Isaiah 53:11 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 53:11
He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
to see · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
travail
מֵעֲמַ֤לme.'a.Mal
H5999
toil · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct
soul
נַפְשׁוֹ֙naf.Sho
H5315
properly · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
satisfied
יִשְׂבָּ֔עyis.Ba'
H7646
to sate · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
knowledge
בְּדַעְתּ֗וֹbe.da'.To
H1847
knowledge · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
righteous
צַדִּ֛יקtza.Dik
H6662
just · adjective, masculine singular absolute
servant
עַבְדִּ֖י'av.Di
H5650
a servant · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
justify
יַצְדִּ֥יקyatz.Dik
H6663
to be (causatively · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
many
לָֽרַבִּ֑יםla.ra.Bim
H7227
abundant (in quantity · preposition with the article + adjective, masculine plural absolute
bear
יִסְבֹּֽלyis.Bol
H5445
to carry (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
iniquities
וַעֲוֹנֹתָ֖םva.'a.vo.no.Tam
H5771
perversity · conjunction + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Romans 5:18-19 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon a…
Isaiah 53:4-6 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye…
Revelation 5:9-10 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us…
Isaiah 53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unt…
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but qu…
John 12:27-32 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 53:10–end
In the foregoing verses the prophet had testified very particularly of the sufferings of Christ, yet mixing some hints of the happy issue of them; here he again mentions his sufferings, but largely foretels the glory that should follow. We may observe, in these verses,
I. The services and sufferings of Christ's state of humiliation. Come, and see how he loved us, see what he did for us.
1. He submitted to the frowns of Heaven (Isa 53:10): Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him, to put him to pain, or torment, or grief. The scripture nowhere says that Christ is his sufferings underwent the wrath of God; but it says here, (1.) That the Lord bruised him, not only permitted men to bruise him, but…
Jehovah is still speaking.
see of the travail--He shall see such blessed fruits resulting from His sufferings as amply to repay Him for them (Isa 49:4-5; Isa 50:5, Isa 50:9). The "satisfaction," in seeing the full fruit of His travail of soul in the conversion of Israel and the world, is to be realized in the last days (Isa 2:2-4).
his knowledge--rather, the knowledge (experimentally) of Him (Joh 17:3; Phi 3:10).
my . . . servant--Messiah (Isa 42:1; Isa 52:13).
righteous--the ground on which He justifies others, His own righteousness (Jo1 2:1).
justify--treat as if righteous; forensically; on the ground of His meritorious suffering, not their righteousness.
bear . . . iniquities-…
Shall be satisfied "And be satisfied" - The Septuagint, Vulgate, Sryiac, and a MS. add the conjunction to the verb, וישבע vaigisba.
Shall my righteous servant justify "Shall my servant justify" - Three MSS., (two of them ancient), omit the word צדיק tsaddik; it seems to be only an imperfect repetition, by mistake, of the preceding word. It makes a solecism in this place; for according to the constant usage of the Hebrew language, the adjective, in a phrase of this kind, ought to follow the substantive; and צדיק עבדי tsaddik abdi, in Hebrew, would be as absurd as "shall my servant righteous justify," in English. Add to this, that it makes the hemistich too long.
The Church Fathers
However, I will show [Marcion] the death and burial and resurrection of Christ all indicated in a single sentence of Isaiah, who says, "His sepulchre was removed from the midst of them." Now there could have been no sepulchre without death and no removal of sepulchre except by resurrection.… "He shall divide the spoil of many, because he poured out his soul to death." For here is set forth the cause of this favor to him, even that it was to recompense him for his death.
If the Lord of heaven and earth underwent all his sufferings for us, how then do you make a difficulty to minister to such as are in want, who ought to imitate him who underwent servitude, and want, and stripes and the cross for us? We ought therefore also to serve the brethren, in imitation of Christ. For says he, "He who will be great among you, let him be your minister; and he who will be first among you, let him be your servant." For so did he really, and not in word only, fulfill the prediction of "serving many faithfully."
He has bought us with his own blood. He endured the cross, despising its shame, so that he might win our salvation. Therefore bow your necks to his yoke. For your soul will see the fruitful seed, that is, you will be sharers in those being kept for eternal life, that is, the saints who have been enriched with the hope of eternal life. For there was no idea of the resurrection of the dead among the Greeks, and the mystery until now was not set forth. They all but said that the breath in your no nostrils is smoke that is burning. All the ashes will disappear, and the spirit like a weak person will be dissolved.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Covenant — A contract or agreement between two parties. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word berith is always thus translated. Berith is derived from a root which means “to cut,” and hence a covenant is a…
Humiliation of Christ — (Phil. 2:8), seen in (1) his birth (Gal. 4:4; Luke 2:7; John 1:46; Heb. 2:9), (2) his circumstances, (3) his reputation (Isa. 53; Matt. 26:59, 67; Ps. 22:6; Matt. 26:68), (4) his soul (Ps. 22:1;…
Perseverance of the saints — Their certain continuance in a state of grace. Once justified and regenerated, the believer can neither totally nor finally fall away from grace, but will certainly persevere therein and attain…
Prophecy — Or prediction, was one of the functions of the prophet. It has been defined as a “miracle of knowledge, a declaration or description or representation of something future, beyond the power of human…
Atonement, The · Foretold — Foretold
Christ, Character Of · Righteous — Righteous
Justification · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Justification Before God · Promised in Christ — Promised in Christ
Offerings · .A type of Christ — .A type of Christ
Scape Goat, The · Typical of Christ — Typical of Christ
Sorrow · Of Jesus — Of Jesus
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Gill on Isaiah 53:11
He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied,.... "The travail of his soul" is the toil and labour he endured, in working out the salvation of his people; his obedience and death, his sorrows and sufferings; particularly those birth throes of his soul, under a sense of divine wrath, for the allusion is to women in travail; and all the agonies and pains of death which he went through. Now the fruit of all this he sees with inexpressible pleasure, and which gives him an infinite satisfaction; namely, the complete redemption of all the chosen ones, and the glory of the divine perfections displayed therein, as well as his own glory, which follows upon it; particularly this wil…
From the labor of his soul he shall see. Isaiah continues the same subject. He declares that Christ, after having suffered, shall obtain the fruit of his death in the salvation of men. When he says, "He shall see," we must supply the words, "Fruit and Efficacy." This is full of the sweetest consolation; for Isaiah could not have better expressed the infinite love of Christ toward us than by declaring that he takes the highest delight in our salvation, and that he rests in it as the fruit of his labors, as he who has obtained his wish rests in that which he most ardently desired; for no person can be said to be satisfied but he who has obtained what he wished so earnestly as to disregard ever…
This great work of salvation lies as the great object of His calling in the hand of the deceased and yet eternally living One, and goes on victoriously through His mediation. He now reaps the fruit of His self-sacrifice in a continuous priestly course. "Because of the travail of His soul, He will see, and be refreshed; through His knowledge will He procure justice, my righteous servant, for the many, and will take their iniquities upon Himself." The prophecy now leaves the standpoint of Israel's retrospective acknowledgment of the long rejected Servant of God, and becomes once more the prophetic organ of God Himself, who acknowledges the servant as His own. The min of מעמל might be used here…
his experience (literally his knowledge): This clearly does not refer to intellectual knowledge but to all that the servant would experience in his obedience, suffering, and intimate relationship with God. • The servant’s righteous obedience enables people to be put right with God (see Gen 15:6; Rom 5:18-19), for he will bear all their sins.
Rashi on Isaiah 53:11
From the toil of his soul he would eat and be satisfied, and he would not rob and plunder.
with his knowledge...would vindicate the just My servant would judge justly all those who came to litigate before him.
and their iniquities he would bear He would bear, in the manner of all the righteous, as it is said (Num. 18:1): “You and your sons shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary.”
