The Texts of the Servant Passages in Context:
· 41.8; 43.1-10; 44.1,2,21; 45.4; 48.20; 49.3, 5-6.
· Servant Israel: 41.8-11: 8. “But you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, 9. I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. 10. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 11. “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish."
· Servant Israel: 42:1-9: 1. “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. 2. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. 3. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4. he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.” 5. This is what God the LORD says—he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 6. “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7. to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. 8. “I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. 9. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”
· YHWH will lead his blind people back home: 42.13-17: 13. "The LORD will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies. 14. “For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant. 15. I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools. 16. I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. 17. But those who trust in idols, who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back in utter shame.
· Servant Israel Blind and Deaf: 42.18-25: 18. “Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see! 19. Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one committed to me, blind like the servant of the LORD? 20. You have seen many things, but have paid no attention; your ears are open, but you hear nothing.” 21. It pleased the LORD for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious. 22. But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. They have become plunder, with no one to rescue them; they have been made loot, with no one to say, “Send them back.” 23. Which of you will listen to this or pay close attention in time to come? 24. Who handed Jacob over to become loot, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned? For they would not follow his ways; they did not obey his law. 25. So he poured out on them his burning anger, the violence of war. It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart."
· Jacob-Israel, YHWH's blind but redeemed servant: 43.1-10: 1. But now, this is what the LORD says—he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 3. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cusha and Seba in your stead. 4. Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life. 5. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. 6. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the land—7. everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” 8. Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf. 9. All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of them foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.” 10. “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me."
· Jacob-Israel, YHWH's chosen servant, has been forgiven and redeemed and will return; Jerusalem/Judah will be rebuilt: 44:1-4, 21-28: 1. “But now listen, O Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. 2. This is what the LORD says—he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. 3. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. 4. They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams. 5. One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD’; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and will take the name Israel." . . . 21. “Remember these things, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I have made you, you are my servant; O Israel, I will not forget you. 22. I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.” 23. Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, O earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel. [Jerusalem to Be Inhabited] 24. “This is what the LORD says—your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, ... 26. ... who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’ of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be built,’ and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’ 27. who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your streams,’ 28. who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’
· For the sake of YHWH's servant Jacob, YHWH chooses Cyrus of Persia as his messiah to free the exiles and rebuild Jerusalem: 45:1-5, 13: 1. “This is what the LORD says to his messiah/anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: 2. I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. 3. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. 4. For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me. 5. I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, ... . 13. I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the LORD Almighty.”
· YHWH redeems servant Jacob and brings him back from Babylonian captivity: 48.20: "Leave Babylon, flee from the Babylonians! Announce this with shouts of joy and proclaim it. Send it out to the ends of the land (ha eretz); say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob.”
· YHWH's servant Israel brings Restoration: 49.1-26: 1. "Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name. 2. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. 3. He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.” 4. But I said, “I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the LORD’s hand, and my reward is with my God.” 5. And now the LORD says—he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength—6. he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” 7. This is what the LORD says—the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: “Kings will see you and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” 8. This is what the LORD says: “In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, 9. to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’ “They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill. 10. They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water. 11. I will turn all my mountains into roads, and my highways will be raised up. 12. See, they will come from afar—some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan.” 13. Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O land; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. 14. But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” 15“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! 16See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. 17. Your sons hasten back, and those who laid you waste depart from you. 18. Lift up your eyes and look around; all your sons gather and come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as ornaments; you will put them on, like a bride. 19. “Though you were ruined and made desolate and your land laid waste, now you will be too small for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away. 20. The children born during your bereavement will yet say in your hearing, ‘This place is too small for us; give us more space to live in.’ 21. Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who bore me these? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. Who brought these up? I was left all alone, but these—where have they come from?’” 22. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I will beckon to the Gentiles, I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders. 23. Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.” 24. Can plunder be taken from warriors, or captives rescued from the fierce? 25. But this is what the LORD says: “Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save. 26. I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
· Servant Israel was sold for his sins, was beaten and mocked, but will be vindicated: 50.1-9: 1. "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 did I sell you? Because of your sins you were sold; because of your transgressions your mother was sent away. 2. When I came, why was there no one? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Was my arm too short to ransom you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you? . . . 4. The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. 5. The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back. 6. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. 7. Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. 8. He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! 9. It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me?"
· Zion restored; Mosaic law a light to the nations: 51.3-4: 3. The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. 4. “Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: The law will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations."
· No more suffering for afflicted Israel after this: 51.21-23: 21. "Therefore hear this, you afflicted one, made drunk, but not with wine. 22. This is what your Sovereign LORD says, your God, who defends his people: “See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again. 23. I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, ..."
· 52: 1Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. 2Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion. 3For this is what the LORD says: “You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.” 4For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “At first my people went down to Egypt to live; lately, Assyria has oppressed them. 5“And now what do I have here?” declares the LORD. “For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,” declares the LORD. “And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed. 6Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I.” 7How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” 8Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the LORD returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. 9. Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. 10. The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God. 11Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the vessels of the LORD. 12But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
· The Suffering and Glory of Servant Israel: YHWH's servant, despised and rejected, bore the sin of many; better things are to come: Isaiah 52.13 – 53.12: 52.13. See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. 52.14. Just as there were many who were appalled at him—his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness—52.15. so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand. 53.1. Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2. He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 9. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10. Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the travail of his soul and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
· Restoration of Israel: 54.5-17: 5. "For your Maker is your husband—YHWH of armies is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the land (ha eretz). 6. YHWH will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—a wife who married young, only to be rejected,” says your God. 7. “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. 8. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says YHWH your Redeemer. 9. “To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again. 10. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says YHWH, who has compassion on you. 11. “O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires. 12. I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones. 13. All your sons will be taught by YHWH, and great will be your children’s peace. 14. In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you. 15. If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you. 16. “See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc; 17. no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of YHWH, and this is their vindication from me,” declares YHWH."