Go to Related Reading
About this book

Jonathan Isaiah

About this book
Chapter 52

1 Reveal yourself, reveal yourself, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the city of holiness; for the uncircumcised and the polluted will pass through you no more. 2 Shake yourself from the dust; arise and sit upon the throne of glory, O Jerusalem; the chains of your neck are broken, O captive congregation of Zion. 3 For thus says the LORD, “You were sold for nothing, and you will be redeemed without money.” 4 For thus says the Lord GOD, “My people went down in the beginning into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5 Therefore now I am ready to redeem them, says the LORD; for my people was sold for nothing; the nations that ruled over them boasted, says the LORD; and continually, all the day, they provoke them to anger because of the worship of my name. 6 Therefore my name will be magnified among the nations; therefore at that time you will know that I am He who has spoken, and my Memra will abide.” 7 How beautiful upon the mountains of the land of Israel are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who proclaims peace, who proclaims salvation, saying to the congregation of Zion, “The kingdom of your God is revealed.”⁠ 8 The voice of your rulers! They lift up their voice, together they offer praise, because with their eyes they see the mighty works that the LORD will do when He returns His Shekinah to Zion. 9 Break out and shout together, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD will comfort His people, Jerusalem will be redeemed. 10 The LORD has revealed His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all who are at the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God. 11 Separate yourselves, separate yourselves, go out from there, do not come near the unclean; come forth from the midst of her; those who carry the vessels of the house of the sanctuary of the LORD have been chosen. 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.

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 52:13 and Jonathan Isaiah 52:13

Hebrew Bible · Targum

Share:

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.

Your feedback

Isaiah 52:13 and Jonathan Isaiah 52:13

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library