Let’s look at Isaiah 53 in context and I will show you that this chapter is talking about Israel and NOT Jesus. Remember that the entire context involves Isaiah chapters 52, 53, and 54.
There are four servant songs in Isaiah (42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; and 52:13-53:12)
Right there is Isaiah 49:3 we see that the servant is in fact Israel.
And He said to me, “You are My servant, Israel, about whom I will boast.” (Isaiah 49:3 – Chabad.org)
Throughout the four servant songs (specifically chapters 41-54), the word servant is present 13 times – eight of these times, the servant is specified as being Israel (Isaiah 41:8-9; 44:2-1,21; 45:4; 49:3). In one case, Israel can be positively identified as the servant (43:1,10), and the other four times the servant is not referenced as a specific entity. Israel is the subject of the two chapters surrounding the fourth servant song. (Who is the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53? Part 1 – Uri Yosef)
Isaiah 52:13-15
For our purposes we will start at the end of Isaiah 52 to place Isaiah 53 into context.
Behold My servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and he shall be very high. As many wondered about you, “How marred his appearance is from that of a man, and his features from that of people!” So shall he cast down many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for, what had not been told them they saw, and [at] what they had not heard they gazed. (Isaiah 52:13-15 – Chabad.Org)
The servant can be referred to in the singular which can be a compound entity such as the nation of Israel.
“You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “and My servant whom I chose,” in order that you know and believe Me, and understand that I am He; before Me no god was formed and after Me none shall be. (Isaiah 43:10 – Chabad.Org)
Now that we have the beginning of the context for Isaiah 53, let’s move on to examining Isaiah 53 itself.
Isaiah 53:1-4
Who would have believed our report, and to whom was the arm of the Lord revealed? And he came up like a sapling before it, and like a root from dry ground, he had neither form nor comeliness; and we saw him that he had no appearance. Now shall we desire him? Despised and rejected by men, a man of pains and accustomed to illness, and as one who hides his face from us, despised and we held him of no account. Indeed, he bore our illnesses, and our pains-he carried them, yet we accounted him as plagued, smitten by God and oppressed. (Isaiah 53: 1-4 – Chabad.Org)
Who is talking? It is the nations who have come to realize that they are responsible for the unjust mistreatment of Israel as they are beginning to realize Israel’s proper role. If you study the last 27 chapters of Isaiah you will see that it references the nations being surprised and astonished by Israel’s redemption and ultimate vindication.
As in the days of your exodus from the land of Egypt, I will show him wonders. Nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might-they shall place a hand upon their mouth; their ears shall become deaf. (Micah 7:15-16 – Chabd.Org)
The very first verse talks about who the “arm of the Lord” was revealed to. Who does this refer to? It refers to Israel.
The Lord has revealed His holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. (Isaiah 52:10 – Chabad.Org)
Verse 2 uses the metaphor of a young sapling in dry ground. This same metaphor – referencing Israel – is seen throughout the Tanakh.
Your mother is like a vine in your likeness, planted by the water, fruitful and full of branches; it resulted from many waters. … And now it is planted in the desert, in a desolate and thirsty land. (Ezekiel 19:10,13 – Chabad.Org)
I will remedy their backsliding; I will love them freely, for My wrath has turned away from them. I will be like dew to Israel, they shall blossom like a rose, and it shall strike its roots like the Lebanon. (Hosea 14:5-6 – Chabad.Org)
Verse 3 references a despised servant – this is a reference to Israel as seen in various places in the Tanakh.
So said the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, about him who is despised of men, about him whom the nation abhors, about a slave of rulers, “Kings shall see and rise, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, for the sake of the Lord Who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, and He chose you.” (Isaiah 49:7 – Chabad.Org)
“Hearken, our God, for we have been despised, and return their reproach upon their head and cause them to be despised in a land of captivity.” (Nehemiah 3:36 – Chabad.org)
Verse 4 talks about the nations beginning to understand why Israel suffered. This was spoken of by Jeremiah and other places in the Tanakh.
And you, fear not, My servant Jacob, says the Lord, and do not be dismayed, O Israel, for behold I save you from afar and your seed from the land of their captivity, and Jacob shall again be silent and at ease, and no one will frighten them. … For I will bring healing to you, and of your wounds I will heal you, says the Lord, for they called you an outcast, that is Zion whom no one seeks out. (Jeremiah 30:10,17 – Chabad.Org)
Your people, O Lord, they crush, and Your inheritance they afflict. They slay the widow and the stranger, and they murder the orphans. They say, “Yah will not see, nor will the God of Jacob understand.” (Psalm 94:5-7 – Chabad.org)
Isaiah 53:5-8
But he was pained because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; the chastisement of our welfare was upon him, and with his wound we were healed. We all went astray like sheep, we have turned, each one on his way, and the Lord accepted his prayers for the iniquity of all of us. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he would not open his mouth; like a lamb to the slaughter he would be brought, and like a ewe that is mute before her shearers, and he would not open his mouth. From imprisonment and from judgment he is taken, and his generation who shall tell? For he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the transgression of my people, a plague befell them. (Isaiah 53:5-8 – Chabad.Org)
Take a look at verse 5 where is says that the servant was wounded because of our transgressions and compare that to a Christian translation that says the servant was wounded for our transgressions.
But he was pained because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; the chastisement of our welfare was upon him, and with his wound we were healed. (Isaiah 53:5 – Chabad.Org)
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5 – NKJV blueletterbible.org)
That is very problematic. The Christian translation deliberately mistranslated this verse.
Israel is the topic of this verse – that is, Israel is the servant. This is shown throughout the history of the Jewish people. In this passage the nations realize that their own anti-Semitism was the reason for the suffering of the Jewish people.
Pour out Your wrath upon the nations that do not know You and upon the families that have not called in Your name, for they have devoured Jacob and consumed him and destroyed him, and have wasted his dwelling. (Jeremiah 10:25 – Chabad.Org)
And I am very angry with the nations that are at ease, for I was wroth a little, and they helped to do harm. (Zechariah 1:15 – Chabad.Org)
Verse 6 shows how God used the nations as a method of correction for the Jewish people. We can see this throughout the Tanakh.
Woe that Assyria is the rod of My wrath, and My fury is a staff in their hand[s]. (Isaiah 10:5 – Chabad.Org)
Are You not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, You have ordained them for judgment, and, O Mighty God, You have established them for correction. (Habakkuk 1:12 – Chabad.Org)
Verse 7 references a lamb being led to the slaughter. This is a reference to Israel as seen throughout the Tanakh.
So said the Lord, my God: Tend the flock of slaughter, … And I tended the flock of slaughter; indeed, the poor of the flock. And I took for Myself two staffs; one I called Pleasantness, and one I called Destroyers; and I tended the flock. (Zechariah 11:4,7 – Chabad.Org)
You deliver us as sheep to be eaten, and You scatter us among the nations. … For it is for Your sake that we are killed all the time, [that] we are considered as sheep for the slaughter. (Psalm 44:12,23 – Chabad.Org)
Verse 8 refers to the servant being imprisoned and cut off. Again, compare verse 8 which refers to the servant being cut off because of the transgressions and the Christian mistranslation of the servant being cut off for the transgressions.
From imprisonment and from judgment he is taken, and his generation who shall tell? For he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the transgression of my people, a plague befell them. (Isaiah 53:8 – Chabad.Org)
He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. (Isaiah 53:8 – NKJV blueletterbible.org)
Once again, the Christian text is purposefully mistranslated to force Jesus into the passage.
Isaiah 53:9-12
And he gave his grave to the wicked, and to the wealthy with his kinds of death, because he committed no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. And the Lord wished to crush him, He made him ill; if his soul makes itself restitution, he shall see children, he shall prolong his days, and God’s purpose shall prosper in his hand. From the toil of his soul he would see, he would be satisfied; with his knowledge My servant would vindicate the just for many, and their iniquities he would bear. Therefore, I will allot him a portion in public, and with the strong he shall share plunder, because he poured out his soul to death, and with transgressors he was counted; and he bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:9-12 – Chabad.Org)
Verse 9 is God talking to the nations responding to them with a description of what happened to the servant – Israel – because of the sins of the nations.
Again, let’s compare verse 9 from the Tanakh and the Christian translation.
And he gave his grave to the wicked, and to the wealthy with his kinds of death, because he committed no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. (Isaiah 53:9 – Chabad.Org)
And they made His grave with the wicked—But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. (Isaiah 53:9 – NKJV blueletterbible.org)
We can easily see that in the Tanakh the “death” is in the plural – not the singular like the Christian mistranslation. Thus indicating that the servant is Israel – a group of people – and not one man called Jesus.
Verse 10 refers to God crushing the servant unless the servant acknowledged guilt at which point the servant would be given offspring.
Again, let’s compare the verse from the Tanakh and the Christian translation.
And the Lord wished to crush him, He made him ill; if his soul makes itself restitution, he shall see children, he shall prolong his days, and God’s purpose shall prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 53:10 – Chabad.Org)
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. (Isaiah 53:10 – NKJV blueletterbible.org)
This is a horrendous and disingenuous mistranslation by the Christian translation to force Jesus into this passage. This passage states that when Israel (the servant) repents and makes restitution, God will forgive Israel and bless Israel. The Christian mistranslation is attempting to say that one must believe in Jesus’ “sacrifice” – a supposed sin offering – in order to be blessed.
In addition to the blatant mistranslation of this passage, where is Jesus’ seed? He had no children and this is NOT a reference to spiritual offspring. The Hebrew word used for children is zerah which means physical offspring – as can be seen throughout the Tanakh. Here are but a few examples:
And I shall place hatred between you and between the woman, and between your seed and between her seed. He will crush your head, and you will bite his heel.” (Genesis 3:15 – Chabad.Org)
You shall destroy their fruit from the earth and their seed from the sons of man. (Psalm 21:11 – Chabad.Org)
And may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, with the seed that the Lord will give you from this maiden. (Ruth 4:12 – Chabad.Org)
Also, Jesus was not given prolonged days either. So, the servant is absolutely not Jesus. We can see throughout the Tanakh that long life and seeing one’s progeny is a blessing.
Joseph saw children of a third generation [born] to Ephraim; also the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh were born on Joseph’s knees. (Genesis 50:23 – Chabad.Org)
And may you see children [born] to your children, [and see] peace upon Israel. (Psalms 128:6 – Chabad.Org)
Verse 11 refers to Israel, the servant, vindicating mankind through the knowledge of God and Torah. Israel was the victim of the nations and unjustly bore the penalties of the nations. Yet again, the Christian text is mistranslated to push the agenda of the servant being Jesus.
From the toil of his soul he would see, he would be satisfied; with his knowledge My servant would vindicate the just for many, and their iniquities he would bear. (Isaiah 53:11 – Chabad.Org)
He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:11 – NKJV blueletterbible.org)
This idea – the vindication of mankind through knowledge of God and Torah – is something that is seen throughout the Tanakh when Israel is told to be a light unto the nations.
“’And now, if you obey Me and keep My covenant, you shall be to Me a treasure out of all peoples, for Mine is the entire earth. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of princes and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the children of Israel.” (Exodus 19:5-6 – Chabad.Org)
And it shall come to pass that [just] as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you-and you shall be a blessing. Fear not; may your hands be strengthened! … So said the Lord of Hosts: In those days, when ten men of all the languages of the nations shall take hold of the skirt of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” (Zechariah 8:13,23 – Chabad.Org)
Verse 12 refers to the servant – Israel – being compensated because they carried the ills that were afflicted upon them by the nations. The Jewish people have often prayed for those who have oppressed them and they will finally be vindicated.
And the tree of the field will give forth its fruit and the land will give forth its produce, and they will know that I am the Lord when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from those who enslave them. And they will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them, and they will dwell securely, with no one frightening them. And I shall establish for them a plantation for renown, and they will no longer be hidden because of hunger in the land, and they will no longer bear the disgrace of the nations. And they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and they are My people, the house of Israel, says the Lord God. (Ezekiel 34:27-30 – Chabad.Org)
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Links:
Isaiah 53: Suffering Servant is Israel, Not Jesus (Jewish for Judaism) https://www.jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/documents/isaiah-53-suffering-servant-israel-not-jesus/
Who is the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 – Part 1 (Uri Yosef) (https://uriyosef.wordpress.com/2020/03/19/who-is-the-suffering-servant-in-isaiah-53-part-i-the-jewish-interpretation-valid-or-not-2/)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD_jA0WM2Wk