Isaiah / Chapter 50

Isaiah 50

11 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex 2 traditions available

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

This chapter opens with God challenging Zion's claim of abandonment: where is your mother's certificate of divorce? God's hand is not too short to save. The Third Servant Song (vv.4-9) then presents the Servant as a willing disciple whose ear is opened each morning by God. The Servant endures physical abuse without turning away, trusting that God will vindicate him. The chapter closes with a warning to those who walk by their own light.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The Third Servant Song introduces a new dimension: the Servant suffers willingly and voluntarily. Unlike the Second Song where the Servant laments, here he offers his back to the strikers and his cheeks to those who pull out the beard — a deliberate choice, not passive victimhood. The courtroom metaphor of verses 8-9 casts suffering as a legal contest that God will win.

Translation Friction

The shift between God speaking (vv.1-3), the Servant speaking (vv.4-9), and the prophetic voice (vv.10-11) is abrupt. We have followed the traditional division without smoothing the transitions. The word adonai (Lord/Master) in verse 4 frames the Servant's relationship to God as that of a student to a teacher — the Hebrew limmudim (taught ones/disciples) is rare and significant.

Connections

The Servant's willingness to suffer (v.6) anticipates 52:13-53:12 in vivid detail. The legal language of vindication (v.8, 'Who will contend with me?') is echoed in Romans 8:31-34. The morning-by-morning teaching (v.4) connects to Psalm 119's meditation on Torah. The darkness imagery (v.10) inverts the 'light to the nations' of 49:6. **Tradition comparisons:** The Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaiah-a) preserve this chapter with notable variants: Verse 4: the scroll reads 'the tongue of those who are taught' identically. Verse 6: 'I gave my back to those who struck me' — identical in both traditions. Verse 9: a minor variant in the demonstrative pronoun. The Third Servant Song is remarkably stable across both traditions.. See the [DSS Isaiah comparison](/dss-isaiah/50). Targum Jonathan provides interpretive renderings: The third Servant Song asks who will heed the Servant's voice. Jonathan renders literally, but in context with 42:1 and 52:13, the servant is the Messiah whose voice demands obedience. See [Targum Jonathan on Isaiah](/targum/isaiah).

Isaiah 50:1

כֹּ֣ה ׀ אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֗ה אֵ֣י זֶ֠ה סֵ֣פֶר כְּרִיתוּת֮ אִמְּכֶ֣ם אֲשֶׁ֣ר שִׁלַּחְתִּ֒יהָ֒ א֚וֹ מִ֣י מִנּוֹשַׁ֔י אֲשֶׁר־מָכַ֥רְתִּי אֶתְכֶ֖ם ל֑וֹ הֵ֤ן בַּעֲוֹנֹֽתֵיכֶם֙ נִמְכַּרְתֶּ֔ם וּבְפִשְׁעֵיכֶ֖ם שֻׁלְּחָ֥ה אִמְּכֶֽם׃

This is what the LORD says: 'Where is your mother's certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of my creditors have I sold you? Behold, for your iniquities you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.'

KJV Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

God challenges the assumption that He initiated the separation. Under Deuteronomy 24:1, a husband must issue a formal divorce document (sefer keritut). God's rhetorical question implies: no such document exists — the covenant was never formally dissolved. Israel's exile was self-inflicted through sin, not divine abandonment.

Isaiah 50:2

מַדּ֤וּעַ בָּ֙אתִי֙ וְאֵ֣ין אִ֔ישׁ קָרָ֖אתִי וְאֵ֣ין עוֹנֶ֑ה הֲקָצ֨וֹר קָצְרָ֤ה יָדִי֙ מִפְּד֔וּת וְאִם־אֵֽין־בִּ֥י כֹ֖חַ לְהַצִּ֑יל הֵ֣ן בְּגַעֲרָתִ֞י אַחֲרִ֣יב יָ֗ם אָשִׂ֤ים נְהָרוֹת֙ מִדְבָּ֔ר תִּבְאַ֤שׁ דְּגָתָם֙ מֵאֵ֣ין מַ֔יִם וְתָמֹ֖ת בַּצָּמָֽא׃

Why, when I came, was there no one? When I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand too short to ransom? Have I no power to deliver? Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea; I make rivers a desert. Their fish stink for lack of water and die of thirst.

KJV Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

God's rhetorical questions invert the complaint: it was Israel who failed to respond, not God who failed to act. The drying of the sea (yam) alludes to the Red Sea crossing — proof that God's power to deliver is undiminished.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"among you"

1QIsaiah-a uses a fuller form. Same meaning.

Isaiah 50:3

אַלְבִּ֥ישׁ שָׁמַ֖יִם קַדְר֑וּת וְשַׂ֖ק אָשִׂ֥ים כְּסוּתָֽם׃

I clothe the heavens with blackness and make sackcloth their covering.

KJV I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The heavens themselves wear mourning garments (saq, sackcloth) — cosmic darkness serves as a sign of divine displeasure and recalls the ninth plague of Egypt (Exodus 10:21-23).

Isaiah 50:4

אֲדֹנָ֤י יְהוִה֙ נָ֣תַן לִ֔י לְשׁ֖וֹן לִמּוּדִ֑ים לָדַ֛עַת לָע֥וּת אֶת־יָעֵ֖ף דָּבָ֑ר יָעִ֣יר ׀ בַּבֹּ֣קֶר בַּבֹּ֗קֶר יָעִ֥יר לִי֙ אֹ֔זֶן לִשְׁמֹ֖עַ כַּלִּמּוּדִֽים׃

The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning He awakens — He awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.

KJV The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

לִמּוּדִים limmudim

"those who are taught" — disciples, learners, those instructed, trained ones

The word limmudim ('taught ones, disciples') from the root l-m-d ('to learn') describes the Servant's tongue as that of a disciple — one who has been trained by God to speak the right word at the right time. The Servant speaks not from his own wisdom but from what he has received.

Translator Notes

This verse opens the Third Servant Song (vv.4-9). The repetition babboqer babboqer (morning by morning) emphasizes daily, habitual communion with God. The Servant's authority to speak comes not from personal wisdom but from disciplined listening.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"the tongue of those who are taught"

Identical consonantal reading. The servant declares that God gave him 'the tongue of those who are taught' (leshon limmudim) — the gift of prophetic speech. Both texts agree.

Isaiah 50:5

אֲדֹנָ֤י יְהוִה֙ פָּֽתַח־לִ֣י אֹ֔זֶן וְאָנֹכִ֖י לֹ֣א מָרִ֑יתִי אָח֖וֹר לֹ֥א נְסוּגֹֽתִי׃

The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I did not turn backward.

KJV The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The 'opening' of the ear (patach ozen) may echo the ritual of Exodus 21:6, where a servant's ear is pierced as a sign of permanent, voluntary service. The Servant's obedience is stressed by two negatives: not rebellious, not turning back.

Isaiah 50:6

גֵּוִי֙ נָתַ֣תִּי לְמַכִּ֔ים וּלְחָיַ֖י לְמֹרְטִ֑ים פָּנַ֥י לֹא־הִסְתַּ֖רְתִּי מִכְּלִמּ֥וֹת וָרֹֽק׃

I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard. I did not hide my face from disgrace and spitting.

KJV I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The Servant's suffering is voluntary — 'I gave' (natatti), not 'they took.' Pulling out the beard was an extreme act of humiliation in the ancient Near East. This verse is central to Christian readings of the Servant as prefiguring Jesus's passion (cf. Matthew 26:67), while Jewish tradition may read it as Israel's suffering among the nations.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"my back"

Identical consonantal text. 'I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard.' This verse, central to Christian interpretation of the Passion, is identical in the oldest scroll and the medieval MT.

Isaiah 50:7

וַאדֹנָ֤י יְהוִה֙ יַעֲזָר־לִ֔י עַל־כֵּ֖ן לֹ֣א נִכְלָ֑מְתִּי עַל־כֵּ֞ן שַׂ֤מְתִּי פָנַי֙ כַּֽחַלָּמִ֔ישׁ וָאֵדַ֖ע כִּי־לֹ֥א אֵבֽוֹשׁ׃

But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.

KJV For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The word challamish (flint) evokes the hardest stone known in the ancient world — an image of unyielding resolve. The Servant's confidence rests not in his own strength but in God's help (ya'azar-li). Luke 9:51 uses similar language of Jesus 'setting his face' toward Jerusalem.

Isaiah 50:8

קָר֥וֹב מַצְדִּיקִ֖י מִֽי־יָרִ֣יב אִתִּ֑י נַעַמְדָ֣ה יָ֔חַד מִֽי־בַ֥עַל מִשְׁפָּטִ֖י יִגַּ֥שׁ אֵלָֽי׃

He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my accuser? Let him come near to me.

KJV He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The scene shifts to a courtroom. The Hebrew matsdiqui (He who declares me righteous/vindicates me) places God in the role of judge who pronounces the verdict. Ba'al mishpati (master of my case/my accuser) is a legal term for the opposing litigant. Paul draws directly on this language in Romans 8:33-34.

Isaiah 50:9

הֵ֣ן אֲדֹנָ֤י יְהוִה֙ יַעֲזָר־לִ֔י מִי־ה֖וּא יַרְשִׁיעֵ֑נִי הֵ֤ן כֻּלָּם֙ כַּבֶּ֣גֶד יִבְל֔וּ עָ֖שׁ יֹאכְלֵֽם׃

Behold, the Lord GOD helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment; the moth will consume them.

KJV Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The Servant's accusers are compared to a moth-eaten garment — their case against him will disintegrate. The Third Servant Song ends with absolute confidence in divine vindication.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)moderate

"behold"

1QIsaiah-a reads hinneh ('behold,' fuller form) where the MT reads hen (shorter form). Both mean the same thing. 'Behold, the Lord GOD helps me; who will declare me guilty?' The servant's confidence in divine vindication is the same in both.

Isaiah 50:10

מִ֤י בָכֶם֙ יְרֵ֣א יְהוָ֔ה שֹׁמֵ֖עַ בְּק֣וֹל עַבְדּ֑וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר ׀ הָלַ֣ךְ חֲשֵׁכִ֗ים וְאֵ֥ין נֹ֙גַהּ֙ ל֔וֹ יִבְטַח֙ בְּשֵׁ֣ם יְהוָ֔ה וְיִשָּׁעֵ֖ן בֵּאלֹהָֽיו׃

Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of His servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely upon his God.

KJV Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The 'servant' (eved) here is referred to in the third person, likely by a prophetic voice commenting on the Servant Song. Those who fear God are called to trust even in darkness — faith without visible evidence, the posture the Servant himself has modeled.

Targum Jonathan (Aramaic, 1st-5th c. CE)messianic

"Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant?"

The third Servant Song asks who will heed the Servant's voice. Jonathan renders literally, but in context with 42:1 and 52:13, the servant is the Messiah whose voice demands obedience.

Isaiah 50:11

הֵ֧ן כֻּלְּכֶ֛ם קֹ֥דְחֵי אֵ֖שׁ מְאַזְּרֵ֣י זִיק֑וֹת לְכ֣וּ ׀ בְּא֣וּר אֶשְׁכֶ֗ם וּבְזִיק֛וֹת בִּעַרְתֶּ֖ם מִיָּדִ֣י הָיְתָה־זֹּ֣את לָכֶ֔ם לְמַעֲצֵבָ֖ה תִּשְׁכָּבֽוּן׃

Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who arm yourselves with firebrands — walk by the light of your fire and among the sparks you have kindled! This you shall have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.

KJV Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The chapter ends with a sharp warning contrasting two paths: trusting God in darkness (v.10) versus manufacturing one's own light (v.11). Those who rely on their own fire rather than God's guidance will find their self-made illumination leads only to ma'atsevah (torment/sorrow). The word choice echoes the 'pain' vocabulary of Genesis 3:16-17.

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