The Servant's Suffering and Israel's Rejection
Isaiah 50:1-11
Isa.50.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אי: PRON,interrog
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- ספר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כריתות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- אמכם: NOUN,f,sg,cons+2mp
- אשר: PRON,rel
- שלחתיה: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- או: CONJ
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- מנושי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg+1cs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- מכרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- הן: PART
- בעונתיכם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg+2mp
- נמכרתם: VERB,nifal,perf,2,m,pl
- ובפשעיכם: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl+2mp
- שלחה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אמכם: NOUN,f,sg,cons+2mp
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 24:1-4 (verbal): Uses the exact legal phrase 'writing of divorcement' (sefer keritut) and the legal framework for divorce invoked rhetorically in Isa 50:1.
- Jeremiah 3:8 (verbal): Jeremiah explicitly states 'I gave faithless Israel a certificate of divorce and sent her away,' closely paralleling Isaiah's language of divorce and rejection as punishment for unfaithfulness.
- Deuteronomy 28:68 (thematic): Describes punishment for covenant infidelity resulting in being sold into bondage—echoing Isaiah's image 'for your iniquities you were sold.'
- Hosea 2:2-5 (thematic): Hosea treats Israel as an unfaithful wife who is exposed, punished and put away; thematically parallel to Isaiah's motif of a mother/divorced wife sent away for transgression.
- Ezekiel 16:59-63 (allusion): Ezekiel uses the extended metaphor of Israel as an unfaithful wife who will be punished and then restored under covenant terms, resonating with Isaiah's divorce/sale imagery and covenantal judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- Thus says the LORD: Which writ of divorce did I write for your mother, whom I sent away? To whom did I sell you? See—because of your iniquities you were sold, and because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
- Thus says the LORD: To which of my creditors did I sell you, or who is the one to whom I have delivered you? Behold—for your iniquities you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
Isa.50.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- מדוע: ADV
- באתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- קראתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- עונה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הקצור: ADJ,m,sg,def
- קצרה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- ידי: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- מפדות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ואם: CONJ
- אין: PART,neg
- בי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- כח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- להציל: VERB,qal,inf
- הן: PART
- בגערתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- אחריב: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- ים: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- אשים: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- נהרות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מדבר: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- תבאש: VERB,qal,impf,3,c,sg
- דגתם: NOUN,m,pl,pr
- מאין: ADV,interrog
- מים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ותמת: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,f,sg
- בצמא: PREP+ADJ,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 51:9-10 (verbal): Uses nearly identical imagery of God drying up the sea and making the depths a way — a direct verbal echo emphasizing God’s power over the waters and his capacity to deliver.
- Exodus 14:21-22 (allusion): Narrates the parting of the Red Sea — the foundational deliverance motif that Isaiah evokes when claiming he can dry up seas and make rivers a wilderness to effect salvation.
- Psalm 77:16-19 (thematic): Speaks of God’s way through the sea and the convulsing of the waters at his presence — similar theological focus on God’s control of the deep and deliverance imagery.
- Psalm 114:3-4 (verbal): Describes the sea fleeing and the Jordan turning back at God's presence — comparable pictorial language of waters responding to Yahweh’s command.
- Isaiah 43:22-24 (thematic): Both passages portray a strained relationship between God and Israel: God laments lack of response or recognition, pairing this complaint with claims about his saving power.
Alternative generated candidates
- Why did I come and there was no one? I called, and there was no answer. Is my hand so short that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to save? Behold, by my rebuke I can make the sea a desert and turn rivers into a wilderness; their fish will rot for lack of water and die of thirst.
- Why did I come and there was no one? I called and there was no answer. Is my hand shortened that it cannot redeem, or have I no power to save? Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea; I make the rivers a wilderness— their fish rot away for lack of water and die of thirst.
Isa.50.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אלביש: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- שמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- קדרות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ושק: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשים: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- כסותם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON:3,m,pl
Parallels
- Ezek.32.7-8 (verbal): God says he will 'cover the heavens and darken their stars'—a close verbal parallel to clothing the heavens with blackness and making sackcloth their covering (shared imagery of cosmic darkening and mourning).
- Isa.13.10 (thematic): Speaks of stars and heavenly lights failing and cosmic darkening at the time of God's judgment, echoing Isaiah 50:3's motif of the heavens darkened as a sign of divine judgment/mourning.
- Isa.34.4 (thematic): Depicts the heavens and their host fading or being dissolved in the context of divine wrath—another instance of apocalyptic/cosmic imagery signaling judgment like the 'sackcloth' covering of the skies.
- Joel 2.31 (thematic): Foretells the sun turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord, paralleling the theme of cosmic signs and heavenly darkness in Isaiah 50:3.
- Amos 8.9 (verbal): God declares he will make the sun go down at noon—an abrupt darkening of the day that resonates verbally and thematically with the image of the heavens clothed in blackness.
Alternative generated candidates
- I clothe the heavens with blackness and make sackcloth their covering.
- I clothe the heavens with darkness and make sackcloth their covering.
Isa.50.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- נתן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- לשון: NOUN,f,sg,constr
- למודים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- לדעת: VERB,qal,inf,-,-,-
- לעות: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- יעף: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יעיר: VERB,hiph,impf,3,m,sg
- בבקר: PREP
- בבקר: PREP
- יעיר: VERB,hiph,impf,3,m,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- אזן: NOUN,f,sg,cstr
- לשמע: INF,qal,infc
- כלמודים: PREP+ADJ,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 42:1-4 (thematic): Both verses belong to the Servant tradition: a divinely appointed servant who acts with wisdom and gentleness to bring instruction and sustain the weary; the mission and manner of service are parallel.
- Exodus 4:10-12 (verbal): God promises to put words in Moses' mouth and teach him what to say—parallel language and motif of God giving speech and enabling the prophet to speak and teach.
- Isaiah 61:1-3 (thematic): Similar mission language about comforting, binding up, and ministering to the weary and oppressed—Isaiah 50:4’s ‘tongue to sustain the weary’ resonates with 61:1’s proclamation of good news to the brokenhearted.
- Ezekiel 3:10-11 (allusion): Both passages depict a prophetic commissioning in which the prophet’s ear and mouth are enabled—God prepares the prophet to hear divine instruction and to deliver God’s words to the people.
- Psalm 40:9-10 (verbal): The psalmist speaks of proclaiming God’s righteousness with his mouth and not restraining his lips; relates to Isaiah 50:4’s emphasis on God-given speech and the prophet’s role in teaching and sustaining others.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD has given me the tongue of the instructed, that I may know how to sustain the weary. Morning by morning he wakens—he wakens my ear to hear as one taught.
- The LORD has given me the tongue of the taught, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens—he wakens my ear to hear as the taught.
Isa.50.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- פתח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- אזן: NOUN,f,sg,cstr
- ואנכי: PRON,1,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- מריתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- אחור: ADV
- לא: PART_NEG
- נסוגתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 50:4 (verbal): Immediate context and shared language — 50:4 speaks of God waking the servant’s ear to hear, which continues in 50:5’s claim that the Lord opened the speaker’s ear; both emphasize receptive, taught obedience.
- Isaiah 53:7 (thematic): Servant-theme of patient submission — 53:7’s image of the suffering servant who does not open his mouth parallels 50:5’s refusal to be rebellious or turn back in the face of suffering.
- Psalm 40:6–8 (Hebrew 40:7–9) (thematic): Willing obedience to God’s will — the psalmist’s declaration 'Behold, I come to do your will' resonates with 50:5’s assertion of not rebelling, both stressing prompt, willing compliance with God.
- Hebrews 10:5–7 (quotation): New Testament quotation of Psalm 40 applied to Christ — 'Behold, I come to do your will' is cited as fulfilled in Jesus, linking the obedient, receptive servant-figure of Isaiah 50:5 to Christ’s willing obedience.
- 1 Peter 2:21–23 (allusion): Christ as model of patient submission — Peter portrays Christ’s suffering without reviling and entrusting himself to God, echoing Isaiah’s motif of the servant who does not rebel or turn away.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD opened my ear; and I was not rebellious, I did not turn back.
- The LORD has opened my ear; and I did not resist, I did not turn back.
Isa.50.6 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- גוי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- למכים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ולחיי: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss1,sg
- למרטים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- לא: PART_NEG
- הסתרתי: VERB,hiph,perf,1,sg
- מכלמות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ורק: ADV
Parallels
- Isaiah 53:3-5 (structural): Part of the Suffering Servant cycle: the servant is despised, wounded and bears suffering for others—echoes the servant who allows beating and shame in Isa 50:6.
- Psalm 22:6-8 (verbal): Speaks of mockery, shame and derision ('they make mouths at me'), thematically paralleling the humiliation and public insult described in Isa 50:6.
- Psalm 69:20-21 (thematic): Describes reproach, shame and being given bitter drink—another lament tradition of vicarious suffering and humiliation linked to Isa 50 and later NT readings.
- Matthew 26:67-68 (quotation): During Jesus’ passion the councilors beat and spit on him—an event that echoes Isaiah’s image of receiving blows, spitting and public shame.
- John 19:1-3 (verbal): Pilate has Jesus flogged and the soldiers strike, mock and spit on him; a direct narrative parallel to the physical abuse and humiliation of Isa 50:6.
Alternative generated candidates
- I gave my back to those who strike me, my cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; my face I did not hide from insult and spitting.
- I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; my face I did not hide from shame and spitting.
Isa.50.7 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ואדני: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- יעזר: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- על: PREP
- כן: ADV
- לא: PART_NEG
- נכלמתי: VERB,niphal,perf,1,c,sg
- על: PREP
- כן: ADV
- שמתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- כחלמיש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואדע: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,1,c,sg
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- אבוש: VERB,qal,impf,1,c,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 42:1-4 (thematic): Part of the Servant tradition: depicts the servant's missional resolve and perseverance ('he will not grow faint or be discouraged'), echoing the servant's firmness in 50:7 ('I have set my face like flint').
- Isaiah 52:13–53:12 (structural): The suffering-servant cycle that frames Isaiah 50: the themes of divine vindication and the servant's endurance under abuse (50:6–7) are developed fully in Isaiah 52–53 (vindication after suffering).
- Psalm 118:6 (verbal): Shares the trust motif: 'The LORD is on my side; I will not fear' parallels 'the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced'—confidence in God's help that prevents shame.
- Luke 9:51 (allusion): Uses the same idiom of resolute determination—'he set his face to go to Jerusalem'—paralleling the Servant's 'set my face like flint' in 50:7 (decisive resolve to suffer/obey).
- Matthew 26:67–68 / Mark 14:65 (thematic): The Gospel passion narratives echo the servant's suffering language (spitting, striking) and the resolute endurance of Jesus, connecting Isaiah's servant‑figure (including 50:7's confident perseverance) to Jesus' passion.
Alternative generated candidates
- But the LORD 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.
- But the LORD helps me; therefore I am not disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
Isa.50.8 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- קרוב: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מצדיקי: VERB,piel,ptc,-,m,pl
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- יריב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אתי: PRON,1,sg
- נעמדה: VERB,niphal,perf,3,f,sg
- יחד: ADV
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- בעל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משפטי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
- יגש: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 50:9 (verbal): Immediate context and near-verbatim parallel: the speaker repeats the challenge 'Who is he that will contend with me?' and affirms Yahweh's help—same dispute motif continued in the next verse.
- Isaiah 45:9 (thematic): 'Woe to him who strives with his Maker' expresses the related theme of the folly and danger of contesting God or his representative—an ideological parallel to challenging the speaker in Isa 50:8.
- Psalm 94:16 (verbal): Uses nearly identical language—'Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will stand up for me against evildoers?'—sharing the motif of asking who will contend on behalf of or against an opponent.
- Psalm 35:1 (thematic): A prayer asking the LORD to 'contend' with those who contend with the psalmist; thematically related as it frames divine contest and vindication in the face of adversaries.
Alternative generated candidates
- Who is near to contend with me? Let him stand; who is he that will judge me? Let him draw near to me.
- He who vindicates me is near—who will contend with me? Let us stand together; who is my adversary? Let him come near to me.
Isa.50.9 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הן: PART
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- יעזר: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- ירשיעני: VERB,hiph,impf,3,m,sg+1cs
- הן: PART
- כלם: PRON,3,m,pl
- כבגד: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יבלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- עש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יאכלם: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg+3mp
Parallels
- Psalm 118:6 (verbal): Same confident rhetorical formula—'The LORD is with me/for me; what can man do to me?'—expressing trust that God’s help removes human condemnation or threat.
- Romans 8:31 (verbal): Paul echoes the same confidence in divine aid with the parallel rhetorical question 'If God is for us, who can be against us?,' reflecting Isaiah’s assurance of God’s help.
- Romans 8:33-34 (allusion): Paul’s sequence ('Who shall lay anything to the charge... Who is he that condemneth?') directly echoes Isaiah’s 'Who is he that shall condemn me?', transferring the servant’s assurance to Christ and the justified.
- Isaiah 41:10 (thematic): A prophetic parallel within Isaiah: a promise of divine help and a command not to fear ('I will help you'), thematically matching the Servant’s assurance that the LORD will help him.
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, the LORD will help me—who then can condemn me? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; moths will eat them up.
- Behold, the LORD helps me—who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them shall wear out like a garment; the moth shall eat them.
Isa.50.10 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- בכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- ירא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- שמע: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בקול: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עבדו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- הלך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- חשכים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- נגה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- יבטח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בשם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וישען: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- באלהיו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 27:1-3 (thematic): Both passages contrast fear with trust in Yahweh and use the language of light/deliverance; Psalm 27's 'The LORD is my light... whom shall I fear?' resonates with Isaiah's call to those who fear to trust despite walking in darkness.
- Psalm 23:4 (thematic): 'Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil' parallels Isaiah's image of walking in darkness without light and relying on the LORD for protection and comfort.
- Jeremiah 17:7 (verbal): 'Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD' parallels Isaiah's formulaic call to 'trust in the name of the LORD' (יבטח בשם יהוה), a shared theological emphasis on trusting YHWH.
- Isaiah 50:4-9 (structural): Immediate literary parallel within the Servant song: verses 4–9 portray the servant's instruction, endurance, and reliance on God; verse 10 then summons those who fear the LORD to heed and trust the servant and God.
- Psalm 56:3-4 (verbal): 'When I am afraid, I put my trust in you' echoes Isaiah's movement from fear to trust, expressing the personal response of trusting God in the face of darkness and fear.
Alternative generated candidates
- Who among you fears the LORD and listens to the voice of his servant, who walks in darkness and has no light, trusts in the name of the LORD and leans upon his God?
- Who among you fears the LORD and hears the voice of his servant, who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and lean upon his God.
Isa.50.11 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הן: PART
- כלכם: PRON,2,m,pl
- קדחי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- אש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מאזרי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- זיקות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- לכו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- באור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשכם: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,m,pl
- ובזיקות: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- בערתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- מידי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- היתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- למעצבה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תשכבון: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Jer.7:18 (verbal): Uses very similar imagery of kindling fires/torches in the context of idolatrous ritual; both condemn reliance on human-made light/rituals instead of Yahweh.
- Amos 5:18-20 (thematic): Those who desire the day of the LORD expect light but will find darkness and judgment—parallels Isaiah’s ironic promise that walking by one’s own fire will end in sorrow/torment.
- Isa.31:1 (thematic): Condemns reliance on human means (Egyptian horses) rather than God; echoes Isaiah 50:11’s warning that trusting in one’s own devices brings disaster.
- Jer.17:5 (thematic): Pronounces a curse on those who trust in man rather than the LORD—thematising the same critique of human self-reliance implicit in the image of walking by one’s own light.
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, all of you kindle fire and gird yourselves with burning brands; walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled. This shall be your portion from my hand: you shall lie down in anguish.
- Behold, all of you who kindle fire, who gird yourselves with firebrands—walk in the light of your fire and among the sparks you have kindled. This shall be from my hand to you: you shall lie down in sorrow.
Thus says the LORD: To whom did I give a writ of divorce for your mother, whom I sent away? Or whom did I sell you to? Behold, for your iniquities you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
Why did I come and there was no one? Why did I call and there was no answer? Is my hand shortened so that it cannot redeem, or have I no power to save? Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea; I make rivers a wilderness— their fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.
I clothe the heavens with blackness and make sackcloth their covering.
The LORD has given me the tongue of those taught, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens me; he wakens my ear to listen like one instructed.
The LORD has opened my ear; and I did not resist, I did not turn back.
I gave my back to those who strike me, and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair; my face I did not hide from shame and spitting.
For 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.
Who is near to vindicate me? Who will contend with me? Let us stand together—who is my adversary? Let him draw near to me.
Behold, the LORD God helps me; who then will condemn me? Behold, all of them shall wear out like a garment; moths shall eat them.
Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant, who walks in darkness and has no light, trusts in the name of the LORD and relies upon his God?
Behold, all you who kindle a fire and gird yourselves with firebrands—walk by the light of your fire and by the sparks you have kindled. This shall be your portion from my hand: you shall lie down in anguish.