarnation.

Sirach 24 — The Pre-existence of the Word Sirach speaks of Wisdom dwelling with God before all creation, then coming to dwell among men: “From the beginning, before the world, I was created, and to all eternity I shall not cease to be. In the holy tent I ministered before Him, and so I was established in Zion.” (Sirach 24:9–10, LXX) The Orthodox see here a prophecy of the eternal Word — Christ — dwelling bodily among His people. Yet Sirach was thrown out after Christ’s coming.

2 Maccabees 7 — The Resurrection of the Body In 2 Maccabees 12:43–44, we see prayers offered for the dead, anchored in the hope of resurrection: “For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead… Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.” (2 Maccabees 12:44–45, LXX) Direct witness to the resurrection of the body—and the Orthodox practice of praying for the dead. Another doctrine quietly suppressed by those who rejected Christ and the resurrection.

Baruch 3 — The Incarnation Foretold Another book removed. Baruch speaks directly of the Wisdom of God walking among men: “Afterward He appeared on earth and lived among men.” (Baruch 3:37) The Incarnation, written centuries before Bethlehem. Gone from the Protestant canon.

Daniel 3 — The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Holy Children Removed. Why? Because the additional sections testify richly to God’s salvation through fire —the very image fulfilled in Christ saving His people through death and resurrection.

There is a pattern here: Every book and every passage that most vividly points to Christ —whether His Virgin birth, His crucifixion, His resurrection, or His divinity —was either altered, muted, or erased after the Church began. This is not a conspiracy theory. It is simple history.

The Septuagint preserves the older, fuller Scriptures. The Scriptures Christ and His Apostles trusted. The Masoretic Text — the foundation of most Protestant Old Testaments — is a later revision shaped in the shadow of Christ’s rejection. The early Church did not “add books” to Scripture. Rather, the synagogue removed books after it rejected the Messiah. The question is simple: Would you rather trust the Scriptures preserved by those who received Christ? Or those who rejected Him? Choose carefully.

To my Protestant friends, you claim to care so deeply about staying true to the original text and worshipping, thinking, and believing the way Jesus and the Apostles did. My challenge to you is that if you do not accept the Scriptures they accepted, you not only fail to believe what they believed — you have, whether you realize it or not, allied yourself against their faith and sided with the very enemy who sought to erase Christ from the Scriptures. This is not a matter of tradition versus Scripture. It is a matter of which Scripture you trust: the one preserved by those who followed Christ, or the one revised by those who rejected Him. The choice is between the one true Church that received the Messiah, and the synagogue that crucified Him. Choose carefully. The canon you accept shapes the Christ you see —or possibly blinds you from seeing Him at all.