49 1 Listen, you islands. God called me from my mother's womb. He mentioned my name from the bowels of my mother.
2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword.
3 And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified."
16 I've carved an image of you on the palm of my hand.
23 Kings will be your nursing fathers, and queens your nursing mothers. They will lick up the dust of your feet.
26 I’ll feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, and they’ll be drunk with their own blood, as with sweet wine. So that everyone will know that I'm your savior and redeemer.
50 1 God says,
Your mother and I are divorced. But where's the paperwork?
Do you know who I sold you to?
I sold you and divorced your mother for your sins, not hers.
2 Why was there no one home when I came to visit?
Why didn't you answer when I called?
Has my hand been shortened?
I dry up the sea and the rivers and make their fish stink.
3 I have darkened the sky.
51 1 Listen to me, you who seek God.
Look at the rock from which you were carved, and to the hole from whence you were dug.
6 The stars will vanish, the earth will grow old, and everything that lives on it will die.
9 Wake up, God! Didn't you cut Rahab and wound the dragon?
10 Didn't you dry up the sea?
52 1 Wake up, Jerusalem! Put on your beautiful clothes.
No uncircumcised or unclean people will ever enter the city again.
7 People who bring good news have beautiful feet.
10 God made bare his mighty arm, so everyone can see it.
53 3 He is a man of sorrows, despised and rejected by everyone.
4-5 He afflicted by God and wounded for our transgressions. With his stripes we are healed.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he didn't speak. He was brought like a lamb to the slaughter.
9-10 He did nothing wrong, but it pleased God to bruise him, making him an offering for sin.
12 Here bore the sins of many, and interceded for the transgressors.
54 1 Sing, you barren woman! 5 Because God is your husband.
8 He says to you, "I was a little bit angry, so I hid my face from you. But I'll have mercy on you."
55 1 Come everyone who is hungry or thirsty and eat. Buy wine and milk without money.
2 Why spend your money on things that aren't food? Why work for things that don't satisfy you? If you listen to me, you can eat what is good and delight your soul in fatness.
8-9 My thoughts aren't like your thoughts. They're better than yours.
At the end of the podcast, Carole asked if we would finish Isaiah in the next episode, and I said, "Yeah, because it's only 11 verses." I should have said eleven chapters. (But we will be able to finish Isaiah next time, since the chapters are rather short.)
The suffering servant of Isaiah 53 is often claimed by Christian apologists to refer to Jesus. But seems to refer to the nation of Israel, not to a person who had not yet been born.
Copyright © 1999-2024
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible
Send comments to Steve Wells
at swwells(at)gmail.com
