THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
ISAIAH

1 Namely, among the Jews. It is as much as if the prophet said: There are very few, almost none at all. In the texts John 12:38 and Rom. 10:16 the word Lord is added, to show that it is a complaint unto God.

a John 12:38; Rom. 10:16.

2 Hebr. our hearing, that is, our sermons, as Rom. 10:16. They are the words of the teachers of the New Testament, namely, of Christ and His apostles, as may be gathered from the words of Christ, John 12:37, 38.

3 That is, how few Jews are there in whose hearts the Holy Ghost works effectually by the preaching of the Holy Gospel, namely also, that He grants them with true faith in Jesus Christ.

4 As if he said: From the lowliness and from the base and contemptible state wherein Christ came into the world, they take occasion to despise Christ; for, the Jews did imagine to themselves such a messiah who would come and appear in royal splendor, but this Christ comes poor and lowly, as a young sprig or tender branch. See Isa. 4:2; 11:1.

5 Namely, according to His human nature.

6 Namely, before the countenance of God His Father. Some understand it before the face of this unbelieving people of the Jews, who never thought that this young Branch, or as a tender Plant, would grow up in time to be a great and tall Tree.

7 This may be applied to the low and contemptible state of the house of David, when Christ sprung forth from it, or to the small beginnings of His Kingdom, in respect whereof it could not be believed that He would ever grow up to be a great and fruitful Tree, but more so that He would be kept under, as seed that is cast into a dry ground, withered for lack of moisture; or, as the root of a tree, which is planted in a dry ground, cannot grow up, the tree being cut down.

8 Hebr. out of a land of drought.

9 Because of His low estate, the wounds and lashes, the blood and drops of sweat, as also manifold other miseries that disfigured His countenance.

b beauty*

10 Namely, we Jews.

11 Or, form.

12 Namely, according to carnal eyes, and human judgment or understanding.

13 Or, he was contemptible and rejected of men, namely, of such men as were advanced to honor and dignity.

c Psalm 22:6, 7; Isa. 49:7; 52:14; Mark 9:12.

14 Or, So unworthy, that He was continually rejected of men.

15 That is, a Man full of sorrows.

16 Hebr. one that is known of sickness, that is, Who has had acquaintance what sickness is, Heb. 4:15. Or, Who was renowned by his misery and grief, being all weary and weak by reason of the torments inflicted upon Him. The Hebrew word which is here rendered grief signifies also generally sorrow or misery, as Eccl. 6:2; Jer. 10:19; and it may be taken as such throughout this chapter.

17 Other, and as it were hiding the face from us.

18 The meaning is: By reason of His miserable and contemptible state, He was not only denied His due honor, but they have utterly despised Him.

19 We Jews, we mocked and derided Him, or, set him at nought. See Mat. 27:39, etc.

20 Or, Nevertheless, as if he said: But to speak the truth, we have done Him wrong, and we are in a great error; for thus stands the case with the Messiah for our sakes, He has taken all our spiritual maladies, that is, sins, upon Him, to make satisfaction for them, whereof the bodily cure or healing was a type and figure, Mat. 8:17.

21 Paying, as the Surety, the debt which we had made.

d Mat. 8:17.

22 Or, laden upon Himself, and carried them as a heavy burden.

23 Namely we Jews, being greatly mistaken and judging according to our corrupt and perverse judgment, we thought that He suffered all this because He had deserved it by His own sins and transgressions; but it is quite otherwise, as appears in verse 5. Hebr. we esteemed him a plagued one, a smitten of God, and an afflicted one.

24 Or, was touched. See Job 19 on verse 21.

e Rom. 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:3.

25 Hebr. the punishment of our peace, that is, He was punished that we by Him might obtain perfect peace of God, Who was at enmity with us because of our sins. Understand additionally: and the chastisement continued still upon Him, until He had fully satisfied for us.

26 In order that we are freed from sin and punishment.

f 1 Peter 2:24.

27 That is, we have all gone astray from the way which God did prescribe us in His law to walk therein.

28 Not to the way which the LORD had prescribed us, but walking in the way which everyone had chosen for himself. See 1 Peter 2:25.

29 Or, to meet him. Or, he (namely, the Father) lighted upon him, namely, Christ, the iniquity of us all, because that He Himself became freely and willingly the Surety in our stead.

30 Namely, our iniquity, that is, the punishment of our iniquity, which was required of Christ.

31 Testifying by His silence, that He endured all things willingly for our sakes, not opening His mouth to confute the slanders and false accusations of His enemies; also not uttering anything to the prejudice of them who put Him to death, but to our benefit and profit; and praying for them who crucified Him, Luke 23:34.

g Mat. 26:63; 27:12, 14; Mark 14:61; 15:5.

h Acts 8:32.

32 Properly an ewe lamb, or she-lamb. A lamb does not bite nor push him who is going about to kill it, but follows gently his slayer who leads it to the slaughterhouse.

33 Or, out of the prison, or, out of this violent distress. Hebr. out of the shutting up; namely, from the pangs of hell, which Christ felt in the garden of Gethsemane (where He sweat blood), but especially on the cross, when He cried, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Understand this likewise of His resurrection from the dead and when He ascended into heaven unto His heavenly Father.

34 Namely, from the judgment of God, that is, from damnation, which He suffered a long time for us, being become a curse for us, Gal. 3:13. But some do understand here by judgment, the death of the cross whereunto He was adjudged and condemned by the Jews and Pilate, in this sense: Though the Messiah was sentenced to a shameful, yea, an accursed death, yet notwithstanding, the prophet implies, He shall at last be taken up into heaven after He shall have made satisfaction for our sins.

35 Or, the continuance of his life or his age. Understand here, besides the eternity of His Divine Essence, also the everlasting continuance of His Kingdom, forasmuch as God having raised Him up and set Him on His right hand in heavenly places, He lives and reigns forever, and death has no more power or dominion over Him, Luke 1:33; Rom. 6:9. Or, his generation, that is, His children, who shall be spiritually begotten by Him.

36 That is, He was torn away by a violent death, as a tree is hewn down with violence.

37 That is, of them who live in the world. See the annotations at Job 28:13; Psalm 27:13; Isa. 38:11. The meaning is: He was put to death, and laid in the grave.

38 That is, by reason of the sins both of Jews and Gentiles, was He thus smitten and tortured, who otherwise must have justly been punished themselves.

39 They are the prophet’s words.

40 Hebr. the plague was unto him, namely, that punishment, that He was nailed to the cross. As such the Hebrew word mo is also taken in the singular number, Gen. 9:26, 27; Job 20:23; 22:2; Psalm 11:7; Isa. 44:15.

41 Or, Which truly made his grave, etc. Which, namely, the people of Jerusalem.

42 Or, appointed or ordained, that is, they appointed His grave with the wicked, who would watch and guard it. See Mat. 27:63, 64, 65, 66. Others take it in this sense: The wicked Jews indeed conceived that the body of Christ would be put away with the bodies of the thieves, who were crucified with Him, for which with other reasons they desired Pilate to put Him to such a kind of death, but the Providence of God had ordained it otherwise; for, Christ was buried in the grave of Joseph of Arimathæa, a rich and honorable counselor, Mat. 27:60.

43 Or, burial.

44 Or, among.

45 Hebr. in his deaths, in the plural number, that is, according to His violent death. Compare Ezek. 28:10, with the annotation. Or, deaths, because Christ suffered not one, but, as it were, many deaths for us.

46 Or, no injustice, but on the contrary had dealt and walked uprightly, justly and sincerely, both in words and deeds.

i 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5.

47 Namely, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.

48 Namely, for our sins, which laid upon Him, and were to be punished in Him.

49 That is, He put Him too many grieves and sorrows, and laid, as it were, manifold sicknesses and infirmities upon Him. See verse 3.

50 The sense is: When Christ shall have delivered His soul (that is, His Person) for a trespass offering unto death (2 Cor. 5:21), then shall He see His seed increase and multiply, that is, He shall see that believers shall greatly increase and grow by the preaching of the Holy Gospel, namely then especially, after that He, being ascended into heaven, shall have sent down the Holy Ghost upon His apostles, and other teachers of the Holy Gospel. Other, when thou shalt have made his soul a trespass offering then he shall see seed, that is, a great number of believing children, begotten of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God, Psalm 110:3; 1 Peter 1:23.

51 As if he said: The fruit which the Lord Christ shall reap from what was said before, it shall not be short, nor soon pass away, but it shall last and continue forever. See Psalm 23:6.

52 Namely, the work of our redemption and the gathering of the elect out of all nations by the preaching of the Holy Gospel, which then predominantly came to pass after Christ was ascended into heaven, Mat. 28:19.

53 That is, by His ministry, or by His power. See Eph. 4:11, 12, etc.

54 Namely, seed. The meaning is: Christ shall see, that is, obtain and behold with joy and delight, seed, that is children, namely, spiritual children, for or because of His travail and labor. Understand thereby those sorrows which He felt and suffered both in soul and body, when the heavy wrath of God, for the sins of mankind, lay upon Him. Other, he shall see of the travail (fruit or His delight) of his soul. See Psalm 22 on verse 17.

55 That is, He shall enjoy His labor and trouble in the highest degree and fully to His own satisfaction and contentment, for, it is just and equal that a faithful laborer should enjoy the fruits of His own labor. This shall then be done in His own Person, when Christ shall be taken up into the glory of His Father, and shall be exalted at the right hand of His Father. It shall also happen unto His members, when He shall make them partakers of His glory.

56 Understand this knowledge whereby He would be acknowledged and received as a Savior and Mediator between God and man.

57 This is expressed by God the Father. Compare this with Isa. 42:1; 52:13.

58 Namely, He, the Just, suffering for the unjust, 1 Peter 3:18.

59 Bringing about for them pardon of sin and the righteousness which will stand before God.

60 Namely, all those who believe in Him. See Rom. 5:19.

61 Namely, on the tree of the cross, 1 Peter 2:24, as being the Lamb of God, Who bears the sins of the world, John 1:29.

62 Other, Therefore will I give him a portion of many; as if God the Father said: Seeing He has done and suffered so much for mankind (as is related above), I will communicate and distribute unto Him of many; that is, I will give Him many spiritual children and gifts. Other, Therefore will I give him a portion among the great, so that He may be compared with the great and mighty ones. Other, Therefore will I give him the mighty for a portion, namely, the evil spirits. See Col. 2:15.

63 Namely, death, sin, the devil and hell, which prevailed previously and had the upper hand over men, He shall divide them as a prey, that is, conquer them, and deliver His elect out of their hand. Others take it of Christ’s dominion over the mighty of this world; they shall be converted and serve Him. Compare Isa. 52:15.

64 That is, because He suffered Himself willingly to be taken, tortured and killed.

j Mark 15:28; Luke 22:37.

65 So that He was not only crucified between two thieves, but Barabbas, who for murder and sedition was cast into prison, was preferred before Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

66 See verse 11.

67 Saying: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do, Luke 23:34.

k Luke 23:34.