Fourth Servant Song

The Fourth Servant Song is the fourth (obviously) of four poems in the Bible written by the prophet Isaiah concerning the hardships of one unnamed servant. Spanning the Book of Isaiah (NIV), it is claimed to be one of the most striking examples of biblical prophecy.

As a messianic prophecy
New Testament writers claim the verses of Isaiah contain prophecies of Jesus. For example, is inaccurately quoted in wherein it is alleged by Paul that the verse applies to Jesus:

Chapter 53, verse 1, is quoted in where it is alleged that it is a fulfilled prediction of Jesus:

Verses 1 through 3 are identified by biblical inerrancy website 100prophecies.org as predicting that Jesus would be rejected. The passage containing the alleged fulfillment of this prophecy is likely :

is loosely quoted in, which reads, "This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 'He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.'"

are alleged in Christians' statements of faith to acknowledge that Jesus' crucifixion served "as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice," although Jesus is obviously not mentioned by name in the verses. Furthermore 100prophecies.org cites as a prophecy that "God's servant would die for our sins" and as evidence that this was fulfilled claim that "we are healed through the wounds that Jesus suffered."

is incompletely quoted in, identifying Isaiah's statement as a prophecy of Jesus:

Furthermore 100prophecies.org cites as predicting that Jesus would remain silent before his accusers and alleges that this was fulfilled in :

However, according to Jesus had lots to say to his accusers:

is listed on 100prophecies.org as a fulfilled prophecy that Jesus would be buried in a rich man's tomb, apparently alluded to in :

It is unclear, however, why the Matthew passage should fulfill a prophecy of being "assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death," with the exception of it being noted that the tomb belonged to a rich man.

is also quoted, albeit imperfectly, in, referring to Jesus: "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." Note, however, that "had done no violence" from the original is replaced with "committed no sin" in the quote.

is cited on 100prophecies.org as a prediction that "God's servant would be 'numbered with the transgressors'" and "bear the sins of others" and that this "was a prophecy that was fulfilled during the life of Jesus Christ." is quoted by Jesus in :

In fact it is explained in that, "Two robbers were crucified with him." However, it was uncommon for criminals, especially citizens, to be crucified in ancient Rome as this was a penalty generally reserved for slaves and enemies of the State.

However, there arise contextual inconsistencies when one attempts to interpret the servant of Isaiah as representing Jesus. Language such as that in suggest that the servant was "despised" for a long period of time. This does not seem to apply to Jesus. Compare this, for example, to, which asserts, "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."

Also Jewish scholars explain that the term "land of the living" is understood to refer to Israel. The phrase "cut off from the land of the living" (v. 8) then is interpreted to mean exiled from the Land of Israel, which Jesus never was.

Additionally, it is unclear that Jesus was ever seen as being "stricken by God, smitten by him" (v. 4) or that "it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer." (v.10) Jesus saw neither offspring nor prolonged days. (v.10) It was supposedly Jesus' death that brought vindication and not his knowledge. (v.11) Jesus never shared in any reward of "spoils." (v.12) In the New Testament, Jesus is not often identified as being God's servant.

As a metaphor for Israel
Many bible scholars claim that Isaiah's "servant" rather represents the nation of Israel. states in part, apparently speaking to Israel, "'You are my witnesses,' declares the LORD, 'and my servant whom I have chosen,'" implying the servant in that context is a group. states plainly that the servant in that context is Israel: "He said to me, 'You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.'" Chapter 52 of Isaiah is addressed to "Zion" and "Jerusalem" (v. 1) in which God laments that "my people have been taken away." (v. 5) Reread the Fourth Servant Song with the understanding that it refers to the nations' regret for their treatment of the people of Israel, and see if it does not make more sense.

There exist many allegations of mistranslation that, when corrected, indicate Isaiah meant to refer to Israel and not to Jesus or any messiah for that matter. For example the Jewish translation from Hebrew for renders it thusly:

Note the significant differences from the Christian translation. The Jewish translation uses "pained" in place of "pierced." The phrase "because of" is used instead of "for," which indicates an effect of wrongdoing rather than vicarious atonement for it. Similarly "chastisement of our welfare" replaces "punishment that brought us peace." The verb tense used in the phrase "we were healed" rather than "we are healed" implies a single past event as opposed to a continuing condition.

Consider also the Jewish translation for :

The Jewish translation again uses "because of" instead of "for." Also the phrase "a plague came upon them" replacing "he was stricken" appears to imply the servant is a group and no longer suggests vicarious atonement by an individual.

Jewish scholars assert that a proper translation of verse 9 includes, "And he gave his grave to the wicked, and to the wealthy in his deaths ," which implies that the servant is a group. The Jewish translation for verse 10 includes "if his soul would acknowledge guilt" in place of "and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering," implying not vicarious atonement but rather a condition for the indicated rewards of descendants and long life.

Conclusion
To prove that the circumstances of Jesus' death fulfilled prophecies made in the Fourth Servant Song, however, it is insufficient to demonstrate Isaiah's intent to foreshadow the event. It must also be demonstrated that the event of Jesus' death as a vicarious atonement for others' sins actually occurred, and the only real evidence of that is that the Bible says so. In fact the Old Testament seems to indicate that such an event is impossible. Per :

Why is it easier to believe that the fantastic circumstances of Jesus' death were predicted by Isaiah, in a passage that gives no contextual indication of being a messianic prophecy, than it is to believe that the New Testament accounts were simply made up to make it look as though they were?