nds;
Out of his own suffering he shall see light,
He shall be satisfied with his knowledge.

[Sidenote: Isa. 53:11c-12]
My righteous servant shall make many righteous,
And himself will bear the burden of their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
And with the strong shall he divide spoil,
Because he poured out his life-blood,
And was numbered with transgressors,
And himself bore the sins of many,
And interposed for transgressors.

I. The Different Portraits of Jehovah's Servant. Isaiah 49-54 contains
three distinct portraits of the ideal servant of Jehovah. Each in turn
develops characteristics suggested in the preceding. These descriptions
are interspersed with exhortations addressed to Jehovah's servant Israel
and assurances that God will fully restore Jerusalem and bring back her
scattered children. These three portraits of the type of servant that
Jehovah required to realize his purpose in human history, together with
the earlier portrait in 42:1-7, supplement each other. In the first of
these four (42:1-7) the prophetic qualities of the servant are especially
emphasized. Like the earlier prophets, he will not fail nor be discouraged
until he has established justice in the earth. His task is to open blind
eyes and to deliver prisoners from the darkness of ignorance and sin in
which they were sitting. In the second picture (49:1-9a) the world-wide
mission of the servant is emphasized. He is called not only to gather the
outcasts of Israel, but also as an apostle to bring light to all the
nations of the earth. In this passage for the first time appears that note
of suffering and ignominy which is the lot of the true servant of Jehovah.
In the third portrait (50:4-10) the servant is pictured as a disciple,
attentively listening to the divine teachings, learning the lessons which
will fit him in turn to become a teacher of men. The last and fullest
picture (52:13-53:12) describes at length his suffering. A strong contrast
is drawn between his present shame and ignominy and the future glory and
victory which he will achieve through his voluntary and complete
self-sacrifice. These pictures embody the prophet's ideal, and they can be
fully understood only in the light of their historical background.

II. The Prophet's Purpose. In his earlier poems this great unknown
prophet dealt largely with the interpretation of Israel's past history
and the proclamation of the coming deliverance (40-48).