מִי הֶאֱמִין לִשְׁמֻעָתֵנוּ וּזְרוֹעַ ה' עַל מִי נִגְלָתָה!

Many people will express their shock when they see the exalted status of the servant of God: Who would believe our report of this redemption? Upon whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? See how God’s power has been revealed through His nation, which had been seemingly rejected.

וַיַּעַל כַּיּוֹנֵק לְפָנָיו וְכַשֹּׁרֶשׁ מֵאֶרֶץ צִיָּה לֹא תֹאַר לוֹ וְלֹא הָדָר וְנִרְאֵהוּ וְלֹא מַרְאֶה וְנֶחְמְדֵהוּ

He rose like a sapling before Him, and like a root that sprouts from arid ground. The servant of God will appear in an entirely unexpected fashion. Previously, no form nor grandeur was his; we looked upon him and there was nothing seen, but we nevertheless desired him.This interpretation is supported by the traditional cantillation notes. However, many interpret the verse as follows: He had no form nor grandeur that we should desire him, or as though the verse states: And we did not desire him.

נִבְזֶה וַחֲדַל אִישִׁים אִישׁ מַכְאֹבוֹת וִידוּעַ חֹלִי וּכְמַסְתֵּר פָּנִים מִמֶּנּוּ נִבְזֶה וְלֹא חֲשַׁבְנֻהוּ

Spurned and unmanned, that is, lacking strength, a man of constant pains, disease-ridden and appearing as one concealing his face from us out of embarrassment or out of a sense of impurity. Alternatively, the verse means that he acted as though we did not exist; or, he appeared as though God hid His face from him; or, everyone who saw him turned their face from him and ignored his suffering. He was spurned, and we did not regard him because of his lowly stature.

אָכֵן חֳלָיֵנוּ הוּא נָשָׂא וּמַכְאֹבֵינוּ סְבָלָם וַאֲנַחְנוּ חֲשַׁבְנֻהוּ נָגוּעַ מֻכֵּה אֱלֹהִים וּמְעֻנֶּה

Indeed, the true explanation for his misery is that he bore our illnesses and carried our pains; he bore the suffering of the entire world. But we regarded him as plagued, struck by God and afflicted. We thought that God struck him due to his own shortcomings, but in truth he suffered in order to atone for the sins of the entire world. According to Radak, the servant of God does not actually suffer for the sins of the world, as such a belief would seem to contradict basic principles of Jewish faith. Rather, this verse represents the mistaken assumption of the nations of the world that the servant suffered for their sins.

וְהוּא מְחֹלָל מִפְּשָׁעֵנוּ מְדֻכָּא מֵעֲוֹנֹתֵינוּ מוּסַר שְׁלוֹמֵנוּ עָלָיו וּבַחֲבֻרָתוֹ נִרְפָּא לָנוּ

But he was wounded by our transgressions, subdued by our iniquities, the chastisement for our well-being was on him. The suffering that should have been brought upon us was visited upon him as the price for our well-being. And through his wounds we were healed; his suffering affected atonement for the entire world.

כֻּלָּנוּ כַּצֹּאן תָּעִינוּ אִישׁ לְדַרְכּוֹ פָּנִינוּ וַה' הִפְגִּיעַ בּוֹ אֵת עֲוֹן כֻּלָּנוּ

All of us strayed like sheep, each of us turned to his own way, apathetic to the consequences of our actions, and the Lord has inflicted upon him the iniquity of us all.

נִגַּשׂ וְהוּא נַעֲנֶה וְלֹא יִפְתַּח פִּיו כַּשֶּׂה לַטֶּבַח יוּבָל וּכְרָחֵל לִפְנֵי גֹזְזֶיהָ נֶאֱלָמָה וְלֹא יִפְתַּח פִּיו

He is oppressed by others and he submits to his oppressors, but he would not open his mouth; he is like a sheep that does not resist as it is led to slaughter, and like a ewe silent before its shearers, he would not open his mouth. He is accustomed to bearing his suffering in silence.

מֵעֹצֶר וּמִ מִּשְׁפָּט לֻקָּח וְאֶת דּוֹרוֹ מִי יְשׂוֹחֵחַ כִּי נִגְזַר מֵאֶרֶץ חַיִּים מִפֶּשַׁע עַמִּי נֶגַע לָמוֹ

He was taken from the place of his incarceration and the place of his judgment. Alternatively, the verse means: Israel was deprived of ruler and judge, or: Israel was deprived of the protection of rulers and judges. With whom of his generation, or those in his surroundings, will he converse? No one is interested in having any contact with him; alternatively, no one is interested in inquiring about the community’s relationship with him. For the nations say about him: He, the servant of God, was cut from the land of the living, due to the transgression of my people. A plague will come upon them, Israel. Alternatively, the verse means: The servant of God was excised from the land due to the transgressions of those nations upon which a plague should have come.

וַיִּתֵּן אֶת רְשָׁעִים קִבְרוֹ וְאֶת עָשִׁיר בְּמֹתָיו עַל לֹא חָמָס עָשָׂה וְלֹא מִרְמָה בְּפִיו

His grave was put by the nations with the wicked; they buried him in a disgraceful manner, among the wicked, though he was among the rich at his death. They killed him simply out of jealousy over his wealth or over the libelous claim that he became rich by taking advantage of others, but it was for no villainy that he performed and no deceit that was in his mouth.

וַה' חָפֵץ דַּכְּאוֹ הֶחֱלִי אִם תָּשִׂים אָשָׁם נַפְשׁוֹ יִרְאֶה זֶרַע יַאֲרִיךְ יָמִים וְחֵפֶץ ה' בְּיָדוֹ יִצְלָח

The Lord desired to reduce him until he was afflicted with disease. If he would accept guilt upon himself and view his suffering as atonement for his sins, he would eventually see descendants, prolong his days, and the desire of the Lord would succeed at his hand.

מֵעֲמַל נַפְשׁוֹ יִרְאֶה יִשְׂבָּע בְּדַעְתּוֹ יַצְדִּיק צַדִּיק עַבְדִּי – לָרַבִּים וַעֲוֹנֹתָם הוּא יִסְבֹּל

From his life’s toil he will see misfortune, and he will be satisfied through troubles. Many commentaries understand this phrase as a continuation of the preceding verse: Through his suffering, he will experience goodness and he will be satisfied; alternatively: He supported himself by his own labors without taking from anyone else. By his knowledge and of his own free will, he will vindicate My servant the righteous one to the multitudes of nations, and he will bear their iniquities.

לָכֵן אֲחַלֶּק לוֹ בָרַבִּים וְאֶת עֲצוּמִים יְחַלֵּק שָׁלָל תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱרָה לַמָּוֶת נַפְשׁוֹ וְאֶת פֹּשְׁעִים נִמְנָה הוּא חֵטְא רַבִּים נָשָׂא וְלַפֹּשְׁעִים יַפְגִּיעַ

Therefore, in the future I will allot him a good portion among the multitudes and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty before their eyes, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors, as in truth he bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.