What is the message from Isaiah 53 4-12?

Answer 1

AnswerTo understand Isaiah chapter 53, it should be read as a continuation from verses 52:13-15, in which God speaks of his suffering servant. Verse 52:14 talks of the 'Servant' in the same time period as the author, not as a person of the distant future, and verses 53:4-12 form part of what is now called the fourth Servant Song. Read with the objective eye of a scholar, it can be seen that the author was talking about the troubles the people had sufferred in Babylon and an oracle for their future. In the Servant Songs, it is sometimes unclear whether the author is speaking of one person or of the nation of the Jews. In this case, Second Isaiah was probably making an analogy for himself as the Suffering Servant.

The Servant of God has been wounded (probably only metaphorically) for the transgressions of the Jews and bruised for their iniquities (verse 5) but the people, like sheep, have gone astray so the Lord has laid on him the iniquities of all the people (verse 6). He was oppressed and brought as a lamb to the slaughter (to Babylon). But he shall see his own children ('seed') and prolong his days - a reference to the expectation that the Jews will soon be returning to Judah where he can live out the remainder of his life in peace.

Christian tradition has made this a prophecy of Jesus. The Book of Isaiah originally did not have chapter breaks, and the decision to place the break after 52:15 was made by the Christian Church because it obscured the preceding text which provided context for the passage and made it more difficult to re-interpret as a prophecy about Jesus.

Answer 2

Isaiah Chapters 40-55 record the words of an anonymous sixth century prophet living in exile in Babylon, known as Deutero-Isaiah or Second (II) Isaiah. these chapters were probably written as a separate book to the older book by Isaiah son of Amoz, but were subsequently added to it.

Chapter 53 should be read as a continuation from verses 52:13-15, in which God speaks of his suffering servant. The Book of Isaiah originally did not have chapter breaks, and the decision to place the break after 52:15 was made by the Christian Church because it obscured the preceding text. In fact, this is called the fourth Servant Song.

It is unclear whether, in this case, the author is speaking of one person or of the nation of Israel, but 52:14 talks of him in the same time period as the author, not as a person of the distant future. Read with the objective eye of a scholar, it can be seen that the author was talking about the troubles the people had suffered in Babylon and an oracle for their future.

However, Christian tradition has made this a prophecy of Jesus. Although that was not the intention of the author, this view would make Isaiah 53:1-9 highly prophetic.

Answer 3

This was a prophecy about Jesus Christ written seven centuries before he was born.

Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would suffer while on earth, that his sacrifice would cover the sins of many.

The entire 53rd chapter of Isaiah was about the suffering, death and then burial of the Messiah.

Isaiah 53:4

4 Truly he himself carried our sicknesses,

And he bore our pains.

But we considered him as plagued, stricken by God and afflicted