Yesaya 52:15

52:15 his form was so marred he no longer looked human ¹  –

so now ²  he will startle ³  many nations.

Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, ⁴ 

for they will witness something unannounced to them,

and they will understand something they had not heard about.

Yesaya 55:5

55:5 Look, you will summon nations ⁵  you did not previously know;

nations ⁶  that did not previously know you will run to you,

because of the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, ⁷ 

for he bestows honor on you.

[52:15]  ¹ tn Heb “and his form from the sons of men.” The preposition מִן (min) here carries the sense “away from,” i.e., “so as not to be.”

[52:15]  ² tn This statement completes the sentence begun in v. 14a. The introductory כֵּן (ken) answers to the introductory כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher) of v. 14a. Verses 14b-15a are parenthetical, explaining why many were horrified.

[52:15]  ³ tn Traditionally the verb יַזֶּה (yazzeh, a Hiphil stem) has been understood as a causative of נָזָה (nazah, “spurt, spatter”) and translated “sprinkle.” In this case the passage pictures the servant as a priest who “sprinkles” (or spiritually cleanses) the nations. Though the verb נָזָה does occur in the Hiphil with the meaning “sprinkle,” the usual interpretation is problematic. In all other instances where the object or person sprinkled is indicated, the verb is combined with a preposition. This is not the case in Isaiah 52:15, unless one takes the following עָלָיו (’alayv, “on him”) with the preceding line. But then one would have to emend the verb to a plural, make the nations the subject of the verb “sprinkle,” and take the servant as the object. Consequently some interpreters doubt the cultic idea of “sprinkling” is present here. Some emend the text; others propose a homonymic root meaning “spring, leap,” which in the Hiphil could mean “cause to leap, startle” and would fit the parallelism of the verse nicely.

[52:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “Because of him kings will shut their mouths,” i.e., be speechless.

[55:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “a nation,” but the singular is collective here, as the plural verbs in the next line indicate (note that both “know” and “run” are third plural forms).

[55:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “a nation,” but the singular is collective here, as the plural verbs that follow indicate.

[55:5]  ⁷ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.