II.
Who gave believing to that which we heard,[208]
And the arm of Jehovah to whom was it bared?
For he sprang like a sapling before Him,[209]
As a root from the ground that is parched;
He had no form nor beauty that we should regard him,
Nor aspect that we should desire him.
Despised and rejected of men,
Man of pains and familiar with ailing,
And as one we do cover the face from,
Despised, and we did not esteem him.
III.
Surely our ailments he bore,
And our pains he did take for his burden.[210]
But we—we accounted him stricken,
Smitten of God and degraded.[211]
Yet he—he was pierced for crimes that were ours,[212]
He was crushed for guilt that was ours,[212]
The chastisement of our peace was upon him,
By his stripes healing is ours.[212]
Of us all[213] like to sheep went astray,
Every man to his way we did turn,
And Jehovah made light upon him
The guilt of us all.
IV.
Oppressed, he did humble himself,
Nor opened his mouth—
As a lamb to the slaughter is led,
As a sheep 'fore her shearers is dumb—
Nor opened his mouth.
By tyranny and law was he taken;[214]
And of his age who reflected,
That he was wrenched[215] from the land of the living,
For My people's transgressions the stroke was on him?
So they made with the wicked his grave,
Yea, with the felon[216] his tomb.
Though never harm had he done,
Neither was guile in his mouth.
V.
But Jehovah had purposed to bruise him,
Had laid on him sickness;
So[217] if his life should offer guilt offering,
A seed he should see, he should lengthen his days.
And the purpose of Jehovah by his hand should prosper,
From the travail of his soul shall he see,[218]
By his knowledge be satisfied.
My Servant, the Righteous, righteousness wins he for many,
And their guilt he takes for his load.
Therefore I set him a share with the great,[219]
Yea, with the strong shall he share the spoil:
Because that he poured out his life unto death,
Let himself with transgressors be reckoned;
Yea, he the sin of the many hath borne,
And for the transgressors he interposes.
Let us now take up the interpretation strophe by strophe.
I. Ch. lii. 13-15. When last our eyes were directed to the Servant, he was in suffering unexplained and unvindicated (ch. l. 4-6). His sufferings seemed to have fallen upon him as the consequence of his fidelity to the Word committed to him; the Prophet had inevitably become the Martyr. Further than this his sufferings were not explained, and the Servant was left in them, calling upon God indeed, and sure that God would hear and vindicate him, but as yet unanswered by word of God or word of man.