Psalms 40:6 and the Septuagint?

Question

In all the translations I have read of Psalms 40:6, it is read as ".....but my ears you have pierced."

Then there is a footnote at the bottom that says:
Septuagint, "but a body you have prepaired for me"

Paul also quotes it this way in Hebrews 10:5. What is the true translation? Why is the Septuagint different from every translation in this particular verse?

Answer 1

The Septuagint here was apparently based on Hebrew manuscript with a difference from the later standard Masoretic version our English translations of the Old Testament are based on, or along the same lines, whoever translated the Hebrew may have (mis?)read the Hebrew line.

The best suggestion of how this may have happened boils down to this
a) the VERB used here can mean either "prepared" or "bored,dug", depending on the context
b) the Hebrew for "then a body" looks very similar to the words for "ears"

A factor that may have contributed to the change or misreading (whichever direction it went) is the difficulty of the Hebrew expression involved. If it refer to ears being "dug", what does that mean? (Most who read it this way argue that it is referring back to the voluntary piercing of the ear of a servant in Exodus 21. Though the precise wording differs, the idea is possible. Others simply take it as metaphorical for God's enabling his servant to hear [an idea we find in Isaiah's pictures of the servant of the LORD]. In any case, the notion is that the person is God's willing and obedient servant.)

Check the following for a more detailed explanation:
http://www.bibletopics.com/BibleStudy/46.htm
http://www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkepsa40.htm

Answer 2

Ancient texts are not easy to translate, new research often sheds new light on passages that had previousy been obscure. Below is an interesting link: