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Jonathan Isaiah

About this book
Chapter 53

1 Who has believed this our report? And to whom is the power of the arm of the LORD now revealed? 2 The righteous will be great before Him, like budding branches; and like a tree that sends forth its roots by the streams of water, so the generation of the just will multiply in the land that has need of Him. 3 His appearance will not be the appearance of a common person, nor His fear the fear of an ordinary man; but a holy brightness will be His brightness, so that everyone who sees Him will gaze upon Him. 4 Although He will be in contempt, yet He will cut off the glory of all the wicked; they will be weak and wretched. Look, we are in contempt and not esteemed, like a man of pain and appointed to sickness, and as if He had removed the face of His Shekinah from us. 5 Therefore He will pray for our sins, and our iniquities will be forgiven for His sake;⁠ for we are considered crushed, smitten of the LORD, and afflicted. 6 He will build the house of the sanctuary, which was profaned on account of our sins;⁠ He was delivered over on account of our iniquities, and through His teaching peace will be multiplied upon us, and through the teaching of His words our sins will be forgiven us. 7 All we like sheep have been scattered; everyone of us has turned to his own way; and it pleased the LORD to forgive the sins of all of us for His sake. 8 He will pray, and He will be answered; yes, before He opens His mouth He will be heard. He will deliver over the mighty of the nations like a lamb to the slaughter, and like a sheep that is dumb before her shearers; none will open his mouth in His presence or speak a word. 9 He will gather our captives from affliction and pain, and who will be able to recount the wonderful works that will be done for us in His days? He will remove the rule of the nations from the land of Israel; the sins that my people have committed have come upon them. 10 And He will deliver the wicked into hell, and the riches of treasures that they got by violence to the death of Abaddon, so that those who commit sin will not remain, and that they should not speak folly with their mouth.⁠ 11 And it was the pleasure of the LORD to refine and purify the remnant of His people, in order to cleanse their souls from sin, that they might see the kingdom of their Messiah, that their sons and daughters might multiply and prolong their days, and that those who keep the Torah of the LORD might prosper through His pleasure. 12 He will deliver their souls from the servitude of the nations; they will see the vengeance upon their enemies; they will be satisfied with the spoil of their kings. By His wisdom He will justify the righteous, in order to make many keep the Torah, and He will pray for their sins.⁠ 13 Therefore I will divide to Him the spoil of many peoples, and the treasures of strong fortifications; He will divide the spoil, because He delivered His life to death, and He made the rebellious keep the Torah; He will pray for the sins of many, and as for the transgressors, each will be pardoned for His sake.

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Compare Isaiah 53:10 and Jonathan Isaiah 53:10

Hebrew Bible · Targum

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Summary

Isaiah 53 describes a servant who suffers unjustly and is rewarded with honor. The Aramaic translation in the Targum reinterprets this figure as a victorious messiah who builds the temple, leads God’s kingdom, and teaches how to obey the Torah.

Passages

Isaiah 53:10

Hebrew Bible
8 He was led away after an unjust trial—but who even cared? Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded. 9 They intended to bury him with criminals, but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb because he had committed no violent deeds, nor had he spoken deceitfully. 10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill, once restitution is made, he will see descendants and enjoy long life, and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him. 11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work, he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. “My servant will acquit many, for he carried their sins.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Jonathan Isaiah 53:10

Targum
8 He will pray, and He will be answered; yes, before He opens His mouth He will be heard. He will deliver over the mighty of the nations like a lamb to the slaughter, and like a sheep that is dumb before her shearers; none will open his mouth in His presence or speak a word. 9 He will gather our captives from affliction and pain, and who will be able to recount the wonderful works that will be done for us in His days? He will remove the rule of the nations from the land of Israel; the sins that my people have committed have come upon them. 10 And He will deliver the wicked into hell, and the riches of treasures that they got by violence to the death of Abaddon, so that those who commit sin will not remain, and that they should not speak folly with their mouth. 11 And it was the pleasure of the LORD to refine and purify the remnant of His people, in order to cleanse their souls from sin, that they might see the kingdom of their Messiah, that their sons and daughters might multiply and prolong their days, and that those who keep the Torah of the LORD might prosper through His pleasure.
200–300 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jonathan Isaiah

References

"... This Targum has proven to be valuable for NT study, particularly in Jesus research. Chilton notes special interest in the Messiah (an idea largely shaped in the period between the two wars with Rome) and the regathering of the Jewish exiles. Isaiah 53 (or 52:13-53:12 to be precise) is interpreted messianically. But the Messiah is not a suffering Servant; he is a glorious and conquering hero. For example, whereas the Hebrew of 53:9 reads, "they made [the Servant's] grave with the wicked," Targum Isaiah reads, '[the Servant] will hand over the wicked to Gehenna.' This Messiah will build the Sanctuary (53:5) and God will establish his kingdom (53:10) ..."
Craig A. Evans, Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies: A Guide to the Background Literature (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2005), 195.

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

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