Isaiah 47:3

47:3 Let your private parts be exposed!

Your genitals will be on display! ¹ 

I will get revenge;

I will not have pity on anyone,” ² 

Isaiah 53:6

53:6 All of us had wandered off like sheep;

each of us had strayed off on his own path,

but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him. ³ 

Isaiah 59:16

The Lord Intervenes

59:16 He sees there is no advocate; ⁴ 

he is shocked ⁵  that no one intervenes.

So he takes matters into his own hands; ⁶ 

his desire for justice drives him on. ⁷ 

Isaiah 64:5

64:5 You assist ⁸  those who delight in doing what is right, ⁹ 

who observe your commandments. ¹⁰ 

Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.

How then can we be saved? ¹¹ 

Isaiah 53:12

53:12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, ¹² 

he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, ¹³ 

because he willingly submitted ¹⁴  to death

and was numbered with the rebels,

when he lifted up the sin of many

and intervened ¹⁵  on behalf of the rebels.”

[47:3]  ¹ tn Heb “Your shame will be seen.” In this context “shame” is a euphemism referring to the genitals.

[47:3]  ² tn Heb “I will not meet a man.” The verb פָּגַע (pagah) apparently carries the nuance “meet with kindness” here (cf. 64:5, and see BDB 803 s.v. Qal.2).

[53:6]  ³ tn Elsewhere the Hiphil of פָגַע (paga’) means “to intercede verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25) or “to intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16), but neither nuance fits here. Apparently here the Hiphil is the causative of the normal Qal meaning, “encounter, meet, touch.” The Qal sometimes refers to a hostile encounter or attack; when used in this way the object is normally introduced by the preposition -בְּ (bet, see Josh 2:16; Judg 8:21; 15:12, etc.). Here the causative Hiphil has a double object – the Lord makes “sin” attack “him” (note that the object attacked is introduced by the preposition -בְּ. In their sin the group was like sheep who had wandered from God’s path. They were vulnerable to attack; the guilt of their sin was ready to attack and destroy them. But then the servant stepped in and took the full force of the attack.

[59:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “man” (so KJV, ASV); TEV “no one to help.”

[59:16]  ⁶ tn Or “appalled” (NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “disgusted.”

[59:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “and his arm delivers for him.”

[59:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “and his justice [or “righteousness”] supports him.”

[64:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “meet [with kindness].”

[64:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “the one who rejoices and does righteousness.”

[64:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “in your ways they remember you.”

[64:5]  ¹⁰ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “look, you were angry and we sinned against them continually [or perhaps, “in ancient times”] and we were delivered.” The statement makes little sense as it stands. The first vav [ו] consecutive (“and we sinned”) must introduce an explanatory clause here (see Num 1:48 and Isa 39:1 for other examples of this relatively rare use of the vav [ו] consecutive). The final verb (if rendered positively) makes no sense in this context – God’s anger at their sin resulted in judgment, not deliverance. One of the alternatives involves an emendation to וַנִּרְשָׁע (vannirsha’, “and we were evil”; LXX, NRSV, TEV). The Vulgate and the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a support the MT reading. One can either accept an emendation or cast the statement as a question (as above).

[53:12]  ⁹ tn Scholars have debated the precise meaning of the term רַבִּים (rabbim) that occurs five times in this passage (Isa 52:14, 15; 53:11, 12 [2x]). Its two broad categories of translation are “much”/“many” and “great” (HALOT 1171-72 s.v. I רַב). Unlike other Hebrew terms for might or strength, this term is linked with numbers or abundance. In all sixteen uses outside of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (articular and plural) it signifies an inclusive meaning: “the majority” or “the multitude” (J. Jeremias, TDNT 6:536-37). This term occurs in parallelism with עֲצוּמִים (’atsumim), which normally signifies “numerous” or “large” or “powerful” (through large numbers). Like רַבִּים (rabbim), it refers to greatness in numbers (cf. Deut 4:38; 7:1; 9:1; 11:34). It emphasizes the multitudes with whom the Servant will share the spoil of his victory. As J. Olley wrote: “Yahweh has won the victory and vindicates his Servant, giving to him many subservient people, together with their spoils. These numerous peoples in turn receive blessing, sharing in the “peace” resulting from Yahweh’s victory and the Servant’s suffering” (John W. Olley, “‘The Many’: How Is Isa 53,12a to Be Understood,” Bib 68 [1987]: 330-56).

[53:12]  ¹⁰ sn The servant is compared here to a warrior who will be richly rewarded for his effort and success in battle.

[53:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “because he laid bare his life”; traditionally, ASV “because he (+ hath KJV) poured out his soul (life NIV) unto death.”

[53:12]  ¹² tn The Hiphil of פָּגַע (paga’) can mean “cause to attack” (v. 6), “urge, plead verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25), or “intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16). Perhaps the third nuance fits best here, for military imagery is employed in the first two lines of the verse.