1. Four Servant Songs in ESV
(1) Isaiah 42:1–4 (ESV from MT)
1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my
chosen, in whom my soul delights; I
have put my Spirit upon him; he will
bring forth justice to the nations. 2 He will
not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make
it heard in the street; 3 a bruised reed he
will not break, and a faintly burning wick
he will not quench; he will faithfully bring
forth justice. 4 He will not grow faint or be
discouraged till he has established
justice in the earth; and the coastlands
wait for his law.
(2) Isaiah 49:1–6 (ESV from MT)
1 Listen to me, O coastlands, and give
attention, you peoples from afar. The
Lord called me from the womb, from the
body of my mother he named my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he
made me a polished arrow; in his quiver
he hid me away. 3 And he said to me,
“You are my servant, Israel, in whom I
will be glorified.” 4 But I said, “I have
labored in vain; I have spent my strength
for nothing and vanity; yet surely my
right is with the Lord, and my
recompense with my God.” 5 And now
the Lord says, he who formed me from
the womb to be his servant, to bring
Jacob back to him; and that Israel might
be gathered to him— for I am honored in
the eyes of the Lord, and my God has
become my strength— 6 he says: “It is
too light a thing that you should be my
servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end
of the earth.”
(3) Isaiah 50:4–9 (ESV from MT)
4 The Lord God has given me the tongue
of those who are taught, that I may know
how to sustain with a word him who is
weary. Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear to hear as those
who are taught. 5 The Lord God has
opened my ear, and I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward. 6 I gave my back
to those who strike, and my cheeks to
those who pull out the beard; I hid not
my face from disgrace and spitting. 7 But
the Lord God helps me; therefore I have
not been disgraced; therefore I have set
my face like a flint, and I know that I shall
not be put to shame. 8 He who vindicates
me is near. Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together. Who is my
adversary? Let him come near to me. 9
Behold, the Lord God helps me; who will
declare me guilty? Behold, all of them
will wear out like a garment; the moth will
eat them up.
Primary Source Pack: Isaiah 53 and the Servant of YHWH
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2. (4) Isaiah 52:13–53:12 (ESV... based
on MT)
13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he
shall be high and lifted up, and shall be
exalted. 14 As many were astonished at
you— his appearance was so marred,
beyond human semblance, and his form
beyond that of the children of mankind—
15 so shall he sprinkle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of
him; for that which has not been told
them they see, and that which they have
not heard they understand. 1 Who has
believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord
been revealed? 2 For he grew up before
him like a young plant, and like a root out
of dry ground; he had no form or majesty
that we should look at him, and no
beauty that we should desire him. 3 He
was despised and rejected by men; a
man of sorrows, and acquainted with
grief; and as one from whom men hide
their faces he was despised, and we
esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne
our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet
we esteemed him stricken, smitten by
God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced
for our transgressions; he was crushed
for our iniquities; upon him was the
chastisement that brought us peace, and
with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we
like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned—every one—to his own way; and
the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us
all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was
afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers
is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8
By oppression and judgment he was
taken away; and as for his generation,
who considered that he was cut off out of
the land of the living, stricken for the
transgression of my people? 9 And they
made his grave with the wicked and with
a rich man in his death, although he had
done no violence, and there was no
deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the will
of the Lord to crush him; he has put him
to grief; when his soul makes an offering
for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he
shall prolong his days; the will of the
Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of
the anguish of his soul he shall see and
be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the
righteous one, my servant, make many
to be accounted righteous, and he shall
bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will
divide him a portion with the many, and
he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the
transgressors; yet he bore the sin of
many, and makes intercession for the
transgressors.
Primary Source Pack: Isaiah 53 and the Servant of YHWH
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3. Targum Isaiah 42:1-4
1 Behold, my servant, the Messiah, whom I
bring, my chosen in whom one delights : as for
my Word, I will put my Holy Spirit upon Him ;
He shall reveal my judgment unto the nations.
2 He shall not cry aloud, nor raise a clamour,
and He shall not lift up His voice in the street.*
3 The meek who are like a bruised reed He
shall not break,^ and the poor who are as a
glimmering* wick with Him, He will not quench :
He
shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
Targum Isaiah 53
13 Behold, my servant the Messiah shall prosper.
He shall be exalted and extolled, and He shall be
very strong.
14 As the house of Israel anxiously hoped^ for
Him many days, (which was poor* among the
nations ; their appearance and their brightness
being worse than that of the sons of men
15 Thus shall He scatter''^ many nations; before
Him kings shall keep silence : they shall put their
hands upon their mouths, for that which had not
been told them shall they see: and that which
they had not heard shall they consider.
[Ch 53]1 Who hath believed this our report? and
to whom is now^ the power of the arm of the
Lord revealed? 2 The righteous shall be great
before Him, behold, like branches that bud; and
like a tree
which sends forth its roots by the streams of
water, thus shall the generation of the just
multiply in the land, which hath need of Him.^
3 His visage shall not be the visage of a common
person, neither His fear the fear of a plebeian but
a holy brightness shall be His brightness, that
every one who seeth Him shall contemplate
Him.*
4 Although He shall be in contempt ; yet He shall
cut off the glory of all the wicked,^ they shall
be weak and wretched. Lo, we are in contempt
and not esteemed, as a man of pain and
appointed to sickness, and as if He had removed
the face of His Shekinah from us.
6 Therefore He shall pray for our sins, and our
iniquities for His sake shall be forgiven us; for
we are considered crushed, smitten of the Lord,
and afflicted.
6 He shall build the house of the sanctuary,*
which has been profaned on account of our sins ;
He was delivered over on account of our
iniquities, and through His doctrine peace shall
be multiplied upon us, and through the teaching
of His words our sins shall be forgiven us.
7 All we like sheep have been scattered, every
one of us has turned to his own way ; it pleased
the Lord to forgive the sins of all of us for His
sake.
8 He shall pray and He shall be answered, yea,
before He shall open His mouth. He shall be
heard ; He shall deliver over the mighty of the
nations as a lamb to the slaughter, and like a
sheep before her shearers is dumb, none shall in
His presence open his mouth, or speak a word.
9 He shall gather our captives^ from affliction
and pain, and who shall be able to narrate the
wonderful works which shall be done for us in His
days? He shall remove the rule of the nations
from the land of Israel, the sins which my people
have committed have come upon them.
10 And He shall deliver the wicked into hell, and
the riches of treasures which they got by-
violence unto the death of Abaddon, that they
who commit sin shall not remain, and that they
should not speak folly with their mouth.
11 And it was the pleasure of the Lord to refine
and to 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 those that keep^^ the law
of the Lord shall prosper through His pleasure.
12 He shall deliver their souls from the servitude
of the nations, they shall see the vengeance
Primary Source Pack: Isaiah 53 and the Servant of YHWH
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ESV based on MT Isa. 52.14
As many were astonished at you— his
appearance was so marred, beyond human
semblance, and his form beyond that of the
children of mankind
ET of IQIsa. 52.14
Just as many were astonished at you, so I
have anointed his appearance beyond that of
any (other) man, and his form beyond that of

4. upon their enemies; they shall be satisfied with
the spoil of their kings. By His wisdom He shall
justify the righteous, in order to make many to
keep the law, and He shall pray for their sins.
13 Therefore I will divide to Him the spoil of many
people, and the treasures of strong fortifi-
cations; He shall divide the spoil; because He
has delivered His life unto death, and He shall
make
the rebellious to keep^^ the law; He shall pray for
the sins of many, and as for the transgressors,
each shall be pardoned for His sake.
4Q491c 4QSelf-Glorification Hymnb (= 4Q491
fragments 11 and 12)
Frag. 1 (Baillet 4Q491 frag. 11 col. i 8-24; cf.
1QHa xxvi top; 4Q427 7 i + 9; 4Q471b 1-3)
1 […] has done awesome things marvellously
[…]
2 [… in the streng]th of his power the just exult,
and the holy ones rejoice in […] in justice
3 […] he established [I]srael from eternity; his
truth and the mysteries of his wisdom in al[l
generations …] might
4 […] … […] … and the council of the poor for an
eternal congregation. […] the perfect ones of
5 [… et]ernal; a mighty throne in the
congregation of the gods above which none of
the kings of the East shall sit, and their nobles
no[t …] silence (?)
6 […] my glory is in{comparable} and besides me
no-one is exalted, nor comes to me, for I reside
in […], in the heavens, and there is no
7 […] … I am counted among the gods and my
dwelling is in the holy congregation; [my] des[ire]
is not according to the flesh, [but] all that is
precious to me is in (the) glory (of)
8 […] the holy [dwel]ling. [W]ho has been
considered despicable on my account? And who
is comparable to me in my glory? Who, like the
sailors, will come back and tell?
9 […] Who bea[rs all] sorrows like me? And who
[suffe]rs evil like me? There is no-one. I have
been instructed, and there is no teaching
comparable
10 [to my teaching …] And who will attack me
when [I] op[en my mouth]? And who can endure
the flow of my lips? And who will confront me and
retain comparison with my judgment?
11 [… friend of the king, companion of the holy
ones … incomparable, f]or among the gods is
[my] posi[tion, and] my glory is with the sons of
the king. To me (belongs) [pure] gold, and to me,
the gold of Ophir
12 […] Blank […] Blank […]
13 [… exult,] just ones, in the God of […] in the
holy dwelling, sing for h[im …]
14 [… p]roclaim during the meditation jubilation
[…] in eternal happiness; and there is no … […]
15 […] to establish the horn of [his] Mess[iah …]
16 […] to make known his power with strength
[…]
17 […] … […]1
Rabbinic ‘Messianic’ Readings
The Babylonian Talmud Tract Sanhedrin 98a
For such men as the Messiah. But what is his
name? The disciples of R. Shilah said: Shilah is
his name, as it reads [Gen. 49:10]: “Until Shilah
will come.” The disciples of R. Janai said Jinun is
his name, as it reads [Ps. 72:17]: “In the
presence of the sun, Jinun is his name.” And the
disciples of R. Hanina said: Hanina is his name,
as [Jer. 16:13]: “So that I will not grant you
Hanina.” (Favor.) According to others, Menachem
b. Hiskia is his name as in [Lam. 1:16]: “For from
me in Menachem (comforter) that should refresh
my soul.” And the rabbis said: The sufferer of the
house of Rabbi is his name, as [Is. 53:4]: “But
only our diseases did he bear himself, and our
pains he carried: while we indeed esteemed him
stricken, smitten of God and afflicted.”2
See http://www.hopeinmessiah.org/Isaiah%2053.htm#_ftn3
for more examples from Rabbinic sources concerning the
Messianic identity of the servant.
Primary Source Pack: Isaiah 53 and the Servant of YHWH
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1 Florentino Garcı́a Martı́nez and Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar, vol. 2, The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition (Translations) (Leiden; New York:
Brill, 1997-1998), 979-81.
2 , vol. 16, The Babylonian Talmud, Volumes 1-10: Original Text, Edited, Corrected, Formulated, and Translated into English ( trans.
Michael L. Rodkinson;Boston, MA: The Talmud Society, 1918), 310.