Isaiah 44:1

The Lord Will Renew Israel

44:1 “Now, listen, Jacob my servant,

Israel whom I have chosen!”

Isaiah 49:3

49:3 He said to me, “You are my servant,

Israel, through whom I will reveal my splendor.” ¹ 

Isaiah 52:13

The Lord Will Vindicate His Servant

52:13 “Look, my servant will succeed! ² 

He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted ³  –

Isaiah 65:13

65:13 So this is what the sovereign Lord says:

“Look, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry!

Look, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty!

Look, my servants will rejoice, but you will be humiliated!

[49:3]  ¹ sn This verse identifies the servant as Israel. This seems to refer to the exiled nation (cf. 41:8-9; 44:1-2, 21; 45:4; 48:20), but in vv. 5-6 this servant says he has been commissioned to reconcile Israel to God, so he must be distinct from the exiled nation. This servant is an ideal “Israel” who, like Moses of old, mediates a covenant for the nation (see v. 8), leads them out of bondage (v. 9a), and carries out God’s original plan for Israel by positively impacting the pagan nations (see v. 6b). By living according to God’s law, Israel was to be a model of God’s standards of justice to the surrounding nations (Deut 4:6-8). The sinful nation failed, but the servant, the ideal “Israel,” will succeed by establishing justice throughout the earth.

[52:13]  ¹ tn Heb “act wisely,” which by metonymy means “succeed.”

[52:13]  ² tn This piling up of synonyms emphasizes the degree of the servant’s coming exaltation.