This claim is based on a terrible mistranslation in Christian versions. Most Christian translations make it appear that the suffering servant "was wounded for our transgressions." This would seem to fit Jesus who is described as beaten and even pierced in the side by his tormentors. The only problem is that is not what Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:5 says. The servant is not pained FOR the gentile nations (or anyone else). The servant is pained BECAUSE OF those people. "He was pained because of our rebellious sins and oppressed through our (because of our) iniquities; the chastisement upon him was for our benefit, and through his wounds we were healed." Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:5. Because of what those people DID to the servant the servant was pained. It is because of the transgressions, sins, wrong-doings of the speakers that the servant suffered. The servant is oppressed through (because of) the iniquities of the speakers. וְהוּא֙ מְחֹלָ֣ל מִפְּשָׁעֵ֔נוּ מְדֻכָּ֖א מֵעֲוֹנֹתֵ֑ינוּ מוּסַ֤ר שְׁלֹומֵ֙נוּ֙ עָלָ֔יו וּבַחֲבֻרָתֹ֖ו נִרְפָּא־לָֽנוּ׃ The Hebrew in Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:5 uses the prepositions מִ and מֵ which are abbreviations of מִן / min which should be translated here as "because of." The modern Christian translation the NET Bible agrees. It translates Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:5 as "He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed." and a footnote in the "NET bible says: “The preposition…has a causal sense (translated “because of”) here and in the following clause.” (NET Bible footnote 15)." The mistranslation of "for" our transgressions (when it should be "because of") stems from an English grammatical issue, not a Hebrew issue. In English the word "for" can be a preposition or as a conjunction. When used as a preposition for it can mean "on behalf of" -- which is the way most Christians perceive its use in Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:5. However, when "for" is used as a conjunction (which is the use in the Hebrew of Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:5) "for" is not a preposition, it is a conjunction it means "because" or "since." The American Heritage Dictionary. Translations are tricky things and the use of "for" is misleading to readers. Let's return to the Hebrew that actually appears in Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:5. Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:5 uses the prepositions מִ and מֵ which are abbreviations of מִן / min. In Hebrew מִן (min) can mean: from, because of, of, out of, since, and than. Which English word should be used in a translation depends on the context of the sentence and surrounding words. Want to check that the NET Bible (Christian) and various Jewish translations including the Artscroll Stone Edition T'nach, the Judaica Press T'nach, 1985 Jewish Publication Society T'nach among a few are correct in translating Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:5 as "because of"? Check translations of your favorite translations of the bible and look for places where the preposition מִן (min), or its prefixed versions מִ־ (mi-) or מֵ־ (mei-) is translated as the preposition "for" as in the context of "on behalf of" You will not find it. Missionaries may opine that "the Jews changed it." That is easily disproved. The Great Isaiah Scroll is an ancient copy dating to 356-103 BCE per carbon dating -- a hundred to hundreds of years before Jesus' supposed birth. It also has the מִ (mem) found in Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:5. There are spelling differences in the Great Isaiah Scroll's verse 5, but the spellings do not change the meaning whatsoever. My only reason for commenting on this is to point out that the Great Isaiah Scroll for Isaiah 53:5 doesn't turn "because of" into "for". It is a מ / mem in all of those instances in both the Masoretic Text (the bible with vowel notations) and the ancient copy which preceded Christianity. No one changed the meaning. To understand Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53 one must know "who is speaking?" as well as "who is the suffering servant?"
Most Christian translations including the King James Version and NIV make it seem as if the servant in is suffering the sins of others -- a concept known as vicarious atonement.
Vicarious (substitutionary) atonement is the idea that Jesus took the place of mankind, suffering the penalty for sin and thanks to the mistranslation of Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:5 the T'nach (bible) seems to agree with this Christian concept. Unfortunately for this Christian concept it is totally unbiblical. The T'nach (bible) forbids vicarious (substitutionary) atonement from humans time and time and time again. Read T'hillim / Psalm 116:15 "Grievous in the eyes of the L-rd is the death of His pious ones." Vicarious (substitutionary) atonement of people is more than foreign. It is forbidden. See Sh'mot / Exodus 32:33 ""Whoever has sinned against Me, him I will erase from My book."" The Jewish position is that repentance is the key component in the atonement process. When man repents, G-d forgives. Time and again the T'nach (bible) teaches us that each of us is responsible for our own sins. Animal sacrifices are an acceptable method (substitutionary) for some types of sins -- generally unintentional mistakes (you tried to do the right thing and "missed" or some very specific wrongdoings such as entering the Temple grounds without a ritual bath). . . Major individual sins could never be atoned for with sacrifices and the T'nach (bible) makes it clear that even those sacrifices are not the preferred method to atone. In Micha 6: 1-8 we are told: “With what shall I come before the L-rd, bow before the Most High G-d? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Will the L-rd be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriad streams of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”, G-d tells Micah "NO." כִּ֣י אִם־עֲשֹׂ֤ות -- to do justice and love kindness, and walking humbly with your G-d. The prophet Micah states (speaking for G-d) that G-d desires obedience, justice, love and kindness -- not sacrifices. Even in bringing a sacrifice (which had to be a domestic kosher animal, or sometimes flour) there were many things that added up in the atonement process. Sacrifice without obedience was useless. Obedience without sacrifice when sacrifice was required and possible, was useless. Obedience without sacrifice when sacrifice was never required or when sacrifice wasn't possible - was and is sufficient in and of itself, since it's all that G-d requires when sacrifices cannot be offered (see Hoshea / Hosea 14:2-3, Yechezkel / Ezekiel 18/33). More serious wrongdoings could NOT be atoned for with a blood sacrifice and human sacrifice was totally forbidden. No one can atone for another person. Torah vehemently FORBIDS human vicarious atonement (e.g., Sh'mot / Exodus 32:31-33; Bamidbar / Numbers 35:33; D'varim / Deuteronomy 24:16; M'lachim Beit / 2 Kings 14:6; Y'rmiyahu / Jeremiah 31:29 [30 in a Christian translation]; Y'chezkel / Ezekiel 18:4,20; T'hillim / Psalms 49:7). Human sacrifices are strictly forbidden in Torah (e.g., Vayikra / Leviticus 18:21, 24-25; D'varim / Deuteronomy 18:10; Y'rmiyahu / Jeremiah 7:31, 19: 5; and Y'chezkel / Ezekiel 23:37, 39). The servant who suffers vicariously does so because of the evil done by others to him (them), not "for" them. The suffering of good people is witnessed by others who, hopefully, will learn from the evil being done to innocent people. G-d does not dictate the suffering of the innocent for the sins of others -- indeed we are told that this is forbidden in the Torah. The suffering of innocents is the result of the free will of evil people. The bible speaks about this suffering, and that one day the evil doers will realize the evil they have done and pay a price for it. This one is completely fictional on the part of the list maker. Only you can atone for your sins (either individually or as part of your community). Here is a translation along with the Artscroll Stone Edition footnotes at the bottom of each response to aid in your understanding of the passage. Y'shayahu / Isaiah 52:13 Behold, My servant will succeed; he will be exalted and become high and exceedingly lofty. 14 Just as multitudes were astonished over you (saying) "His appearance is too marred to be a man's, and his visage to be human, 15 so will the many nations exclaim about him, and kings will shut their mouths (in amazement) for they will see that which had never been told to them, and will perceive things they had never heard. 53:1 Who would believe what we have heard! For whom has the arm of HaShem been revealed? 2 In the past he grew like a sapling or like the root from dry ground; he had neither form nor beauty. We saw him, but without a desirable appearance. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of pains and accustomed to being sick. As one from whom we would hide our faces; he was despised and we had no regard for him. 4 But in truth it was our ills and he carried our pains -- but we had regarded him diseased, stricken by G-d and afflicted! 5 He was wounded as a result (because of) our rebellious transgressions, and oppressed as a result our iniquities. The chastisement upon him was for our benefit, and through his wounds we were healed. 6 We have all strayed like sheep each of us turning his own way and HaShem inflicted upon him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was persecuted and afflicted but did not open his mouth; like a sheep being led to the slaughter or a ewe that is silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth. 8 he was removed far away from the land where they lived and a plague came upon them (לָֽמוֹ / lamo) through the transgression of my people (the gentile nations). He submitted to the grave with the wicked and joined with the wealthy in his executions (בְּמֹתָ֑יו / b'motav) 9 He submitted himself to his grave like evil men; and the wealthy (submitted) to his executions for committing no crime and with no deceit in his mouth. 10 HaShem desired to oppress him and He afflicted him; if his physical being would acknowledge guilt he would see offspring and live long days and the desire or HaShem would succeed in his hand. 11. He (he servant) would see (the purpose) and be satisfied with his life's (not immortal soul) distress. With his knowledge My servant will cause the multitudes to be righteous; it is their וַעֲוֹנתָם / iniquities (for impulsive, lustful wrongdoings) that he will carry. 12. Therefore, I will assign him a portion in public and he will divide the mighty as spoils -- in return for having poured out his life for death and being counted among the wicked, for he bore the sin of the many, and prayed for the wicked. Footnotes from Artscroll Stone Edition: Isaiah 52:13 i.e. G-d's servant the people of Israel (Rashi) 52:15 Just as Israel had once been astonishingly degraded, so it will astonish the nations by its exaltedness when the time of redemption arrives. 53:1-3 this is the prophecy foretelling what the nations and their kings will exclaim when they witness Israel's rejuvenation. The nations will contrast their former scornful attitude toward the Jews (vv. 1-3) with their new realization of Israel's grandeur (vv 4-7). 53:5 we brought suffering upon Israel for our own selfish purposes; it was not, as we had claimed, that G-d was punishing Israel for its own evil behavior. 53:6 We sinned by inflicting punishment upon Israel. Such oppression is often described as "Hashem's punishment" (see 10:5, Habakkuk 1:12), for He decreed that it should happen (Abarbanel). 53:8 When Israel's exile is finally ended the nations will marvel that such a generation could have survived the expulsion from "the land of the living, i.e. Israel, that the nations had sinfully inflicted upon it. 53:9 Ordinary Jews chose to die like common criminals, rather than renounce their faith; and wealthy Jews were killed for no reason other than to enable their wicked conquerors to confiscate their riches (Radak). 53:10 That is, Israel. G-d replies to the nations that Israel's suffering was a punishment for its own sins; and when the people realize this and repent, they will be redeemed and rewarded. 53:11 Israel will teach the nations of G-d's righteousness.
3 Comments
Terry Fryrear
12/23/2017 07:37:59 pm
I'm curious about Isaiah 53:3. What you have posted from Artscroll says "he" twice in this verse. However, I do not see the pronoun "hu" in the hebrew. Is this a matter of the translators discretion? Or is I am missing how the masculine pronoun is implied through other grammatical functions?
Reply
The translation is: "He was despised and isolated from men, a man of pains and accustomed to illness. As one from whom we would hide our faces; he was despise and we had no regard for him."
Reply
james
6/3/2019 06:21:58 am
"doesnt need to be identical to sacrifice just needs to be used as one. the persons soul/life is used as the asham in 53:10 and this soul/life is poured out unto death in 53:12"
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Photos used under Creative Commons from dionhinchcliffe, paulasenciogonzalez, paulasenciogonzalez, amy32080, petersbar, Aaron Stokes, amboo who?, Damian Gadal, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region, SharonaGott, Udo Schröter, paulasenciogonzalez, Joybot, zeevveez, ianmunroe, freeqstyler, quinn.anya, Ivy Nichols, Groman123, UnknownNet Photography, torbakhopper, “Caveman Chuck” Coker, CarbonNYC [in SF!], dgoomany, Lion Multimedia Production U.S.A., oldandsolo, dbeck03