The Septuagint and the Masoretic text
The Septuagint is the ancient Greek Old Testament. The Masoretic text is the received Hebrew tradition behind many English Old Testament translations. Compare their words and their reference systems when you study a passage.
Read the same passage
Start with the words at the beginning of the passage. Greek and Hebrew chapter numbers sometimes differ, and the same chapter number can take you to different texts. Psalm numbers require particular care because the Greek and Hebrew traditions join and divide some psalms differently.
The shepherd psalm is Psalm 22 in Brenton's Septuagint and Psalm 23 in the Berean Standard Bible. Open both and compare their opening words. The next psalm in Brenton, Psalm 23, begins with the earth belonging to the Lord.
Berean Blue keeps each source's chapter numbers and verse labels. A Greek chapter link preserves the Greek reference. The Bible book index lets you choose a Hebrew-based chapter separately. Read both passages before treating two verse labels as equivalent.
Compare a translation with its source
Brenton translated the Greek Septuagint into English. The Berean Standard Bible's Old Testament was translated from Hebrew and Aramaic. When their English sentences differ, read the Greek or Hebrew source and inspect the surrounding verses. Different English words can express the same source meaning.
A larger difference can arise from a different reading, a different order of material, or the translator's interpretation. A single English word cannot establish which explanation applies. Keep the text, translation, and reference number distinct as you compare them.
Jeremiah needs particular care because the Greek text arranges parts of the book differently. Use a reference table or an edition's notes when moving between Greek and Hebrew passages. The International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies discusses Brenton's editions and their comparative Jeremiah table.
Follow New Testament references
The New Testament writers quote and allude to the Old Testament. Read the New Testament passage in its own context, then compare the Greek Old Testament wording with the Hebrew-based English translation. The historical quotation table linked below a Septuagint chapter provides starting references for that comparison.
For an example, open Isaiah 7 in the Septuagint, then read Matthew 1:23. Follow the wording in each passage before examining a commentator's explanation.
Sources for further reading
Read Brenton's public-domain translation at eBible.org. The Tyndale Bulletin study of the Psalter's early history discusses Greek and Hebrew psalm numbering. For the history of the Greek Scriptures, see B. H. McLean's Hellenistic and Biblical Greek.