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Why Is Piety Not Listed In Isaiah 11?

Question:

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are listed in Isaiah 11. Why does piety not show up in the list of gifts?

Answer:

Isaiah 11:1-3 is where we derive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A spirit of counsel and of strength,
a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.

In the Hebrew text “fear of the Lord” is mentioned twice and in the Greek text “spirit of godliness” is used for the first one.

Christian tradition has followed the Greek text in considering the “spirit of godliness” as distinct from “fear of the Lord” and has called this the gift piety.

In our fear of the Lord we realize that we are but mere creatures and that we are entirely dependent upon God. Piety (or spirit of godliness) reveres God as our Father and other persons as our brothers and sisters.

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