Investigation: The Fourth Servant Song, Phrase by Phrase

The song has a frame and a center. God speaks first (52:13–15): my servant will prosper and be exalted, though his appearance was marred; nations and kings will be astonished. Then a "we" speaks (53:1–11a): we did not believe, we despised him, we thought God had struck him, but he bore our sicknesses and was wounded for our transgressions. God speaks last (53:11b–12): my righteous servant will make many righteous; I will give him a portion with the great.

The Hebrew is difficult in places, especially vv. 8–11; ancient copies and translations differ there. Where the Masoretic Text, the Great Isaiah Scroll, 1QIsa-b, the Cave 4 copies and the Greek agree, the site says so; where they differ, it describes each reading and does not assume the oldest copy is right.

Rejected (53:3)

Chadal ishim is usually translated "rejected by men"; it may mean "forsaken by people" or even "one who ceased to be among men." The "we" confess that they hid their faces and did not value him. Ancient Jewish interpreters who read the servant as Israel saw here the nations' contempt for the exiled people; Christian readers saw Jesus' rejection (John 1:11).

Wounded (53:5)

The verb chalal means to pierce or wound (51:9 uses it of the dragon), and the poem's "we" claim the wounding happened "for" (min, "because of") their transgressions. Whether this means the servant suffered as a consequence of others' sin, or in their place, is the center of the debate about vicarious atonement. R. N. Whybray (1978) argued that the language does not require substitution; B. Janowski and others argue that 53:4–6, 10–12 present a genuine bearing of others' guilt. Both cite the same Hebrew.

Bearing suffering (53:4, 11, 12)

Nasa' ("lift, carry") and saval ("bear a load") are used for carrying sickness and pain (53:4) and guilt (53:11–12). In Leviticus a person who "bears iniquity" suffers its consequences (Leviticus 5:1), and the scapegoat "bears" Israel's iniquities into the wilderness (Leviticus 16:22). Matthew 8:17 applies the first verse to physical healing; 1 Peter 2:24 applies the bearing of sins to Jesus' death. The Hebrew allows both senses; the two New Testament writers chose different ones.

Silent before accusers (53:7)

The servant does not open his mouth when oppressed, like a sheep. All four Gospels report Jesus' silence before the high priest, Pilate or Herod (Mark 14:60–61; 15:4–5; Matthew 26:62–63; 27:12–14; Luke 23:9; John 19:9), and none of them cites Isaiah 53:7 there. Acts 8:32 and 1 Peter 2:23 do connect the silence with Isaiah. Historically, an accused man's silence before a Roman governor is plausible; whether the Gospel writers shaped the scenes in light of Isaiah cannot be determined from the text alone.

Cut off and assigned a grave (53:8–9)

"Cut off from the land of the living" (nigzar) is language of death (compare Psalm 88:5; Lamentations 3:54). Verse 9 says his grave was set (or "they set his grave") with the wicked and with a rich man in his death: a dishonorable burial, though he had done no violence. The parallel of "wicked" and "rich" puzzles interpreters; some emend "rich" to "evildoers." The Gospels say Jesus was crucified between two criminals (Mark 15:27) and buried in the tomb of a rich man, Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57), but none of them cites Isaiah 53:9. The connection is a later Christian observation. The Great Isaiah Scroll reads a different word for "in his death(s)" that may mean "his tomb" or "his high place" (described from a transcription).

Making many righteous (53:11)

Yatsdiq tsaddiq avdi la-rabbim: "the righteous one, my servant, will make the many righteous" (or "will bring justice for the many"). Daniel 12:3 takes up the phrase: the wise who "turn many to righteousness" (matsdiqei ha-rabbim) will shine like the stars. Paul's language of justification (Romans 5:19, "by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous") is often connected with this verse. "The many" (ha-rabbim) recurs five times in the song (52:14, 15; 53:11, 12 twice) and became a term for the community at Qumran.

Bearing the sins of many (53:12)

"He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." The Masoretic Text has "sin" (singular) and "for the transgressors"; the Great Isaiah Scroll, 1QIsa-b and 4QIsa-d have "sins" (plural) and "for their transgressions" (described from transcriptions). Hebrews 9:28 ("Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many") and Mark 10:45 ("a ransom for many") use the phrase "many." Luke 23:34 ("Father, forgive them") has been read as the intercession, but that verse is itself missing from some early manuscripts of Luke.