Isaiah 53:1
מִ֥י הֶאֱמִ֖ין לִשְׁמֻעָתֵ֑נוּ וּזְר֥וֹעַ יְהוָ֖ה עַל־מִ֥י נִגְלָֽתָה׃
Who believed our report? and the arm of YHWH, to whom is it uncovered?
Paraphrase: But, alas, not everyone has believed the good news. (Romans 10:16) In fact, the Gentile peoples, who were never told about God’s saving power, are now coming and rejoicing in the cleansing (Isaiah 52:15) which they receive from My Servant. My people, however, have heard this good news all their life long. All the promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the Passover, and other ordinances of Jewish worship were types and pictures of the saving work of the Messiah, but what good has it done the Jewish people? Which of them has believed this good news and taken refuge in this Great King for the saving of their own soul? (Romans 9:30-33) Which of them can testify of the mighty power of God (Isaiah 52:10) in bringing them out of their unbelief (John 3:3; 1 Corinthians 12:3) and into a confident trust in the mercy of God?
Comments:
Isaiah 53:2
וַיַּ֨עַל כַּיּוֹנֵ֜ק לְפָנָ֗יו וְכַשֹּׁ֙רֶשׁ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ צִיָּ֔ה לֹא־תֹ֥אַר ל֖וֹ וְלֹ֣א הָדָ֑ר וְנִרְאֵ֥הוּ וְלֹֽא־מַרְאֶ֖ה וְנֶחְמְדֵֽהוּ׃
and He shall grow up as a sprout before Him and as a root from dry ground; no form is to Him and no magnificence, and we shall see Him and no appearance that we should desire Him.
Paraphrase: This Great Messiah-King will begin very small. No one will even notice His entrance into this earth. He will be born just as a little sprout begins to push it’s way out of the ground and take root. He will be like those plants that struggle to grow because the soil is so dry, and their roots cannot find any moisture. He will have none of that royal bearing and presence which marks the great and powerful men of this earth. He wears no crown and has no royal robes or other regalia which might mark Him out as a king. Frankly, there’s nothing about His outward appearance that would lead us to believe that He is anything but an ordinary child; no one would come and bow before this insignificant person.
Comments:
Isaiah 53:3
נִבְזֶה֙ וַחֲדַ֣ל אִישִׁ֔ים אִ֥ישׁ מַכְאֹב֖וֹת וִיד֣וּעַ חֹ֑לִי וּכְמַסְתֵּ֤ר פָּנִים֙ מִמֶּ֔נּוּ נִבְזֶ֖ה וְלֹ֥א חֲשַׁבְנֻֽהוּ׃
Isa 53:4
אָכֵ֤ן חֳלָיֵ֙נוּ֙ ה֣וּא נָשָׂ֔א וּמַכְאֹבֵ֖ינוּ סְבָלָ֑ם וַאֲנַ֣חְנוּ חֲשַׁבְנֻ֔הוּ נָג֛וּעַ מֻכֵּ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים וּמְעֻנֶּֽה׃
Isa 53:5
וְהוּא֙ מְחֹלָ֣ל מִפְּשָׁעֵ֔נוּ מְדֻכָּ֖א מֵעֲוֺנֹתֵ֑ינוּ מוּסַ֤ר שְׁלוֹמֵ֙נוּ֙ עָלָ֔יו וּבַחֲבֻרָת֖וֹ נִרְפָּא־לָֽנוּ׃
Isa 53:6
כֻּלָּ֙נוּ֙ כַּצֹּ֣אן תָּעִ֔ינוּ אִ֥ישׁ לְדַרְכּ֖וֹ פָּנִ֑ינוּ וַֽיהוָה֙ הִפְגִּ֣יעַ בּ֔וֹ אֵ֖ת עֲוֺ֥ן כֻּלָּֽנוּ׃
Isaiah 53:7
נִגַּ֨שׂ וְה֣וּא נַעֲנֶה֮ וְלֹ֣א יִפְתַּח־פִּיו֒ כַּשֶּׂה֙ לַטֶּ֣בַח יוּבָ֔ל וּכְרָחֵ֕ל לִפְנֵ֥י גֹזְזֶ֖יהָ נֶאֱלָ֑מָה וְלֹ֥א יִפְתַּ֖ח פִּֽיו׃
He was oppressed and was being tortured, but He did not open His mouth; as a sheep to the slaughter-house, He was led; and as an ewe before her shearers is bound, He did not open His mouth.
Paraphrase: Finally, He was cruelly arrested and dragged to trial. He was treated terribly and was abused at every turn. In spite of all this, He never once opened His mouth to defend Himself or to complain of the unfairness of it all. He was just like the sheep who walk into the butcher’s shop without any objection not knowing that they are about to be cut to pieces. And like those sheep who are thrown on their backs and sheared and yet they don’t utter a sound of protest.
Comments:
Isaiah 53:8
מֵעֹ֤צֶר וּמִמִּשְׁפָּט֙ לֻקָּ֔ח וְאֶת־דּוֹר֖וֹ מִ֣י יְשׂוֹחֵ֑חַ כִּ֤י נִגְזַר֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ חַיִּ֔ים מִפֶּ֥שַׁע עַמִּ֖י נֶ֥גַע לָֽמוֹ׃
From oppression and judgment, He was taken, and His generation, who considered? For he was cut off from the land of the living and for the transgression of My people, the stroke to them.
Paraphrase: At this trial, He was pronounced guilty. What a sham it was. There was no justice in it whatsoever, but no one cared. It didn’t matter to them. When it was over, they dragged Him away to be executed. None of those who witnessed this injustice had any sympathy for Him; He suffered alone. Finally, He was struck down, His life taken, and He was removed from society. None of this was for any sin He had committed. He never broke even the least part of God’s law. (Matthew 5:18) It was My people who sinned; they were the ones who really should have received this punishment. My Servant took on Himself the punishment which they deserved. (Galatians 3:10-14)
Comments:
This is one of those verses where the meaning of every single clause or phrase is debated.
With regards to יְשׂוֹחֵחַ, Lowth notes (p365) that before anyone was executed for a capital crime in Israel, he was walked through the streets and the town crier would shout, “Whoever knows something about his innocence, let him come and speak about it.”
לָמוֹ is the preposition lamed with the third plural; see §102c2. Here, I’ve understood the preposition as showing possession.
Isaiah 53:9
וַיִּתֵּ֤ן אֶת־רְשָׁעִים֙ קִבְר֔וֹ וְאֶת־עָשִׁ֖יר בְּמֹתָ֑יו עַ֚ל לֹא־חָמָ֣ס עָשָׂ֔ה וְלֹ֥א מִרְמָ֖ה בְּפִֽיו׃
and He made with the wicked His grave and with the rich in His death because no violence He did, and no deceit was in His mouth.
Paraphrase: He was judged to be guilty and would have been buried as a common criminal; but instead, he was placed in a rich man’s tomb. The reason is because God knew He had done nothing worthy of death. He had committed no act of violence; neither had he deceived anyone.
Comments:
Isaiah 53:10
וַיהוָ֞ה חָפֵ֤ץ דַּכְּאוֹ֙ הֶֽחֱלִ֔י אִם־תָּשִׂ֤ים אָשָׁם֙ נַפְשׁ֔וֹ יִרְאֶ֥ה זֶ֖רַע יַאֲרִ֣יךְ יָמִ֑ים וְחֵ֥פֶץ יְהוָ֖ה בְּיָד֥וֹ יִצְלָֽח׃
and YHWH was pleased to crush Him; He caused hurt; when His life was made trespass offering, He will see seed; He will prolong days, and the pleasure of YHWH will prosper in His hand.
Paraphrase: God knew His Servant had done no wrong, yet it was part of His eternal good pleasure to crush Him (Acts 2:23), the very One with whom He was well pleased. (Matthew 3:17; 12:18; 17:5) God punished Him and put Him to all manner of terrible suffering because He was the life that was going to be taken as a trespass offering. (Leviticus 5:6) It is in this way that God’s eternal plan of saving His people would be successful. God put the salvation of His people in the hands of His Servant (John 4:34); He would be the One to execute this plan (Hebrews 10:7), and God’s pleasure would be accomplished. (Isaiah 46:10) When the Servant completes His mission, He will look back and see all God’s people whom He has saved. He will look on them with great joy and satisfaction; He will rejoice with them many days. (Zephaniah 3:17; Luke 15:4-7, 8-10)
Comments:
Isaiah 53:11
מֵעֲמַ֤ל נַפְשׁוֹ֙ יִרְאֶ֣ה יִשְׂבָּ֔ע בְּדַעְתּ֗וֹ יַצְדִּ֥יק צַדִּ֛יק עַבְדִּ֖י לָֽרַבִּ֑ים וַעֲוֺנֹתָ֖ם ה֥וּא יִסְבֹּֽל׃
From the trouble of His soul, He will see; He will be satisfied; by His knowledge, My Servant will justify the righteous for many, and their iniquities He will bear.
Paraphrase: Yes, He will look back on all what He suffered. He will remember His humble birth (John 1:46), His painful life (Luke 9:58), the unjust trial (Matthew 27:24-26), the abuse (John 19:1-3), the cross, the grave; He will remember it all. “It is finished!” He will announce, “Mission accomplished!” (1 Corinthians 15:24-28) Everything that My Father sent Me to do is complete.” (John 17:4) Now when My Servant reflects on all this and sees the completion of His mission, He will appear in the heavenly court to plead for His children. (Isaiah 53:10) Then, the Father, the Great Creator and Judge of heaven and earth, will pronounce with great joy, “Not Guilty! I see the blood (Exodus 12:13); I see My Servant’s sacrifice which He made as a trespass offering (Leviticus 5:6) for the sins of His people. (Romans 5:8-11) The sin of these people (John 6:37) is forgiven. (Leviticus 5:16, 18) It is so ordered!”
Comments:
Is “by His knowledge…” a subjective or objective genitive?
- The subjective meaning is that Jesus knows and that this knowledge is saving.
- The objective meaning is that those who are saved know Jesus and are saved by this knowledge.
Hengstenberg (p303):
The knowledge does not belong to the Servant of God, in so far as it dwells in Him, but as it concerns Him; just as the ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ in Luke 11:42, and in other passages does not mean the love which dwells in God, but the love which has God for its object. “By His knowledge” is thus equivalent to: by their knowing Him, getting acquainted with Him. This knowledge of the Servant of God according to His principal work, as it was described in what precedes, viz., mediatorial office, or faith, is the subjective condition of justification. As the efficient cause of it, the vicarious suffering of the Servant of God was represented in the preceding context. It is just this, which is subjectively appropriated by the knowledge of the Servant of God, and which must be conceived of as essential and living.
He quotes Michaelis who says that the knowledge here is not that by which he knows, but by which, with true faith and trust, he is known as the mediator/reconciler. “In the whole prophecy, the Servant of God does not appear as a Teacher, but as a Redeemer; and the relation of צדיק to הצדיק shows that here, too, He is considered as such.” John Murray in appendix C of his Romans commentary disagrees. Edwards understands (p126) knowledge here as referring to righteousness, holiness, or piety. He references a number of texts where this word is used in this sense.
Isaiah 53:12
לָכֵ֞ן אֲחַלֶּק־ל֣וֹ בָרַבִּ֗ים וְאֶת־עֲצוּמִים֮ יְחַלֵּ֣ק שָׁלָל֒ תַּ֗חַת אֲשֶׁ֨ר הֶעֱרָ֤ה לַמָּ֙וֶת֙ נַפְשׁ֔וֹ וְאֶת־פֹּשְׁעִ֖ים נִמְנָ֑ה וְהוּא֙ חֵטְא־רַבִּ֣ים נָשָׂ֔א וְלַפֹּשְׁעִ֖ים יַפְגִּֽיעַ׃ס
Therefore, I will divide for Him among the many; and with multitudes, He will divide the plunder because His soul was poured out to death; and with rebels, He was numbered, and He, the sin of many, carried; and for rebels, He interceded.
Paraphrase: Now then, all the hosts of heaven will rejoice at the victory of My Servant. There will be a mighty celebration where My Servant shall march in triumph and the spoils of war will be distributed to all the citizens of God’s city. He won this glorious victory by giving His life as a trespass offering. He was willing to be counted as a rebel and a criminal in order that He might carry their sin and guilt and make satisfaction for it. When He had completed this, He pleaded the cause of these rebels in the court of heaven and brought salvation to all of them.
Comments:
For תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר, see §158b.