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The book of Isaiah contains four famous "servant songs", namely:

1. Isaiah 42:1-4;
2. Isaiah 49:1-6;
3. Isaiah 50:4-9;
4. Isaiah 52:13-53:12.

The fourth of these is by far the most famous and well-known. If, as Dick Harfield suggests (in common with a minority of scholars, especially Jewish) it refers to king Zedekiah or the nation of Israel generally, it is a very poor prophecy. Many Christian Bible students believe all four of the servant songs were Messianic. [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servant_songs for some other views.] Let us examine the predictions of this fourth servant song to determine the prophetic intent:

• (V4) "Surely He took on our infirmities"
• (V5) "But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him"
• (V6) "and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all"
• (V7) "He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth."
• (V8) "For He was cut off from the land of the living"
• (V9) "nor was any deceit in His mouth"
• (V10) "and when His soul is made a guilt offering"
• (V11) "By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities."
• (V12) "Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors."

All these are true of Jesus Christ (John 1:29, 1 John 2:2, Rom 5:6-8, Heb 9:26, 2 Cor 5:19; not one is true of King Zedekiah! Indeed, Zedekiah was not killed ["cut off from the land of the living"] but taken captive to Babylon. Zedekiah did not die as a ransom for sin generally - that was the sole work (Acts 4:12) of Jesus Christ -

John 1:29 - The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

1 John 2:2 - He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Thus, Isaiah correctly says of the coming Messiah,

Isa 53:6 - and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.

Thus, while one can see that some phases, isolated from their context, can be made to fit with Zedekiah (and some other regnal tragics), most cannot. The whole thrust and intent of Isa 53 is clearly Messianic.

The book of Isaiah contains four famous "servant songs", namely:

1. Isaiah 42:1-4;
2. Isaiah 49:1-6;
3. Isaiah 50:4-9;
4. Isaiah 52:13-53:12.

The fourth of these is by far the most famous and well-known. If, as Dick Harfield suggests (in common with a minority of scholars, especially Jewish) it refers to king Zedekiah or the nation of Israel generally, it is a very poor prophecy. Many Christian Bible students believe all four of the servant songs were Messianic. [see Wikipedia: Servant Songs for some other views.] Let us examine the predictions of this fourth servant song to determine the prophetic intent:

• (V4) "Surely He took on our infirmities"
• (V5) "But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him"
• (V6) "and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all"
• (V7) "He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth."
• (V8) "For He was cut off from the land of the living"
• (V9) "nor was any deceit in His mouth"
• (V10) "and when His soul is made a guilt offering"
• (V11) "By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities."
• (V12) "Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors."

All these are true of Jesus Christ (John 1:29, 1 John 2:2, Rom 5:6-8, Heb 9:26, 2 Cor 5:19; not one is true of King Zedekiah! Indeed, Zedekiah was not killed ["cut off from the land of the living"] but taken captive to Babylon. Zedekiah did not die as a ransom for sin generally - that was the sole work (Acts 4:12) of Jesus Christ -

John 1:29 - The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

1 John 2:2 - He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Thus, Isaiah correctly says of the coming Messiah,

Isa 53:6 - and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.

Thus, while one can see that some phases, isolated from their context, can be made to fit with Zedekiah (and some other regnal tragics), most cannot. The whole thrust and intent of Isa 53 is clearly Messianic.

The book of Isaiah contains four famous "servant songs", namely:

1. Isaiah 42:1-4;
2. Isaiah 49:1-6;
3. Isaiah 50:4-9;
4. Isaiah 52:13-53:12.

The fourth of these is by far the most famous and well-known. If, as Dick Harfield suggests (in common with a minority of scholars, especially Jewish) it refers to king Zedekiah or the nation of Israel generally, it is a very poor prophecy. Many Christian Bible students believe all four of the servant songs were Messianic. [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servant_songs for some other views.] Let us examine the predictions of this fourth servant song to determine the prophetic intent:

• (V4) "Surely He took on our infirmities"
• (V5) "But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him"
• (V6) "and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all"
• (V7) "He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth."
• (V8) "For He was cut off from the land of the living"
• (V9) "nor was any deceit in His mouth"
• (V10) "and when His soul is made a guilt offering"
• (V11) "By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities."
• (V12) "Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors."

All these are true of Jesus Christ (John 1:29, 1 John 2:2, Rom 5:6-8, Heb 9:26, 2 Cor 5:19; not one is true of King Zedekiah! Indeed, Zedekiah was not killed ["cut off from the land of the living"] but taken captive to Babylon. Zedekiah did not die as a ransom for sin generally - that was the sole work (Acts 4:12) of Jesus Christ -

John 1:29 - The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

1 John 2:2 - He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Thus, Isaiah correctly says of the coming Messiah,

Isa 53:6 - and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.

Thus, while can see that some phases, isolated from their context, can be made to fit with Zedekiah, most cannot. The whole thrust and intent of Isa 53 is clearly Messianic.

The book of Isaiah contains four famous "servant songs", namely:

1. Isaiah 42:1-4;
2. Isaiah 49:1-6;
3. Isaiah 50:4-9;
4. Isaiah 52:13-53:12.

The fourth of these is by far the most famous and well-known. If, as Dick Harfield suggests (in common with a minority of scholars, especially Jewish) it refers to king Zedekiah or the nation of Israel generally, it is a very poor prophecy. Many Christian Bible students believe all four of the servant songs were Messianic. [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servant_songs for some other views.] Let us examine the predictions of this fourth servant song to determine the prophetic intent:

• (V4) "Surely He took on our infirmities"
• (V5) "But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him"
• (V6) "and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all"
• (V7) "He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth."
• (V8) "For He was cut off from the land of the living"
• (V9) "nor was any deceit in His mouth"
• (V10) "and when His soul is made a guilt offering"
• (V11) "By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities."
• (V12) "Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors."

All these are true of Jesus Christ (John 1:29, 1 John 2:2, Rom 5:6-8, Heb 9:26, 2 Cor 5:19; not one is true of King Zedekiah! Indeed, Zedekiah was not killed ["cut off from the land of the living"] but taken captive to Babylon. Zedekiah did not die as a ransom for sin generally - that was the sole work (Acts 4:12) of Jesus Christ -

John 1:29 - The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

1 John 2:2 - He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Thus, Isaiah correctly says of the coming Messiah,

Isa 53:6 - and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.

Thus, while one can see that some phases, isolated from their context, can be made to fit with Zedekiah (and some other regnal tragics), most cannot. The whole thrust and intent of Isa 53 is clearly Messianic.

The book of Isaiah contains four famous "servant songs", namely:

1. Isaiah 42:1-4;
2. Isaiah 49:1-6;
3. Isaiah 50:4-9;
4. Isaiah 52:13-53:12.

The fourth of these is by far the most famous and well-known. If, as Dick Harfield suggests (in common with a minority of scholars, especially Jewish) it refers to king Zedekiah or the nation of Israel generally, it is a very poor prophecy. Many Christian Bible students believe all four of the servant songs were Messianic. [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servant_songs for some other views.] Let us examine the predictions of this fourth servant song to determine the prophetic intent:

• (V4) "Surely He took on our infirmities"
• (V5) "But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him"
• (V6) "and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all"
• (V7) "He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth."
• (V8) "For He was cut off from the land of the living"
• (V9) "nor was any deceit in His mouth"
• (V10) "and when His soul is made a guilt offering"
• (V11) "By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities."
• (V12) "Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors."

All these are true of Jesus Christ (John 1:29, 1 John 2:2, Rom 5:12-19, Heb 9:26, 2 Cor 5:19; not one is true of King Zedekiah! Indeed, Zedekiah was not killed ["cut off from the land of the living"] but taken captive to Babylon. Zedekiah did not die as a ransom for sin generally - that was the sole work (Acts 4:12) of Jesus Christ -

John 1:29 - The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

1 John 2:2 - He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Thus, Isaiah correctly says of the coming Messiah,

Isa 53:6 - and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.

Thus, while can see that some phases, isolated from their context, can be made to fit with Zedekiah, most cannot. The whole thrust and intent of Isa 53 is clearly Messianic.

The book of Isaiah contains four famous "servant songs", namely:

1. Isaiah 42:1-4;
2. Isaiah 49:1-6;
3. Isaiah 50:4-9;
4. Isaiah 52:13-53:12.

The fourth of these is by far the most famous and well-known. If, as Dick Harfield suggests (in common with a minority of scholars, especially Jewish) it refers to king Zedekiah or the nation of Israel generally, it is a very poor prophecy. Many Christian Bible students believe all four of the servant songs were Messianic. [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servant_songs for some other views.] Let us examine the predictions of this fourth servant song to determine the prophetic intent:

• (V4) "Surely He took on our infirmities"
• (V5) "But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him"
• (V6) "and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all"
• (V7) "He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth."
• (V8) "For He was cut off from the land of the living"
• (V9) "nor was any deceit in His mouth"
• (V10) "and when His soul is made a guilt offering"
• (V11) "By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities."
• (V12) "Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors."

All these are true of Jesus Christ (John 1:29, 1 John 2:2, Rom 5:6-8, Heb 9:26, 2 Cor 5:19; not one is true of King Zedekiah! Indeed, Zedekiah was not killed ["cut off from the land of the living"] but taken captive to Babylon. Zedekiah did not die as a ransom for sin generally - that was the sole work (Acts 4:12) of Jesus Christ -

John 1:29 - The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

1 John 2:2 - He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Thus, Isaiah correctly says of the coming Messiah,

Isa 53:6 - and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.

Thus, while can see that some phases, isolated from their context, can be made to fit with Zedekiah, most cannot. The whole thrust and intent of Isa 53 is clearly Messianic.