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In our previous articles we have demonstrated that the Suffering Servant in Isaiah is to be understood as the collective peoples of Israel and not just one person. Thus to say that Isaiah 53 refers to Yeshua is to misinterpret the intended meaning of the prophet Isaiah.
As we continue along we noticed that the Gentile rulers, both political and spiritual will be utterly amazed as the events in the future when God intervenes and saves the Jewish people in spite of what Christianity has taught about the Jewish people.
We again showed that pronouns used in Isaiah 52, 53, and 54, normally in the singular, in reality does not refer to Yeshua but again to the collective nation of Israel.
Now in this article we will deal with common misconceptions and misinterpretations of Isaiah 53 which erroneously have been applied to Yeshua, when again if we correctly interpret the passage, refers to the corporate nation once again.
3 Despised and forsaken by men, a man of pains and accustomed to illness: and as one who hides his face from us; despised, and we esteemed him not.
Answer for yourself: With the understanding brought by the previous two articles, can you begin to see that the singular “man” and “him” must refer collectively to the nation of Israel as shown in the previous two documents?
Answer for yourself: Can you now better understand why I began the first article with stressing the differences between eisegesis and exegesis (reading into the text something not there or allowing the texts and context surrounding the Biblical text to define its meaning)? I hope so.
The 49th chapter of Isaiah stands out as one of the most stirring sections of the Bible, and continues to set the stage for Isaiah 53. Its verses contain a moving conversation between Israel and God. As in all the Servant Songs, Isaiah repeatedly refers to nation of Israel in the singular.
Throughout this chapter the Jewish remnant cries out to God; the nation feels forsaken, afflicted, and abandoned. These passages do not refer to Yeshua (one person) and his passion but the Jewish peoples of all ages. These are the very same descriptions of torment that the Servant endures in Isaiah 53.
In response to their agony, the Almighty reassures His distressed nation that His love for His people even exceeds the intense affection a new mother feels for her hurting infant. As in Isaiah 53, the final vindication and salvation of the Jewish people is the chapter's central theme.
3 And said to me, thou art My servant, O Israel in whom I will be glorified!
7 For so said the Lord, the redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, about him who is despised of men, about him whom the nation abhors, about a slave of rulers, "Kings (understood as nations) shall see and rise, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, for the sake of the Lord Who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, and He chose you (understood as the nation and not one person)." 8 So said the Lord, "In a time of favor I answered you, and on a day of salvation I helped you; and I will watch you, and I will make you for a people of a covenant, to establish a land, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages. 13 Sing, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, and mountains burst out in song, for the Lord has consoled His people, and He shall have mercy on His afflicted. 14 But Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me." 15 Shall a woman forget her suckling child, from having mercy on the child of her womb? These too shall forget, but I will not forget you (again referring to the nation).
4 Fear not, for you shall not be ashamed, and not embarrassed, for you shall not be put to shame; for the shame of your youth you shall forget, and for the humiliation of your widowhood you shall no longer be remembered. 5 Nor your maker is your husband; the Lord Hosts is His name, and your redeemer the Holy One of Israel shall be called the God of all the earth. 6 For like a wife who is forsaken and afflicted in spirit has the Lord called you, and a wife of one’s youth who was rejected, said your God. 7 For a small moment have I forsaken you, and with great mercy will I gather you.
11 O thou afflicted, who was not consoled, behold I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
14 With righteousness shall you be established, for you will be far from oppression, for you will not fear; and from ruin, for it will not come near you.
17 No weapon that is formed against you will prosper, and any tongue that rises against you in judgement, you shall condemn; this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their righteousness is from Me, says the Lord.
Understandably, one's familiarity with the chapters that precede and follow Isaiah 53 will determine the conclusions individuals come to regarding this crucial scriptural text. Those who are only familiar with this chapter (Isa 53) often wonder how anyone can conclude that Isaiah is speaking of anyone else but Yeshua. On the other hand, those who read Isaiah 53 in context, with its surrounding chapters as its backdrop, have difficulty understanding how anyone can honestly conclude that Isaiah 53 is speaking of anything else but the nation of Israel.
14 The sons of them (Gentiles) that afflicted you shall come bending unto you; and all they that despised you shall bow themselves down at the soles of your feet; and they shall call you, the city of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15 Whereas you have been forsaken and despised, with no passerby, I will make you an everlasting pride, the joy of every generation.
2 Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call to her, for she has become full from her host, for her iniquity has been appeased, for she has taken from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins (from the Gentiles).
15 And I am very angry with the nations that are at ease, for I was wroth a little, and they helped to do harm.
4 For so said the Lord God, "My people first went down to Egypt to sojourn there, but Assyria oppressed him without cause. 5 And now, what have I here," says the Lord, "that My people have been taken for nothing, his rulers boast," says the Lord, "and constantly all day My name is blasphemed."
2 And the Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory, and you shall be called a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall pronounce. 3 And you shall be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord and a Kingly crown on the land of your God. 4 No longer shall "Forsaken" be said of you, and "Desolate" shall no longer be said of your land, for you shall be called "My desire is in her," and your land, "Inhabited," for the Lord desires you, and your land shall be inhabited.
12 And they shall call them the holy people, those redeemed by the Lord, and you shall be called, "Sought, a city not forsaken."
These above passages, some before Isaiah 53, and some afterwards, all show one thing. The Gentile nations of the world despised, abandoned, and afflicted God’s Servant. All passages have one thing in common as well....namely; that those who were called “desolate, forsaken, afflicted, humiliated, despised, etc., refer to the collective people of Israel and cannot be applied as if referring to one man...namely Yeshua.
It is sad to say, but attempts of many Gentile Christians over the ages, in order to change the original messages of the Hebrew prophets, have altered the text of your Bible and its translation to create their own theology. This is every evident to the "informed believer." You can investigate this for yourself not only below in this website when we deal with the alteration of the "Messianic prophecies" in the Christian's Bibles, but at the following websites:
http://geocities.com/faithofyeshua
http://faithofyeshua.faithweb.com
http://bennoah1.freewebsites.com
Let us investigate on a smaller scale in this article.
It was shocking for me to finally admit that many Christian Bible translators have altered the texts of the Christian’s Bible for ulterior motives and goals. It occurs way more often than you could imagine. For example, Isaiah 52 was altered by Christian translators because this chapter is crucial as it serves as an indictment against the Christianization of Isaiah 53. The close relationship between Isaiah 52 and 53 is outstanding because the theme, poetic structure and motif of Isaiah 53 closely mimics the illustrative language of Isaiah 52. In addition, the chapter break between Isaiah 52 and 53 is completely artificial. If Isaiah 52 is translated correctly, it is difficult to ignore the parallelism between these two chapters. Corresponding to Isaiah 53, Isaiah 52 clearly identifies Israel in the singular, suffering innocently as a result of the destructive arrogance and spiritual recklessness of the gentile nations as well as Gentile Christianity.
The (KJV) King James Version of the Bible and the (NIV) New International Version translators were certainly concerned about how Bible readers would accept the notion that Isaiah 53 is referring to Yeshua, when Isaiah 52 so clearly describes the corporate nation of Israel as a single individual, innocently suffering as a result of the iniquity and sinful behavior of the nations of the world.
Answer for yourself: How did Christianity deal with this when printing their own Bibles..the Bibles like you most likely carry?
Get ready! Unscrupulous Christian translators, in effort to preserve their theology over truth, reconstructed crucial parts of the first half of Isaiah 52 so as not to resemble Isaiah 53’s theme and poetic language.
For example, in Isaiah 52:4 the prophet recounts that “Assyria oppressed him [Israel the corporate nation as again spoken of in the singular] without a cause” As I have already attested, this concept that the nation of Israel innocently suffering as a single individual in Isaiah 52 is precisely the underlying theme of Isaiah 53.
Again, in Isaiah 52:4 the prophet speaks of the Jewish people in the singular as does Isaiah 53. Thus the NIV altered the text by removing the most offensive words of this verse. The NIV therefore reads: “lately, Assyria has oppressed them.” The crucial words “without cause” have been removed.
Again, and even more important, the KJV as well as the NIV change the singular pronoun “him” in this verse to “them.”
Answer for yourself: Why would they change the Hebrew “him” into “them” in Isaiah 52:4?
Answer for yourself: Again, can you begin to see that we who owned Christian Bibles were set up in hopes when we read Isaiah we might not make the connection that the singular pronoun “him,” as used in such close proximity in Isaiah 52 where it means the corporate nation of Israel, would carry over in our thoughts when we read Isaiah 53?
In Isaiah 52:5 the Hebrew word “moshlov” means “his rulers,” referring to the nation of Israel’s rulers. The nation of Israel once again is spoken of in the singular. Therefore, the KJV and NIV translators again change the singular pronoun “his” into the plural “them.”
Isaiah 52:4 in Hebrew
Assyria oppressed him without cause
Isaiah 52:4 in the KJV
the Assyrian oppressed them without cause
Isaiah 52:4 in the NIV
lately, Assyria has oppressed them
Answer for yourself: Do you see for yourself the efforts expended in changing the Word of God so as to destroy your ability to connect the singular pronouns of Isaiah 53 with corporate Israel?
Isaiah 52:5 in Hebrew
his rulers boast
Isaiah 52:5 in the KJV
they that rule over them make them howl
Isaiah 52:5 in the NIV
and those who rule them mock
Answer for yourself: Can you again see such lengths taken (changing “his” [singular] to “them [plural] by Christian Bible translators to change the Holy Word of God in order that you will accept their interpretation (that Isaiah 53 refers to Yeshua instead of Israel) instead of what God originally intended the texts to teach?
Answer for yourself: Can you begin to see how such drastic steps were take as altering, adding, and deleting from the Word of God in order to make sure that when your read Isaiah 52 you don't interpret the Suffering Servant as the nation of Israel?
The KJV therefore reads, “rule over them.” The irony of all this Bible-tampering is that these Christian translators changed the singular reference to Israel in Isaiah 52 into the plural and the plural references in Isaiah 53 into the singular. All this was done in the name of religion. Such is the strength of anti-Semitism masquerading in religion.
Answer for yourself: So how come as Christians we don't know this when we read our Christian Bibles?
The answer is quite simple. When we bought a Bible we went to a Christian Book Store and bought what we were told and believed to be the infallible written Word of God. But as I have shown you, unless you compare the Old Testament writing in your Christian Bible with the Jewish Scriptures from the Jewish Publication House and their Hebrew Bible, we cannot know if there are errors or changes in our Christian Bibles that led us astray from the intended meaning of the text when first given by God.
Answer for yourself: How many of you can actually say that when you go to church you compare every passage quoted in the New Testament from the Hebrew Scriptures with the original Jewish Scriptures?
Answer for yourself: Before now, were you aware that such alterations, additions, and deletions occurred in your Christian Bibles?
Answer for yourself: Can we be confident that when reading from a Christian Bible that the passage we are reading in the Old Testament is accurately translated from the Hebraic original? No! The examples given in this article is but the tip of the iceberg!
Let us continue.