Isaiah

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Chapter 52

1 Wake up! Wake up! Clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your beautiful clothes, O Jerusalem, holy city.⁠ For uncircumcised and unclean pagans will no longer invade you. 2 Shake off the dirt! Get up, captive Jerusalem.⁠ Take off the iron chains around your neck, O captive daughter Zion.⁠ 3 For this is what the Lord says: “You were sold for nothing, and you will not be redeemed for money.” 4 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt; Assyria oppressed them for no good reason. 5 And now, what do we have here?” says the Lord. “Indeed my people have been carried away for nothing, those who rule over them taunt,” says the Lord, “and my name is constantly slandered all day long. 6 For this reason my people will know my name; for this reason they will know at that time that I am the one who says, ‘Here I am.’” 7 How delightful it is to see approaching over the mountains the feet of a messenger who announces peace,⁠ a messenger who brings good news,⁠ who announces deliverance, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”⁠ 8 Listen, your watchmen shout; in unison they shout for joy, for they see with their very own eyes the Lord’s return to Zion. 9 In unison give a joyful shout, O ruins of Jerusalem! For the Lord consoles his people; he protects Jerusalem. 10 The Lord reveals his royal power in the sight of all the nations; the entire earth sees our God deliver. 11 Leave! Leave! Get out of there! Don’t touch anything unclean! Get out of it! Stay pure, you who carry the Lord’s holy items.⁠ 12 Yet do not depart quickly or leave in a panic.⁠ For the Lord goes before you; the God of Israel is your rear guard. 13 Look, my servant will act wisely!²⁰ He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted—⁠ 14 (just as many were horrified by the sight of you) he was so disfigured he no longer looked like a man; his form was so marred he no longer looked human— 15 so now he will startle many nations. Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, for they will witness something unannounced to them, and they will understand something they had not heard about.

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 52:13 and Jonathan Isaiah 52:13

Hebrew Bible · Targum

Summary

Isaiah 52 describes a servant who will be exalted after suffering, with the Aramaic translation in Targum Jonathan identifying this figure as the victorious messiah, connecting his enthronement to the gathering of Israel’s exiles.

Passages

Isaiah 52:13

Hebrew Bible

12 Yet do not depart quickly or leave in a panic. For the Lord goes before you; the God of Israel is your rear guard. 13 Look, my servant will act wisely!²⁰ He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted— 14 (just as many were horrified by the sight of you) he was so disfigured he no longer looked like a man; his form was so marred he no longer looked human— 15 so now he will startle many nations. Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, for they will witness something unannounced to them, and they will understand something they had not heard about.

740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Jonathan Isaiah 52:13

Targum

12 For you will not go forth in haste from among the nations, nor be carried in flight to your land; for your guide is the LORD, and He who will gather your captivity is the God of Israel. 13 Behold, my servant the Messiah will prosper; He will be exalted and extolled, and He will be very strong. 14 As the house of Israel anxiously hoped for Him for many days, that house which was poor among the nations, their appearance and their brightness being worse than that of the sons of men, 15 so He will scatter many nations; before Him kings will keep silence; they will put their hands upon their mouths, for that which had not been told them they will see, and that which they had not heard they will consider.

200–300 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jonathan Isaiah

References

"... The glorious promise to Jerusalem is emphasized (verses 1, 2) and 'service' continues to be the principal point at issue (verse 5, compare chapter 51). But, as in earlier usages, the 'kingdom' is associated with 'the land of Israel' (verse 7, compare 24:23; 31:4; 40:9), and with the Shekhinah (verse 8, compare 40:9, 22). In the present chapter, 'service' is not in the least an abstract issue: those who serve in 'the sanctuary' are called to purify themselves, to be prepared to minister (verse 11). The gathering of exiles (verse 12) is associated with a victorious 'Messiah' (verses 13-15), and this is a further indication that we are dealing substantively with the work of the earlier Tannaitic meturgeman [translator] (compare 10:27; 11:1.6: 14:29; 16:1, 5) ..."

Bruce D. Chilton, The Isaiah Targum: Introduction, Translation, Apparatus and Notes, ArBib 11 (Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1987), 103.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Isaiah66 chapters

Compare Isaiah 52:13 and Jonathan Isaiah 52:13

Summary

Passages

Isaiah 52:13

Jonathan Isaiah 52:13

References

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