Isaiah 52:13

In this sense there follows here, immediately after the cry. "Go ye out from Babylon," an index pointing from the suffering of the Servant to His reward in glory. "Behold, my servant will act wisely; he will come forth, and arise, and be very high." Even apart from Isa 42:1, hinnēh (hēn) is a favourite commencement with Isaiah; and this very first v. contains, according to Isaiah's custom, a brief, condensed explanation of the theme. The exaltation of the Servant of Jehovah is the theme of the prophecy which follows. In v. 13a the way is shown, by which He reaches His greatness; in v. 13b the increasing greatness itself. השׂכּיל by itself means simply to gain, prove, or act with intelligence (lxx συνήσει); and then, since intelligent action, as a rule, is also effective, it is used as synonymous with הצליח, הכשׁהיר, to act with result, i.e., so as to be successful. Hence it is only by way of sequence that the idea of "prosperously" is connected with that of "prudently" (e.g., Jos 1:8; Jer 10:21). The word is never applied to such prosperity as a man enjoys without any effort of his own, but only to such as he attains by successful action, i.e., by such action as is appropriate to the desired and desirable result. In Jer 23:2, where hiskı̄l is one feature in the picture of the dominion exercised by the Messiah, the idea of intelligent action is quite sufficient, without any further subordinate meaning. But here, where the exaltation is derived from ישׂכיל as the immediate consequence, without any intervening על־כן, there is naturally associated with the idea of wise action, i.e., of action suited to the great object of his call, that of effective execution or abundant success, which has as its natural sequel an ever-increasing exaltation. Rosenmller observes, in Isa 5…

Here, as in other places, for the confirming of the faith of God's people and the encouraging of their hope in the promises of temporal deliverances, the prophet passes from them to speak of the great salvation which should in the fulness of time be wrought out by the Messiah. As the prophecy of Christ's incarnation was intended for the ratification of the promise of their deliverance from the Assyrian army, so this of Christ's death and resurrection is to confirm the promise of their return out of Babylon; for both these salvations were typical of the great redemption and the prophecies of them had a reference to that. This prophecy, which begins here and is continued to the end of the next chapter, points as plainly as can be at Jesus Christ; the ancient Jews understood it of the Messiah, though the modern Jews take a great deal of pains to pervert it, and some of ours (no friends therein to the Christian religion) will have it understood of Jeremiah; but Philip, who hence preached Christ to the eunuch, has put it past dispute that of him speaks the prophet this, of him and of no other man, Act 8:34, Act 8:35. Here, I. God owns Christ to be both commissioned and qualified for his undertaking. 1. He is appointed to it. "He is my servant, whom I employ and therefore will uphold." In his undertaking he does his Father's will, seeks his Father's honour, and serves the interests of his Father's kingdom. 2. He is qualified for it. He shall deal prudently, for the spirit of wisdom and understanding shall rest upon him, Isa 11:2. The word is used concerning David when he behaved himself wisely, Sa1 18:14. Christ is wisdom itself, and, in the contriving and carrying on the work of our redemption, there appeared much of the wisdom of God in a mystery, Co1 2:7. Christ, when he w…

52:13–53:12 This is the fourth of four passages that speak about the promised servant (see study note on 42:1-4). The Hebrew poem is carefully constructed in five three-line stanzas. It begins with the servant’s exaltation (52:13), proceeds to his humiliation (52:14–53:9), and ends with his exaltation (53:10-12). The faithful servant’s suffering would bring reconciliation between God and humans. The Lord Jesus perfectly fulfilled this prophecy (see ch 40; Matt 8:17; Acts 8:30-35; Rom 10:15-17; 15:21; 1 Pet 2:24-25). 52:13 prosper . . . be highly exalted: The servant would be wise and successful, set apart with the great and noble. Similar terms describe God in 6:1 and 57:15.