Isaiah 52:13

my servant shall deal prudently A more appropriate rendering is that of R.V. marg. my servant shall prosper, i.e. his career shall be crowned with complete success. The primary idea of the verb used is no doubt "wisdom" (not mere shrewdness, however, rather "insight," see Genesis 3:6; Isaiah 44:18), but it also includes the success which is the normal result of wise action, and sometimes this secondary idea almost supplants the original meaning (Joshua 1:7 f.; 1 Samuel 18:5; 1 Samuel 18:14 f. etc.). This sense seems to be required here by the parallelism with the next line, for there is nothing in the whole prophecy to justify us in regarding the Servant's elevation as the effectof his wisdom. The verse is "a simple prediction of the exaltation awaiting the Servant, in contrast with his past sorrows and abasement" (Davidson).

he shall be exalted and extolled or "high and lifted up." The same combination used of Jehovah in ch. Isaiah 57:15; of His throne in Isaiah 6:1.

14, 15 must be read as a single compound sentence. The protasis is the first line of Isaiah 52:14 ("According as many were astonied at thee"); the corresponding apodosis follows in Isaiah 52:15 ("so shall he sprinkle &c."), the intervening clauses being a parenthesis suggested by the word "astonied."

as many were astonied at thee The word "astonied" expresses the blank amazement, mingled with horror, excited in the minds of beholders by the spectacle of the Servant's unparalleled sufferings (cf. 1 Kings 9:8; Jeremiah 2:12; Jeremiah 18:16). It is natural to suppose that the "many" here referred to are the same as the "many nations" who witness the Servant's subsequent exaltation (Isaiah 52:15), but the point is not to be pressed, and on the hypothesis that the Servant is an individual Israelite, the spectators of the Servant's abasement could hardly be the nations of the world. Instead of "thee" the Targ. and Pesh. seem to have read "him," thus avoiding an embarrassing change of person. The LXX., on the other hand, preserve the 2nd pers. throughout Isaiah 52:14. The change of person may no doubt be explained as caused by the parenthesis, but it is awkward nevertheless, and almost misleading, and many commentators prefer to alter the text in accordance with the Targ.

his visage was so marred, &c.] Render:

so marred from that of man was his aspect,

and his form from that of the sons of men

The sentence is inserted parenthetically to explain the repugnance felt by all who beheld the Servant in his former abject condition. The meaning is that he was so disfigured by disease (see ch. Isaiah 53:3) as to be no longer human in appearance. The word for "marred" is pointed as a noun (not found elsewhere): "a marred object." A participle (moshḥâth) would read more naturally after the adverb "so," although the punctuators must have had some reason for avoiding the more obvious form.