Who Has Believed Our Report: Reading in Isaiah 52 and 53.

From the old testament: Isaiah 52 and 53:Isaiah

5213Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and be lifted up, and be very high.
14As many were astonished at thee -- his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the children of men
15-- so shall he astonish many nations; kings shall shut their mouths at him: for what had not been told them shall they see, and what they had not heard shall they consider.

Isaiah 531Who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of Jehovah been revealed?2For he shall grow up before him as a tender sapling, and as a root out of dry ground: he hath no form nor lordliness, and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3He is despised and left alone of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and like one from whom [men] hide their faces; -- despised, and we esteemed him not.
4Surely *he* hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; and we, we did regard him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.
6All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, but he opened not his mouth; he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and was as a sheep dumb before her shearers, and he opened not his mouth.
8He was taken from oppression and from judgment; and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9And [men] appointed his grave with the wicked, but he was with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither was there guile in his mouth.
10Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath subjected [him] to suffering. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see a seed, he shall prolong [his] days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand.
11He shall see of [the fruit of] the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant instruct many in righteousness; and *he* shall bear their iniquities.
12Therefore will I assign him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong: because he hath poured out his soul unto death, and was reckoned with the transgressors; and he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
From: http://www.biblegateway.com/

In Arabic:

Isaiah 52

13 هَا هُوَ عَبْدِي يُفْلِحُ، وَيَتَعَظَّمُ وَيَتَعَالَى وَيَتَسَامَى جِدّاً.
14 وَكَمَا دُهِشَ مِنْهُ كَثِيرُونَ، إِذْ تَشَوَّهَ مَنْظَرُهُ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ أَيِّ رَجُلٍ، وَصُورَتُهُ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ بَنِي الْبَشَرِ،
15 فَإِنَّهُ هَكَذَا يُذْهِلُ أُمَماً عَدِيدَةً فَيَكُمُّ مُلُوكٌ أَفْوَاهَهُمْ أَمَامَهُ، إِذْ شَهِدُوا مَا لَمْ يُخْبَرُوا بِهِ، وَأَدْرَكُوا مَالَمْ يَسْمَعُوهُ.

Isaiah 53

1 مَنْ آمَنَ بِكَلاَمِنَا، وَلِمَنْ ظَهَرَتْ يَدُ الرَّبِّ؟
2 نَمَا كَبُرْعُمٍ أَمَامَهُ، وَكَجِذْرٍ فِي أَرْضٍ يَابِسَةٍ، لاَ صُورَةَ لَهُ وَلاَ جَمَالَ يَسْتَرْعِيَانِ نَظَرَنَا، وَلاَ مَنْظَرَ فَنَشْتَهِيَهُ.
3 مُحْتَقَرٌ وَمَنْبُوذٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ، رَجُلُ آلاَمٍ وَمُخْتَبِرُ الْحُزْنِ، مَخْذُولٌ كَمَنْ حَجَبَ النَّاسُ عَنْهُ وُجُوهَهُمْ فَلَمْ نَأْبَهْ لَهُ.
4 لَكِنَّهُ حَمَلَ أَحْزَانَنَا وَتَحَمَّلَ أَوْجَاعَنَا، وَنَحْنُ حَسِبْنَا أَنَّ الرَّبَّ قَدْ عَاقَبَهُ وَأَذَلَّهُ،
5 إِلاَّ أَنَّهُ كَانَ مَجْرُوحاً مِنْ أَجْلِ آثَامِنَا وَمَسْحُوقاً مِنْ أَجْلِ مَعَاصِينَا، حَلَّ بِهِ تَأْدِيبُ سَلاَمِنَا، وَبِجِرَاحِهِ بَرِئْنَا.
6 كُلُّنَا كَغَنَمٍ شَرَدْنَا مِلْنَا كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ إِلَى سَبِيلِهِ، فَأَثْقَلَ الرَّبُّ كَاهِلَهُ بِإِثْمِ جَمِيعِنَا.
7 ظُلِمَ وَأُذِلَّ، وَلَكِنَّهُ لَمْ يَفْتَحْ فَاهُ، بَلْ كَشَاةٍ سِيقَ إِلَى الذَّبْحِ، وَكَنَعْجَةٍ صَامِتَةٍ أَمَامَ جَازِّيهَا لَمْ يَفْتَحْ فَاهُ.
8 بِالضِّيقِ وَالْقَضَاءِ قُبِضَ عَلَيْهِ، وَفِي جِيلِهِ مَنْ كَانَ يَظُنُّ أَنَّهُ اسْتُؤْصِلَ مِنْ أَرْضِ الأَحْيَاءِ، وَضُرِبَ مِنْ أَجْلِ إِثْمِ شَعْبِي؟
9 جَعَلُوا قَبْرَهُ مَعَ الأَشْرَارِ، وَمَعَ ثَرِيٍّ عِنْدَ مَوْتِهِ. مَعَ أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَرْتَكِبْ جَوْراً، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ فِي فَمِهِ غِشٌّ.
10 وَمَعَ ذَلِكَ فَقَدْ سُرَّ اللهُ أَنْ يَسْحَقَهُ بِالْحَزَنِ. وَحِينَ يُقَدِّمُ نَفْسَهُ ذَبِيحَةَ إِثْمٍ فَإِنَّهُ يَرَى نَسْلَهُ وَتَطُولُ أَيَّامُهُ، وَتُفْلِحُ مَسَرَّةُ الرَّبِّ عَلَى يَدِهِ.
11 وَيَرَى ثِمَارَ تَعَبِ نَفْسِهِ وَيَشْبَعُ، وَعَبْدِي الْبَارُّ يُبَرِّرُ بِمَعْرِفَتِهِ كَثِيرِينَ وَيَحْمِلُ آثَامَهُمْ.
12 لِذَلِكَ أَهَبُهُ نَصِيباً بَيْنَ الْعُظَمَاءِ، فَيَقْسِمُ غَنِيمَةً مَعَ الأَعِزَّاءِ، لأَنَّهُ سَكَبَ لِلْمَوْتِ نَفْسَهُ، وَأُحْصِيَ مَعَ أَثَمَةٍ. وَهُوَ حَمَلَ خَطِيئَةَ كَثِيرِينَ، وَشَفَعَ فِي الْمُذْنِبِينَ.


My reading in Isaiah 52 and 53:
1- It talks about a prophecy given by God to the prophet Isaiah. These prophets at their times were considered the best of people they would not lie about God and they were very sound people.

2- It talks about God 's salvation.

3- Since it is about salvation it is about a messiah.

4- It describes the servant that God assigned him the mission of human salvation.

5- God or more likely through the angels introduced this servant as declaration to the world of his coming.

6- In Isaiah 52 three astonishing facts about this servant. The servant will be raised high due to the wisdom that God will give him, He will not be seen (he has no form and in other translations as not seen) and despite this two seemingly contradictory characters he will astonish many nations and as he proceeds kings will consider this servant and this prophecy. This shows the great ability of God to control the world and the history. A servant with no appearance and in the same time people in different parts of the world read or hear this servant and consider this prophecy. God wants them to be prepared to receive him when he appears.

7- In Isaiah 53 God or through his angels explained further to the prophet who is the servant.

8- The servant has no greatness on his own and he looks like a normal person before God had chosen him. He has nothing in particular to make people look at him. In fact for the first time when they encounter him they will despise him and look the other way. Then they will reconsider him and the prophecy.

9- What God sees in this servant is what people missed to see in him.

10- He made him at personal level to suffer. He was oppressed and condemned. Two of the biggest human injustices are oppression and persecution.

11- The servant as well cared about human sufferings and inequality that what made him full of sorrows though people may not have appreciated.

12- In God 's eye he was one of the least of sinners.

13- But more important is two characters he has: he done no injustice and there is no deceit in his mouth. Despite he was maltreated and suffered injustice he kept faithful to obey God in being just and not to hurt another human soul.

14- The mission of this servant is to establish the government of God. Governments over the centuries were known by two things injustice and deceit. So through justice and honesty he will create the righteous government.

15- God had put for the servant despite his good quality people who are transgressors. Very likely with different characters: the means, the abusers, the discriminators, the evils, the oppressors.....To establish peace in earth he needs the servant not only to establish the just government that through justice it spreads peace, but also he wants him at the low level of daily relation between people to make peace between them.

16- There is no miracles mentioned in these verses but simply the knowledge that God will give to the servant he will instruct them in the way to their salvation. God is very likely will guide him to what to read and what to write. He may even serve him with people who are willing happily to teach him and contribute to his wisdom. Ultimately his message is righteousness which is given to us by God in the Bible and Quran.

17- The astonishing thing for good amount of time this servant will be like he hid his face from people and in the same time people will hide their faces from him for different reasons. So they would consider him the servant and he would not be able to say that he is. No wonder that is why he will startle many nations. Meanwhile people would think they or him or both in a twilight zone and nothing is happening at all.

18- Meantime a lot of people would believe he is the one who God talked about in the prophecy and they would help him without even his knowledge. Ultimately God will achieve his salvation through the servant who will have a lot of good people helping him. They know he is the servant as the prophecy describe it. It will be very difficult to one individual to plan all of this prophecy in his own and it will be too much coincidences to happen without God behind it. He may not even know himself about this prophecy until he is in the middle of the prophecy.

19- God made him to be oppressed so he will be humble and through his suffering he will know what God wants his plan to be. Which is simply if justice and equality prevail peace will follow and fill the earth.

20- Why should humans work together for their salvation, because they would believe that God is the one who is guiding and inspiring the servant. It will be a faith to them. They knew over the years there were false messiahs and false politicians. It is only through God and his servant that we would attain our salvation.

Christians are used to think of this servant as Jesus. They want to have it both ways he is a servant and a God. This is very confusing to me. Though no one can compare himself with Jesus (PBUH) the servant is like someone who is not any thing large until God choose him and during God 's program people would know him. My guess is he is the one who will be preparing the world to Jesus or Al Mahdi for Muslims and as Christians will consider him for wrong understanding of prophecies to be the Antichrist (Dajal in Arabic). I am not a theologian, I am just another guy in the web.