Now comes a description of the development of the nation of Israel, but from the implied point of view of those kings of the gentile nations:
53:2-4 “He grew up like a sapling, like a root out of dry ground. He is not well-formed or glorious; we saw him, but his appearance did not attract us. Despised and lowly, a man of pains, familiar with illness. As if he hid his face from us, he was lowly and we did not value him. In fact, it was our diseases he bore, our pains from which he suffered; yet we regarded him as if he were diseased himself, punished and tortured by God.”
In other words, the Jews were roaming the planet, encountering the diseases of the gentiles around them, and bearing them – so much so that the gentiles believe that these Jews are being punished by God.
Now, in retrospect, the gentiles are saying:
53:5 “He was wounded as a result of our transgressions, and crushed as a result of our iniquities. The chastisement upon him was for our benefit; and through his wounds we were healed.”
It is a perfect description of the life of the Jews in the diaspora, always contributing to the welfare of their host society, and always being made to suffer from its ailments.
The gentiles continue:
53:6-7 “We have all strayed like sheep, each of us turning his own way, and God inflicted upon him [Israel] the iniquity of all of us. He [Israel] was repressed and tortured, but he did not open his mouth. Like a sheep led to the slaughter and a lamb that is silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth.”
Then, the end of Israel’s suffering has arrived, the prophet describes:
53:8 “He was released from captivity and judgment—who could have imagined such a generation would ever come? For he was already removed from the land of the living, my people were afflicted because of their crimes.”
Having been freed, the prophet evaluates Israel’s track record, pointing out that, once we were in exile, we preferred death and impoverishment over accepting the gentiles’ paganism:
53:9: “He was buried with the wicked, and executed with the wealthy, but he committed no crime, and there was no deceit in his mouth.”
It turns out that all our suffering were God’s will:
53:10 “God desired to oppress him and He afflicted him, to find out: if he acknowledged his own guilt, he would see offspring and live long days, and God’s plan would be carried out successfully by his hand.”
Of all the missionary attempts to subvert this chapter and make believe it describes the boy from Nazareth, I’m yet to see a single interpretation of the above verse, 53:10, that has anything to do with Jesus. Not going by my translation – going by theirs!
Here’s the King James Isaiah 53:10:
“Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”
Did Jesus bear children? Did he live a long life?
Check out every existing English translation – they all repeat the same points: the subject of this prophecy is rewarded with children and a long life. Which means it cannot possibly be the Jesus who, by 99.9% of all Christian accounts, died childless at age 33, give or take.
In the final two verses, the nation of Israel reaches its peak in influencing humanity, teaching it the path to the true word of God, our Torah:
53:11-12 “He would learn from his travails, his mind will be satiated [with knowledge], My slave will teach the masses to be righteous, and he will tolerate their transgressions. Therefore, I will honor him among the multitudes and he will plunder the spoils of the mighty–for he has exposed himself to death and accepted being counted among the wicked, while actually bearing the sins of the many, and praying for the wicked.”
May we merit to live through the few months still remaining until this precious prophesy becomes fully realized – it has been getting there at an increasing speed for 60 some years. May all of us also merit to be here, in Zion (or the Netanya part of Zion) to embrace our redemption.
