Isaiah / Chapter 53

Isaiah 53

12 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex 3 traditions available

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

The Fourth Servant Song continues from 52:13 and reaches its climax here. A group of speakers — identified only as we — confess that they misjudged the servant of the LORD, mistaking his suffering for divine punishment when in fact he bore their griefs and was pierced for their transgressions. The Servant, silent as a lamb before slaughter, is cut off from the land of the living, buried with the wicked, yet sees offspring and prolongs his days. The song ends with God vindicating the Servant and granting him a portion with the great.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

This chapter contains the most developed theology of vicarious suffering in the Hebrew Bible. The Servant does not merely suffer alongside others but suffers in their place and for their healing. The reversal of verse 4 is the theological hinge: we thought him stricken by God, but he was pierced for our transgressions. The Dead Sea Scrolls manuscript 1QIsaiah-a preserves a significant variant at verse 11, reading he shall see light (yir'eh or), absent from the Masoretic Text but supported by the Septuagint.

Translation Friction

This is the most theologically contested passage in the Hebrew Bible, and we approach it with maximum care and transparency. Jewish interpretive tradition, from the Talmud through Rashi and Ibn Ezra, has predominantly read the Servant as a personification of Israel suffering among the nations — the we being the Gentile nations who finally recognize Israel's innocent suffering. Christian tradition, from the New Testament onward, has read the Servant as a messianic prophecy fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. Both readings have deep roots and serious textual support. We present the Hebrew as it stands, note both traditions, and do not privilege either. The text itself sustains the tension.

Connections

This passage is quoted or alluded to more than any other Hebrew Bible text in the New Testament (Matthew 8:17; Acts 8:32-35; Romans 4:25; 1 Peter 2:22-25, among many others). In Jewish liturgy, it appears in the Musaf service for Yom Kippur in some traditions. The Targum Jonathan renders the passage messianically but redistributes the suffering to Israel's enemies. The Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 98b) applies elements to the Messiah. The Dead Sea Scrolls community appears to have read it in light of their own Teacher of Righteousness. **Tradition comparisons:** The Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaiah-a) preserve this chapter with notable variants: Verse 2: minor variant in 'before him.' Verse 3: the scroll reads 'pains' (makhov) with a possible variant. Verse 4: a moderate variant in the verb form. Verse 5: identical in both traditions. Verse 7: a moderate variant in the passive verb. Verse 9: a possible variant in 'his death' (plural in M.... See the [DSS Isaiah comparison](/dss-isaiah/53). Targum Jonathan provides interpretive renderings: Jonathan partially redirects: the kingdoms despise the Servant-Messiah, but the 'sorrows' are reframed as intercessory prayer. The Messiah is not passive in suffering but active in intercession. The s... (7 notable renderings in this chapter) See [Targum Jonathan on Isaiah](/targum/isaiah). The Latin Vulgate shaped Western theology here: Virum dolorum (man of sorrows) became one of the most important christological titles in Western theology and art. The 'Man of Sorrows' (Vir Dolorum) iconographic tradition — depicting Christ crowned... (7 notable Vulgate renderings in this chapter) See the [Vulgate Isaiah](/vulgate/isaiah).

Isaiah 53:1

מִ֥י הֶאֱמִ֖ין לִשְׁמֻעָתֵ֑נוּ וּזְר֥וֹעַ יְהוָ֖ה עַל־מִ֥י נִגְלָֽתָה׃

Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

KJV Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

זְרוֹעַ יְהוָה zeroa YHWH
"the arm of the LORD" — arm of the LORD, power of the LORD, strength of the LORD

The zeroa YHWH ('arm of the LORD') represents God's active intervention in history. The question 'to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?' implies that the Servant's suffering is itself the revelation of divine power — but in a form no one expected or recognized.

Translator Notes

  1. The song shifts to first-person plural — a group of speakers confess their misunderstanding. The identity of the we is debated: in Christian reading, it is Israel or humanity confessing about the Messiah; in Jewish reading, it may be the Gentile nations confessing about Israel. The shemu'atenu (our report/what we have heard) implies a message that was delivered but not believed. John 12:38 and Romans 10:16 both quote this verse.
1 tradition available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"our report"

Identical consonantal text. 'Who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?' (quoted in John 12:38 and Romans 10:16). The scroll opens the Suffering Servant passage with the same rhetorical questions as the MT.

Isaiah 53:2

וַיַּ֨עַל כַּיּוֹנֵ֜ק לְפָנָ֗יו וְכַשֹּׁ֙רֶשׁ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ צִיָּ֔ה לֹא־תֹ֥אַר ל֖וֹ וְלֹ֣א הָדָ֑ר וְנִרְאֵ֥הוּ וְלֹֽא־מַרְאֶ֖ה וְנֶחְמְדֵֽהוּ׃

For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.

KJV For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The Servant emerges from unpromising conditions — a yoneq (tender shoot/suckling plant) from dry ground (erets tsiyyah), suggesting humble, unexpected origins. The triple negation (no form, no majesty, no beauty) inverts expectations of how divine power should manifest. The root (shoresh) imagery echoes Isaiah 11:1 (the shoot from Jesse's stump).
1 tradition available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)moderate

"before him"

Identical consonantal text. 'He grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground.' The description of the servant's humble origins is the same in both traditions. The scroll's plene spelling offers no meaningful difference.

Isaiah 53:3

נִבְזֶה֙ וַחֲדַ֣ל אִישִׁ֔ים אִ֥ישׁ מַכְאֹב֖וֹת וִיד֣וּעַ חֹ֑לִי וּכְמַסְתֵּ֤ר פָּנִים֙ מִמֶּ֔נּוּ נִבְזֶ֖ה וְלֹ֥א חֲשַׁבְנֻֽהוּ׃

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. As one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

KJV He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

אִישׁ מַכְאֹבוֹת ish makh'ovot
"a man of sorrows" — man of pains, man of sufferings, one acquainted with grief

The phrase ish makh'ovot ('man of pains/sorrows') and yadu'a choli ('acquainted with illness/grief') describe the Servant's intimate familiarity with human suffering — not as observer but as participant. The rendering 'man of sorrows' follows a long translation tradition that captures the Hebrew's weight.

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase chadal ishim (rejected by men, or: forsaken of men) suggests one who has ceased to be regarded as human. The word yadu'a choli (acquainted with grief/illness) can also mean known to sickness — the Servant is intimate with suffering. The verb chasavnuhu (we esteemed him) is an accounting term: we did not reckon him as having value.
3 traditions available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)moderate

"a man of sorrows"

The scroll reads 'a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief' (ish makh'ovot vidua choli) with only orthographic differences from the MT. The iconic phrase is substantively identical.

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

"Then he shall be held in contempt by all the kingdoms and they shall cease... and he shall be praying and seeking [God's will] like a man of sorrows and one acquainted with sickness."

Jonathan partially redirects: the kingdoms despise the Servant-Messiah, but the 'sorrows' are reframed as intercessory prayer. The Messiah is not passive in suffering but active in intercession. The suffering imagery is present but transformed into spiritual labor.

Latin Vulgate (Jerome, 405 CE)

"Despised and the last of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with infirmity"

Virum dolorum (man of sorrows) became one of the most important christological titles in Western theology and art. The 'Man of Sorrows' (Vir Dolorum) iconographic tradition — depicting Christ crowned with thorns, showing his wounds — derives directly from this Latin phrase. Handel's Messiah sets this passage.

Isaiah 53:4

אָכֵ֤ן חֳלָיֵ֙נוּ֙ ה֣וּא נָשָׂ֔א וּמַכְאֹבֵ֖ינוּ סְבָלָ֑ם וַאֲנַ֣חְנוּ חֲשַׁבְנֻ֔הוּ נָג֛וּעַ מֻכֵּ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים וּמְעֻנֶּֽה׃

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

KJV Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. This is the theological hinge of the chapter. The emphatic akhen (surely) introduces the confession: the Servant bore our griefs (cholayenu — our sicknesses/weaknesses) and carried our sorrows (makh'ovenu). The speakers confess their error: they assumed the Servant was nagu'a (stricken — a term used for leprosy in Leviticus 13), mukkeh elohim (smitten by God) — divinely punished for his own sins. Matthew 8:17 applies this verse to Jesus's healing ministry.
3 traditions available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)moderate

"he bore them"

Identical consonantal text. 'Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows' — the declaration that the servant's suffering is vicarious (on behalf of others) reads the same in both traditions. The first-person plural 'our' is emphatic in both.

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

"Therefore for our sins he will intercede, and our iniquities for his sake will be forgiven."

The most radical reinterpretation: 'bearing our griefs' becomes 'interceding for our sins.' The Messiah does not suffer for sins but intercedes for them. Physical suffering is replaced with priestly-prophetic intercession. Matthew 8:17 cites this verse with a different reading.

Latin Vulgate (Jerome, 405 CE)

"Truly he has borne our sicknesses and carried our sorrows"

Languores nostros ipse tulit (he himself bore our sicknesses) became central to substitutionary atonement theology. Matthew 8:17 quotes this verse in connection with Jesus' healing ministry, and the Latin tulit (bore, carried) and portavit (carried) established the substitution vocabulary.

Isaiah 53:5

וְהוּא֙ מְחֹלָ֣ל מִפְּשָׁעֵ֔נוּ מְדֻכָּ֖א מֵעֲוֹנֹתֵ֑ינוּ מוּסַ֤ר שְׁלוֹמֵ֙נוּ֙ עָלָ֔יו וּבַחֲבֻרָת֖וֹ נִרְפָּא־לָֽנוּ׃

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and by his wounds we are healed.

KJV But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

מְחֹלָל mecholal
"pierced" — pierced, wounded, profaned, defiled

The verb mecholal (from chalal) can mean 'pierced,' 'wounded,' or 'profaned.' We rendered it 'pierced' because the parallel with medukkah ('crushed') points to physical violence, not merely defilement. The preposition min ('because of, from') makes the cause clear: our transgressions, our iniquities.

Translator Notes

  1. The preposition min (from/for) in mippsha'enu (for our transgressions) and me'avonotenu (for our iniquities) indicates the cause of the Servant's suffering: our sins. The word musar (chastisement/discipline) carries the sense of corrective punishment — but it falls on the Servant, and the result (shelomenu, our peace/wholeness) accrues to us. The final clause uvacharurato nirpa-lanu (by his wounds we are healed) is the most concise statement of substitutionary suffering in the Hebrew Bible. 1 Peter 2:24 quotes this directly.
  2. Jewish interpretation understands this suffering as describing Israel's collective experience among the nations, not an individual's atoning death. Rashi, Ibn Ezra, and most medieval Jewish commentators read the Servant as Israel personified.
3 traditions available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)theological

"pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities"

1QIsaiah-a reads this verse identically to the MT with only plene spelling differences. 'He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and by his wounds we are healed.'

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

"And he shall build the Temple which was profaned by our transgressions, handed over because of our iniquities."

The piercing and crushing of the Servant are completely reinterpreted. The Messiah is not pierced — he builds the Temple that was profaned (mechullal) by Israel's sins. The passive suffering is transformed into active restoration. The Temple's destruction is Israel's fault; its rebuilding is the Messiah's work.

Latin Vulgate (Jerome, 405 CE)

"But he was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our crimes; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his bruise we are healed"

Livore eius sanati sumus (by his bruise/wound we are healed) became the definitive statement of vicarious atonement in Latin theology. Disciplina pacis nostrae (the chastisement of our peace) shaped penitential theology. Every phrase of this verse entered the Latin theological vocabulary of salvation.

Isaiah 53:6

כֻּלָּ֙נוּ֙ כַּצֹּ֣אן תָּעִ֔ינוּ אִ֥ישׁ לְדַרְכּ֖וֹ פָּנִ֑ינוּ וַיהוָ֛ה הִפְגִּ֥יעַ בּ֖וֹ אֵ֥ת עֲוֹ֥ן כֻּלָּֽנוּ׃

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, each one, to his own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

KJV All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verse opens and closes with kullanu (all of us), forming an inclusio of universal guilt. The verb hipgia (laid on/caused to fall upon) is the same root as paga (to intercede) in verse 12 — the Servant both receives the burden and intercedes for those who caused it. The shepherd/sheep metaphor frames human sin as aimless wandering rather than deliberate rebellion.
1 tradition available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"laid on him"

Identical consonantal text. 'The LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.' The scroll confirms this reading — the servant bears the sin of the community by divine appointment.

Isaiah 53:7

נִגַּ֨שׂ וְה֣וּא נַעֲנֶה֮ וְלֹ֣א יִפְתַּח־פִּיו֒ כַּשֶּׂה֙ לַטֶּ֣בַח יוּבָ֔ל וּכְרָחֵ֕ל לִפְנֵ֥י גֹזְזֶ֖יהָ נֶאֱלָ֑מָה וְלֹ֥א יִפְתַּ֖ח פִּֽיו׃

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

KJV He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The double statement he opened not his mouth frames the verse, emphasizing the Servant's voluntary silence. The lamb (seh) and sheep (rachel) are sacrificial imagery — the lamb led to slaughter evokes the Passover lamb (Exodus 12) and the daily tamid offering. The Ethiopian eunuch was reading this very passage when Philip encountered him (Acts 8:32-35). In Jewish tradition, Israel's silence among persecuting nations echoes this image.
3 traditions available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)moderate

"he was oppressed and he was afflicted"

The consonantal text is identical. 'Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.' The simile of the silent lamb is the same in both traditions (cf. Acts 8:32-33, where the Ethiopian eunuch reads this very passage).

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

"He shall deliver the mighty to slaughter like a lamb."

The lamb imagery is reversed: the Servant is not the lamb being led to slaughter — the Servant delivers the mighty to slaughter like a lamb. The victim becomes the victor. This is the theological crux of Jonathan's reinterpretation.

Latin Vulgate (Jerome, 405 CE)

"He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer he shall be silent"

Sicut ovis ad occisionem (like a sheep to the slaughter) became the Agnus Dei image in Latin theology. The verse is quoted in Acts 8:32-33 (the Ethiopian eunuch passage) and shaped the liturgical Agnus Dei prayer: 'Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.'

Isaiah 53:8

מֵעֹ֤צֶר וּמִמִּשְׁפָּט֙ לֻקָּ֔ח וְאֶת־דּוֹר֖וֹ מִ֣י יְשׂוֹחֵ֑חַ כִּ֤י נִגְזַר֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ חַיִּ֔ים מִפֶּ֥שַׁע עַמִּ֖י נֶ֥גַע לָֽמוֹ׃

By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?

KJV He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase nigzar me'erets chayyim (cut off from the land of the living) indicates death. The question who considered (mi yesocheach) his generation/fate suggests that no one reflected on the meaning of his death. The phrase mippesha ammi (for the transgression of my people) is pivotal: God now speaks in first person (my people), confirming the vicarious nature of the suffering. The Hebrew lamo (to him/to them) is ambiguous and debated.
2 traditions available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)major

"by oppression and judgment he was taken away"

1QIsaiah-a uses plene spelling (with vav in me'otser and luqqach) but the reading is the same. 'By oppression and judgment he was taken away' — describing an unjust legal proceeding. The difficult phrase 'who considered his generation?' (et doro mi yesocheach) is also identical.

Latin Vulgate (Jerome, 405 CE)

"From anguish and from judgment he was taken away"

De angustia et de iudicio sublatus est shaped passion narratives — Christ taken from anguish (angustia) and (unjust) judgment. Sublatus est (was taken up/away) acquired a double meaning in Latin: taken away by death and taken up in resurrection/ascension.

Isaiah 53:9

וַיִּתֵּ֤ן אֶת־רְשָׁעִים֙ קִבְר֔וֹ וְאֶת־עָשִׁ֖יר בְּמֹתָ֑יו עַ֚ל לֹא־חָמָ֣ס עָשָׂ֔ה וְלֹ֥א מִרְמָ֖ה בְּפִֽיו׃

And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

KJV And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The Servant is buried with the wicked (resha'im) and with a rich man (ashir) — the parallelism suggests the rich man is equated with the wicked, a common prophetic association. Christian tradition connects the rich man to Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57-60). The Servant's innocence is stated absolutely: no violence (chamas) and no deceit (mirmah). 1 Peter 2:22 quotes the second clause.
1 tradition available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)major

"in his death"

The MT reads bemotav, which appears to be a plural form 'in his deaths' — an unusual construction. 1QIsaiah-a reads the same form (bmwtyv). Some scholars have suggested emending to bamotav ('in his high places') but the scroll does not support this emendation.

Isaiah 53:10

וַיהוָ֞ה חָפֵ֤ץ דַּכְּאוֹ֙ הֶחֱלִ֔י אִם־תָּשִׂ֤ים אָשָׁם֙ נַפְשׁ֔וֹ יִרְאֶ֥ה זֶ֖רַע יַאֲרִ֣יךְ יָמִ֑ים וְחֵ֥פֶץ יְהוָ֖ה בְּיָד֥וֹ יִצְלָֽח׃

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; He has put him to grief. When his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; and the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

KJV Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt 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.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

אָשָׁם asham
"guilt offering" — guilt offering, reparation offering, compensation sacrifice

The asham ('guilt offering') is a specific Levitical sacrifice (Leviticus 5:14-6:7, 7:1-10) that provides restitution for wrongs committed. Applying sacrificial language to a person is unprecedented in the Hebrew Bible. The Servant's life becomes the reparation that restores what sin destroyed.

Translator Notes

  1. The most theologically dense verse in the chapter. God's will (chefets, delight/purpose) is behind the Servant's suffering — this is not accident but divine intention. The Servant's soul (nafsho) becomes an asham (guilt offering), a specific Levitical sacrifice. Yet paradoxically, the one who dies sees offspring (zera) and prolongs his days — language of life beyond death. This paradox is central to both Jewish and Christian messianic interpretation.
3 traditions available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)major

"when his soul makes an offering for guilt"

The consonantal text is essentially identical. 'Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief. When his soul makes an offering for guilt (asham), he shall see offspring, he shall prolong his days.'

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

"And before the LORD it was pleasing to refine and purify the remnant of his people... if his soul makes itself an offering, they shall see offspring."

Jonathan's rendering is complex: God's purpose was to 'refine and purify' (not merely 'crush'), and the guilt offering (asham) is applied to the soul's self-offering. The Messiah's offering produces offspring — a remnant people. The suffering theology is not eliminated but reframed as purification and self-offering that yields a redeemed community.

Latin Vulgate (Jerome, 405 CE)

"And the Lord was pleased to crush him in weakness; if he shall lay down his soul for sin"

Pro peccato animam suam (his soul for sin) established the substitutionary framework in Latin: the Servant's soul offered as a sin-payment. Asham (guilt offering) rendered as pro peccato (for sin) slightly loosened the specific sacrificial-system reference but preserved the substitutionary logic.

Isaiah 53:11

מֵעֲמַ֤ל נַפְשׁוֹ֙ יִרְאֶ֣ה יִשְׂבָּ֔ע בְּדַעְתּ֗וֹ יַצְדִּ֥יק צַדִּ֛יק עַבְדִּ֖י לָרַבִּ֑ים וַעֲוֹנֹתָ֖ם ה֥וּא יִסְבֹּֽל׃

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied. By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

KJV He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. CRITICAL TEXTUAL NOTE: The Dead Sea Scrolls manuscript 1QIsaiah-a (circa 125 BCE) reads he shall see light (yir'eh or) where the Masoretic Text reads simply he shall see. The Septuagint also includes light. Many scholars believe the DSS preserves the older reading, with or (light) lost through scribal error in the MT tradition. If original, it explicitly describes the Servant seeing light after death — resurrection language. We follow the MT but flag this significant variant. The verb yatsdiq (make righteous/justify) is a legal term: the Servant's knowledge effects the acquittal of the many (larabbim).
  2. Rabbinic tradition (Sanhedrin 98b) applies this verse to the Messiah but understands the suffering differently than the Christian reading — the Messiah suffers with Israel in exile rather than dying vicariously for sin.
2 traditions available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)theological

"he shall see light"

THIS IS THE MOST FAMOUS VARIANT IN ALL OF DEAD SEA SCROLLS ISAIAH. The MT reads simply yireh ('he shall see') — leaving the object unstated: 'Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see [and] be satisfied.' 1QIsaiah-a reads yireh or ('he shall see light') — adding the word 'light' (אור) as the object of the verb.

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

"By his wisdom the righteous one shall make many righteous before the LORD."

The Servant's justification of many is rendered as making the righteous multiply before the LORD. Knowledge (da'at) becomes wisdom (mandei'ita). The forensic/salvific dimension is preserved: the righteous Servant produces righteousness in others.

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׃

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors.

KJV Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The song concludes with God speaking in first person, vindicating and rewarding the Servant. Four reasons are given for the Servant's exaltation: (1) he poured out his soul (he'erah — literally emptied out, cf. Philippians 2:7) to death; (2) he was numbered with transgressors; (3) he bore the sin of many (chet-rabbim nasa); (4) he makes intercession (yafgia — the same root as hipgia in v.6) for transgressors. The final verb is imperfect tense (yafgia — he makes/will make intercession), suggesting ongoing action beyond death. Mark 15:28 and Luke 22:37 cite the numbered with transgressors clause. This verse, and the song as a whole, has shaped Jewish and Christian theology for over two millennia.
3 traditions available

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)major

"he poured out his soul to death"

The consonantal text is identical. 'Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.'

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

"Because he delivered his soul to death."

Jonathan preserves the Servant's self-delivery to death (massar lemota nafshei), even within its broader reinterpretation. The Messiah willingly risks death — the language of self-sacrifice survives the shift from victimhood to victory. This is the closest Jonathan comes to preserving the suffering-death motif of the Hebrew.

Latin Vulgate (Jerome, 405 CE)

"Because he surrendered his soul to death"

Tradidit in mortem animam suam (he handed over his soul to death) uses the language of self-surrender (tradere) that became central to Eucharistic theology — Christ 'handed over' (traditio) his body and blood. The same verb tradere appears in the institution narrative.

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