Chronological

49 Listen, O iyim (islands), unto Me [Moshiach]; and pay heed, ye nations afar off; Hashem hath called Me from the beten (belly, womb) [See Isaiah 7:14; Gn 3:15; Ps 22:9f; Mic 5:1-2] from the inward parts of immi hath He remembered My Shem.

² And He hath made My mouth like a sharpened cherev; in the tzel (shadow) of His Yad hath He concealed Me, and made Me a polished arrow; in His quiver hath He hid Me;

³ And said unto Me [Moshiach, i.e., the She’erit of the She’erit, the true and worthy Israel and also the King who personifies the People], Thou art Avdi, O Yisroel, Thou in Whom I glorify Myself.

⁴ Then I [Moshiach] said, I have toiled in vain, I have spent My ko’ach for tohu, and hevel; yet surely My mishpat is with Hashem, and My peulah with Elohai.

⁵ And now, saith Hashem My Yotzer from the beten to be Eved of Him, to bring back Ya’akov to Him, so that Yisroel would be gathered to Him; so shall I [Moshiach] be honored in the eyes of Hashem, and Elohai shall be My oz (strength).

⁶ And He said, It is too small a thing that Thou shouldest be Eved to Me to raise up the Shivtei Ya’akov, and to bring back the Netzurei Yisroel (Preserved of Israel, the She’erit); I will also give Thee for Ohr Goyim, that Thou mayest be My Yeshuah (Salvation) unto the ketzeh ha’aretz.

⁷ Thus saith Hashem, the Go’el Yisroel, and His Kadosh, to Him of despised nefesh [See 53:11,3], to Him whom the Goy (Nation, i.e., Israel; see Isaiah 53:3,8) abhorreth, to the Eved Moshelim: Melachim shall see and arise, Sarim also shall worship [52:15], because of Hashem Who is Ne’eman and the Kadosh Yisroel, that hath chosen Thee.

⁸ Thus saith Hashem, In a time of [My] ratzon (favor) have I answered Thee {Moshiach], and in a Yom Yeshuah have I helped Thee; and I will preserve Thee, and give Thee for a Brit Am [See Jer. 31:31-34; Mk 14:24 OJBC] to raise up Eretz, to reapportion desolate nechalot (inheritances; Josh chp 13-21). [T.N. Notice that in the previous verse the Moshiach is depicted as a new Yehoshua, which is also his namesake, Yehoshua Tzemach Shmo, Zech 6:11-12.]

⁹ That thou mayest say to the asurim (the prisoners, those of the Golus) to them that are in choshech, Reveal yourselves. They shall feed in the derakhim and their pastures shall be in kol shefayim (high hills).

¹⁰ They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the sharav [35:7] nor shemesh beat on them; for He that hath rachamim on them shall guide them, even by the springs of mayim shall He lead them.

¹¹ And I will make all My harim into derech, and My highways shall be exalted.

¹² Hinei, these shall come from afar; and, hinei, these from the tzafon and from the yam; and these from Eretz Sinim [Sinites].

¹³ Sing joyfully, O Shomayim; and rejoice, O Eretz; and break forth into singing, O Harim; for Hashem hath comforted His people, and will have rachamim upon his afflicted ones.

¹⁴ But Tziyon said, Hashem hath forsaken me, and Adonoi hath forgotten me.

¹⁵ Can an isha forget her nursing baby, that she should not have rachamim on her ben beten? Indeed, they may forget, yet I will not forget thee.

¹⁶ Behold, I have engraved thee upon the palms of My hands; thy chomot are continually before Me.

¹⁷ Thy banim shall make haste [to return from the Golus]; thy destroyers and they that laid thee waste shall depart from thee.

¹⁸ Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold; all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith Hashem, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with jewelry and put them on like a kallah.

¹⁹ For thy ruins and thy desolate places, and the eretz of thy devastation, shall even now be too narrow for the inhabitants [of Tziyon returned from the Golus], and they that devoured thee shall be far away.

²⁰ Furthermore, the Bnei Shikkulayich (the Children of thy Bereavement, i.e., the sons born while the Mother was bereaved of other children lost) shall say again in thine oznayim, The makom is too cramped for me; geshah (fall back, make room, give place) to me that I may dwell.

²¹ Then shalt thou say in thine lev, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I am shekhulah (bereaved) of my children, and am galmudah (barren, incapable of having children), a captive of the Golus, and thrust away as rejected? So who has reared these? Behold I was left a lone survivor; these, where were they? Where did they come from?

²² Thus saith Adonoi Hashem, Hinei, I will lift up Mine Yad to the Goyim, and set up My nes (banner, rallying flag, [i.e., Moshiach; see Isa 11:10]) to the Nations; and they shall bring thy banim in their arms, and thy banot shall be carried upon their shoulders.

²³ And melachim shall be thy omenim (foster fathers, supporters, nurturers), and their sarot thy wet nurses; they shall bow down before thee with their face toward eretz, and lick the aphar of thy raglayim; and thou shalt know that I am Hashem; for they shall not be put to shame that wait for Me.

²⁴ Shall the malko’ach (plunder, prey, booty) be taken from the gibbor; shall the shevi tzaddik be delivered?

²⁵ But thus saith Hashem, Even the Shevi gibbor shall be taken, and the malko’ach of the aritz (the fierce, the tyrant) shall escape; for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy banim.

²⁶ And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own basar; and they shall be shikkor (drunk) with their own dahm, as with asis (new wine); and kol basar shall know that I Hashem am thy Moshi’a and thy Go’el, the Avir Ya’akov (Mighty One of Jacob).

50 Thus saith Hashem, Where is the Sefer Keritut (Bill of Divorce) by which I sent your Em (Mother) away? Or which Nosheh (Creditor) of Mine is it to whom I have sold you [into slavery]? Behold, for your avonot (iniquities) have ye been sold, and for your peysha’im (rebellions) was your Em sent away.

² Why, when I came, was there no ish (man [at all] to respond)? When I called, was there none to answer? Is My Yad too short, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no ko’ach (power) to save? Behold, at My rebuke I dry up the yam (sea), I make the neharot (rivers) a midbar (desert); their dag (fish) stink, because there is no mayim, and die of tzama (thirst).

³ I clothe Shomayim with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.

⁴ Adonoi Hashem hath given Me [Moshiach; see 2Sm.7:5; Zech.3:8 and Isa 52:13] the leshon limmudim (learned tongue of disciples; see 8:16), that I should know how to speak a devar (word, i.e., word of consolation) in season to him that is weary; He wakeneth baboker baboker (morning by morning), He wakeneth Mine ozen (ear) to hear as the limmudim (disciples, those being taught).

⁵ Adonoi Hashem hath opened Mine ozen (ear), and I was not rebellious, neither did I turn back [cf. Gn 3:8].

⁶ I [Moshiach] offered My gev (back) to them that deliver blows, and My lekhi (cheeks) to them that pulled out [the beard]: I hid not My face from kelimot (humiliations, shame) and rok (spitting, saliva).

⁷ For Adonoi Hashem will help Me [Moshiach]; therefore shall I not be disgraced; therefore have I set My face [as hard] as khalamish (flint [See OJBC Lk 9:51]), and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

⁸ He that vindicateth [i.e., maintains My Righteousness] is karov (near), who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is Mine Ba’al Mishpat (Adversary in court, the one bringing charges)? Let him draw near to [confront] Me [in court].

⁹ See, Adonoi Hashem will help Me [Moshiach]. Who is he that shall condemn Me? See, they all shall wear out like a beged (garment); the ahsh (moth) shall eat them.

¹⁰ Who among you that feareth Hashem, that obeyeth the voice of His Eved [Moshiach], though he may have walked in chashekhim (darknesses), with no gleam of light for himself, let him trust B’Shem Hashem, and lean upon Elohav.

¹¹ See, all ye that kindle an eish (fire), ye that prepare for battle with zikot (flashing firebrands), walk in the light of the fire of your [own making] and among the zikot (flashing firebrands) that ye have set burning, and this shall ye have from My Yad; ye shall lie down in ma’atze’vah (torment, pain, grieving [See Isa 66:24; Dan 12:2; Ps 75:8]).

51 Pay heed to Me, ye that pursue tzedek, ye that seek Hashem; look unto the Tzur from where ye are cut, and to the quarry from where ye were hewn.

² Look unto Avraham Avichem, and unto Sarah that gave birth to you; for I called him as one alone, and put a brocha on him, and made him many.

³ For Hashem shall comfort Tziyon; He will comfort all her ruins; and He will make her midbar like Eden, and her ruins like the Gan (Garden) of Hashem; sasson and simchah shall be found therein, todah, and the kol zimrah (the sound of singing).

⁴ Pay heed unto Me, O My people; and give ear unto Me, O My Nation; for torah [42:4] shall go forth from Me, and I will set at rest [establish] My mishpat as Ohr Amim (Light for the Nations).

⁵ My tzedek is near; My Salvation is gone forth, and Mine zero’a shall judge the Ammim; the iyim shall wait upon Me, and on Mine zero’a [Moshiach; See 53:1] shall they trust.

⁶ Lift up your eyes to Shomayim, and look upon ha’aretz beneath; for Shomayim shall vanish like ashan (smoke), and ha’aretz shall wear out like a beged, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner; but My Yeshuah (Salvation) shall be l’olam, and My tzedakah shall not be dismayed.

⁷ Pay heed unto Me, ye that know tzedek, Am torati velibam (the People with My torah in their heart); fear ye not the cherpat enosh (the reproach, reviling of man) neither be ye afraid of their giddufot (insults, scorn).

⁸ For the ahsh (moth) shall eat them up like a beged, and the worm shall eat them like wool; but My tzedakah shall be l’olahm, and My Yeshuah (Salvation) l’odor dorim (from generation to generation).

⁹ Awake, awake, clothe thyself with oz, O zero’a Hashem [Moshiach; see Isaiah 53:1]; awake, as in the yemei kedem, in the dorot olamim. Art thou not it that hath cut Rachav to pieces, and pierced Tannin [See 27:1].

¹⁰ Art thou not the One Who hath dried the yam, the waters of the tehom rabbah; that hath made the depths of the yam a derech for the ge’ulim (redeemed ones) to cross over?

¹¹ Therefore the Redeemed of Hashem shall return, and come with singing unto Tziyon; and simchat olam shall be upon their rosh; they shall obtain sasson and simchah; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

¹² I, even I, am He that comforteth you. Who art thou, that thou shouldest fear enosh that shall die, and ben adam which shall be made as khatzir (grass);

¹³ And forgettest Hashem Osehcha [thy Maker], that hath stretched out Shomayim, and laid the foundations of Eretz; and thou art terrified tamid (constantly), kol hayom, because of the fury of the oppressor when he is ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor?

¹⁴ The tzo’eh (the one stooped [in the Golus]) hasteneth that he may be set free, and that he should not die in shachat, nor that his lechem should fail.

¹⁵ But I am Hashem Eloheicha Who stirs up the yam, whose waves roar; Hashem Tzva’os Shmo.

¹⁶ And I put My words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the tzel (shadow) of Mine yad, that I may set Shomayim in place, and lay the foundations of Eretz, and say unto Tziyon, Thou art My people.

¹⁷ Awake, awake, rise up, O Yerushalayim, which hast drunk at the Yad Hashem the kos of His fury; thou hast drunk to the dregs and drained dry the Kos HaTarelah (Cup of Reeling).

¹⁸ Among kol banim whom she hath given birth to, there is none to guide her; neither is there any that taketh her by the yad of kol banim that she hath reared.

¹⁹ These two are come upon thee. Who shall grieve for thee? Shod and shever and ra’av (famine) and cherev; with whom shall I console thee?

²⁰ Thy banim have fainted, they lie at the rosh of all the streets, like a wild bull in a net; they are full of the chamat Hashem, the rebuke of thy G-d.

²¹ Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted one, thou drunken one, but not with yayin;

²² Thus saith thy L-rd Hashem, and thy G-d that pleadeth the cause of His people, Hinei, I have taken out of thine yad the Kos HaTarelah (Cup of Reeling, the Cup that causes reeling) even the dregs of the cup of My fury; thou shalt no more drink it again;

²³ But I will put it into the yad of them that torment thee; which have said to thy nefesh, Bow down, that we may walk over; and thou hast laid thy gev (back) like the ground and like the street, to them that walked over.

52 Awake, awake; clothe thyself with thy strength, O Tziyon; put on thy garments of splendor, O Yerushalayim, Ir HaKodesh; for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the arel (uncircumcised) and the tameh (unclean).

² Shake thyself from the dust; arise, O captive Yerushalayim; free thyself from the chains around thy neck, O captive Bat Tziyon.

³ For thus saith Hashem, Ye have sold yourselves for nothing; and your geulah (redemption) shall be without kesef.

⁴ For thus saith Adonoi Hashem, My people went down at first into Mitzrayim to sojourn there; and lately the Assyrian oppressed them.

⁵ Now therefore, what have I here, saith Hashem, that My people is taken away for nothing? They that rule over them mock them, saith Hashem; and all day long Shemi (My Name) is continually blasphemed.

⁶ Therefore My people shall know Shemi; therefore they shall know in Yom Hahu that I am He that doth speak; hineni, (behold, it is I).

⁷ How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the Mevaser (bringer of Good Tidings, the Evangelist), that publisheth shalom; that bringeth good tidings of tov, that publisheth Yeshuah (Salvation); that saith unto Tziyon, Thy G-d reigneth!

⁸ Thy tzofim (watchmen) shall lift up the kol (voice); with the kol together shall they shout for joy; for they shall see it with their own eyes, when Hashem returns to Tziyon.

⁹ Break forth into joy, sing together, ye ruins of Yerushalayim; for Hashem hath comforted His people, He hath redeemed Yerushalayim.

¹⁰ Hashem hath made bare His zero’a kedoshah [see Yeshayah 53:1] in the eyes of Kol HaGoyim; and all the ends of ha’aretz shall see the Yeshuat Eloheinu.

¹¹ Depart ye, depart ye; come ye out from there; touch not tameh (unclean thing); come ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that carry the k’lei Hashem.

¹² For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight; for Hashem will go before you; and Elohei Yisroel will be your rearguard. T.N. Avdi Tzemach Moshiach [Zecharyah 3:8] will be exalted; but He must do the work of a kohen [Tehillim 110:4] regarding the nations, sprinkling them (see Vayikra 4:16-17; 16:14); so yazzeh ("He [Moshiach] will sprinkle,") many goyim; note: hiphil of "naza," "splatter", meaning "sprinkle"); see Zecharyah 9:9-11 where Moshiach comes with the dahm and the Brit (Covenant)! Here in Yeshayah 52:15, the covenant dahm (blood) is sprinkled upon the nations of the world; the King of Kings shall shut the mouths of the kings of all the earth.

¹³ Hinei, Avdi [Moshiach, see Zecharyah 3:8] shall act wisely, he shall be raised and be lifted up, and be highly exalted.

¹⁴ As rabbim (many) were appalled at thee [Moshiach]; his appearance was so disfigured more than any man, and his form more than the bnei adam;

¹⁵ So yazzeh Goyim rabbim (he [Moshiach] will sprinkle many nations); the melachim (kings) shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them shall they see; and of that which they had not heard shall they have binah (understanding).

53 Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the Zero’a Hashem [Yeshayah 52:10] revealed?

² For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a Shoresh (Root, Shoresh Yishai, Moshiach, Yeshayah 11:10, Sanhedrin93b) out of a dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire [Chaggai 2:7] him.

³ He is despised and chadal ishim (rejected by men); a man of sorrows, and acquainted with suffering; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he hath borne our sufferings, and nasah (carried [Vayikra 16:22; Yeshayah 53:12)] our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, [i.e., like a leper is stricken] smitten of G-d, and afflicted [see verse 8 below].

⁵ But he was pierced [Yeshayah 51:9; Zecharyah 12:10 Sukkah 52a, Tehillim 22:17 Targum Hashivim] for our transgressions, he was bruised mei’avonoteinu (for our iniquities); the musar (chastisement) (that brought us shalom [Yeshayah 54:10] was upon him [Moshiach]; and at the cost of his (Moshiach’s) chaburah (stripes, lacerations) we are healed.

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own derech (way; see Prov 16:25); and Hashem hath laid on him [Moshiach] the avon (iniquity, the guilt that separates from G-d) of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a seh (lamb; see Shemot 12:3) to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who of his generation declared? For he was cut off [Daniel 9:26; Vayikra 17:10] out of Eretz Chayyim [this refers to the mot of Moshiach Ben Dovid, see v.12] mipesha ami (for the transgression of my people [Yisroel]) nega (plague cf Ps 91:10) lamo ([fell] on him [i.e., Moshiach; in light of Ps 11:7 and Job 22:2 we are warranted in saying the suffix is a singular, "him," not "them". Cf Gen 9:26-27; Deut 33:2; Isa 44:15; also compare Divrey Hayamim Alef 21:17]).

⁹ And he made his kever (grave) with the resha’im, and with the oisher (rich man; see Mt 27:57-60) bemotayv (in his deaths, intensive plural should be translated singular, death); because he had done no chamas (violence), neither was any mirmah (deceit) in his mouth. T.N. We stray as sheep; we return in Moshiach as children (zera); the Techiyas HaMoshiach (Resurrection of Moshiach) predicted in v. 10 [Dead Sea Scrolls Isaiah Scroll says Moshiach "will see the light [of life];" see also the Targum HaShivim]

¹⁰ Yet it pleased Hashem to bruise him; He hath put him to suffering; when Thou shalt make his nefesh an asham offering for sin, he (Moshiach) shall see zera [see Psalm 16 and Yn 1:12 OJBC], He shall prolong his yamim (days) and the chefetz Hashem (pleasure, will of Hashem) shall prosper in his [Moshiach’s] hand.

¹¹ He [Hashem] shall see of the travail of his [Moshiach’s] nefesh, and shall be satisfied; by knowledge of him [Moshiach] shall Tzadik Avdi ["My Righteous Servant," Moshiach, Zecharyah 3:8, Yirmeyah 23:5; Zecharyah 6:11-12, Ezra 3:8 Yehoshua, Yeshua shmo] justify many (Ro 5:1); for he [Moshiach] shall bear their avon (iniquities).

¹² Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his nefesh unto mavet (death); and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he nasah (Lv 16:22, carried) (like the Yom Kippur scapegoat) the sin of many, and made intercession [did the work of a mafgi’a, intercessor] for the transgressors [see Lk 23:34 OJBC].