Isaiah – Servant “Songs”

Below is all 4 of the Servant “songs” together from Isaiah. It is quite easier to read the entire “song” inits 4 parts tgether. Below each song I have also placed the notes for that particular section. Hopefully looking at all of it together will make a bit more sense. THe parts around these expound on the Prophecy even more.. but once you hae the basic part down… adding onto it is easy.

Here is also a link to Maria Press who did a video on the 4th song this might help as well

https://www.avemariapress.com/resources/22/2942/

Here are the four songs….

THE SERVANT OF THE LORD (Is 42:1-4)

1Here is my servant* whom I uphold,

my chosen one with whom I am pleased.

Upon him I have put my spirit;

he shall bring forth justice to the nations.a

2He will not cry out, nor shout,

nor make his voice heard in the street.

3A bruised reed* he will not break,

and a dimly burning wick he will not quench.

He will faithfully bring forth justice.

4He will not grow dim or be bruised

until he establishes justice on the earth;

the coastlands* will wait for his teaching.

* [42:14] Servant: three other passages have been popularly called “servant of the Lord” poems: 49:1750:41152:1353:12. Whether the servant is an individual or a collectivity is not clear (e.g., contrast 49:3 with 49:5). More important is the description of the mission of the servant. In the early Church and throughout Christian tradition, these poems have been applied to Christ; cf. Mt 12:1821.

* [42:3] Bruised reed…: images to express the gentle manner of the servant’s mission.

* [42:4] Coastlands: for Israel, the world to the west: the islands and coastal nations of the Mediterranean.

Is 49:1-7

THE SERVANT OF THE LORD (Is 49:1-7)

1Hear me, coastlands,

listen, distant peoples.a

Before birth the LORD called me,

from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.*

2He made my mouth like a sharp-edged sword,

concealed me, shielded by his hand.

He made me a sharpened arrow,

in his quiver he hid me.

3He said to me, You are my servant,

in you, Israel,* I show my glory.

4Though I thought I had toiled in vain,

for nothing and for naught spent my strength,

Yet my right is with the LORD,

my recompense is with my God.b

5For now the LORD has spoken

who formed me as his servant from the womb,

That Jacob may be brought back to him

and Israel gathered to him;

I am honored in the sight of the LORD,

and my God is now my strength!

6It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,

to raise up the tribes of Jacob,

and restore the survivors of Israel;c

I will make you a light to the nations,

that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.*

7Thus says the LORD,

the redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,

To the one despised, abhorred by the nations,

the slave of rulers:

When kings see you, they shall stand up,

and princes shall bow down

Because of the LORD who is faithful,

the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.d

* [49:17] The second of the four “servant of the Lord” oracles (cf. note on 42:14).

* [49:1] Gave me my name: designated me for a special task or mission (cf. Jer 1:5).

* [49:3] Israel: the servant is identified with the people of Israel as their ideal representative; however, vv. 56 seem to distinguish the servant from Israel.

* [49:6] The servant’s vocation extends beyond the restoration of Israel in order to bring the knowledge of Israel’s God to the rest of the earth; cf. Lk 2:32.

THE SERVANT OF THE LORD (Is 50:4-11)

4* The Lord GOD has given me

a well-trained tongue,

That I might know how to answer the weary

a word that will waken them.

Morning after morning

he wakens my ear to hear as disciples do;

5The Lord GOD opened my ear;

I did not refuse,

did not turn away.*

6I gave my back to those who beat me,

my cheeks to those who tore out my beard;*

My face I did not hide

from insults and spitting.c

7The Lord GOD is my help,

therefore I am not disgraced;

Therefore I have set my face like flint,

knowing that I shall not be put to shame.d

8He who declares my innocence is near.

Who will oppose me?

Let us appear together.

Who will dispute my right?

Let them confront me.

9See, the Lord GOD is my help;

who will declare me guilty?

See, they will all wear out like a garment,

consumed by moths.e

10Who among you fears the LORD,*

heeds his servant’s voice?

Whoever walk in darkness,

without any light,

Yet trust in the name of the LORD

and rely upon their God!f

11All you who kindle flames

and set flares alight,

Walk by the light of your own fire

and by the flares you have burnt!

This is your fate from my hand:

you shall lie down in a place of torment.

* [50:411] The third of the four “servant of the Lord” oracles (cf. note on 42:14); in vv. 49 the servant speaks; in vv. 1011 God addresses the people directly.

* [50:5] The servant, like a well-trained disciple, does not refuse the divine vocation.

* [50:6] He willingly submits to insults and beatings. Tore out my beard: a grave and painful insult.

* [50:1011] The Lord offers a choice to those who walk in darkness: either trust in the true light (v. 10), or walk in their false light and suffer the consequences.

SUFFERING AND TRIUMPH OF THE SERVANT OF THE LORD*

13See, my servant shall prosper,

he shall be raised high and greatly exalted.

14Even as many were amazed at him—

so marred were his features,

beyond that of mortals

his appearance, beyond that of human beings—d

15So shall he startle many nations,

kings shall stand speechless;

For those who have not been told shall see,

those who have not heard shall ponder it.e

CH53:1 Who would believe what we have heard?*

To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?a

2He grew up like a sapling before him,b

like a shoot from the parched earth;

He had no majestic bearing to catch our eye,

no beauty to draw us to him.

3He was spurned and avoided by men,

a man of suffering, knowing pain,

Like one from whom you turn your face,

spurned, and we held him in no esteem.c

4Yet it was our pain that he bore,

our sufferings he endured.

We thought of him as stricken,

struck down by God* and afflicted,d

5But he was pierced for our sins,

crushed for our iniquity.

He bore the punishment that makes us whole,

by his wounds we were healed.e

6We had all gone astray like sheep,

all following our own way;

But the LORD laid upon him*

the guilt of us all.f

7Though harshly treated, he submitted

and did not open his mouth;

Like a lamb led to slaughter

or a sheep silent before shearers,

he did not open his mouth.g

8Seized and condemned, he was taken away.

Who would have thought any more of his destiny?

For he was cut off from the land of the living,

struck for the sins of his people.

9He was given a grave among the wicked,

a burial place with evildoers,

Though he had done no wrong,

nor was deceit found in his mouth.h

10But it was the LORD’s will to crush him with pain.

By making his life as a reparation offering,*

he shall see his offspring, shall lengthen his days,

and the LORD’s will shall be accomplished through him.

11Because of his anguish he shall see the light;

because of his knowledge he shall be content;

My servant, the just one, shall justify the many,

their iniquity he shall bear.

12Therefore I will give him his portion among the many,

and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,

Because he surrendered himself to death,

was counted among the transgressors,

Bore the sins of many,

and interceded for the transgressors.i

* [52:1353:12] The last of the “servant of the Lord” oracles (see note on 42:14). Taken together, these oracles depict a figure of one called by God for a vocation to Israel and the nations (42:449:56); the servant’s exaltation both opens and closes the passage (52:1353:12). The servant responded in fidelity but has suffered opposition (50:46). In this fourth oracle the servant is characterized as “a man of suffering” (53:3) and appears to be unjustly put to death (53:89). Those who have witnessed his career somehow recognize that he is innocent, has undergone suffering for their sins (53:46), and his death is referred to as a reparation offering (see note on 53:1011). The servant is described in ways that identify him with Israel (which is frequently referred to as “servant” in the context of Second Isaiah—e.g., 41:8944:22143:4) and is designated as “Israel” in 49:3; yet Israel outside the “servant of the Lord” oracles is not presented as sinless, but rather in exile because of sin (40:242:2125) and even as servant as deaf and blind (42:1819). The servant is thus both identified with Israel and distinguished from it. As with the previous servant poems, this chapter helped the followers of Jesus to interpret his suffering, death, and resurrection; see especially the passion narratives.

* [53:110] What we have heard: this fourth servant oracle is introduced by words of the Lord (52:1315) but is now continued by speakers who are not identified, perhaps those referred to in 52:15, perhaps Israel (cf. “struck for the sins of his people”—v. 8). The Lord is again the speaker in vv. 1113.

* [53:4] Struck down by God: the Bible often sees suffering as a punishment for sin (e.g., Ps 6:232:15), yet sin sometimes appears to go unpunished and the innocent often suffer (cf. Ps 73; the Book of Job). In the case of the servant, the onlookers initially judge him guilty because of his suffering but, in some way not explained, they come to understand that his sufferings are for the sins of others. One notes the element of surprise, for such vicarious suffering, in the form described here, is without parallel in the Old Testament.

* [53:6] The LORD laid upon him: the servant’s suffering is no accidental or casual matter, but part of God’s plan; see also v. 10. The bystanders’ speculation of v. 4 is verified, but not in the sense intended by them.

* [53:1011] Reparation offering: the Hebrew term ’asham is used of a particular kind of sacrifice, one that is intended as compensation for that which is due because of guilt. See Lv 5:1426 and note. Justify: the verb means “to be acquitted,” “declared innocent,” but since the servant bears “their iniquity,” an effective rather than simply legal action is suggested.