Preface
The words of Isaiah 53:8 stand at the heart of one of Scripture’s deepest mysteries. The verse speaks in unmistakably singular terms — “he was taken,” “he was cut off” — yet ends with the poetic plural lamo, opening the door to both collective and individual readings. Throughout the Tanakh, YasharEL is often described as one Servant, one Son, one Firstborn, even while representing a multitude. The prophets use singular language to portray the nation as a unified figure, and yet the plural pronoun reminds us that this Servant embodies the many.
The New Testament writers recognize this poetic tension and apply it to Yahusha. Just as Hosea 11:1 (“Out of Egypt I called My Son”) spoke of YasharEL but was fulfilled in Yahusha, so Isaiah 53:8 speaks of the Servant as YasharEL collectively, while Yahusha is revealed as the faithful Representative who lives out the nation’s destiny in himself. In him, the singular Servant becomes the representative of the collective people, bearing their affliction and fulfilling their calling.
This note explores Isaiah 53:8 in that dual light: YasharEL as the Servant afflicted “to them,” and Yahusha as the Servant afflicted “to him,” showing how the poetic use of lamo bridges the collective and the representative, the nation and the Messiah.
Without vowels: Isaiah 53: 8 מעצר וממשׁפט לקח ואת־דורו מי ישׂוחח כי נגזר מארץ חיים מפשׁע עמי נגע למו׃
Masoretic: מֵעֹצֶר וּמִמִּשְׁפָּט לֻקָּח וְאֶת־דּוֹרוֹ מִי יְשׂוֹחֵחַ כִּי נִגְזַר מֵאֶרֶץ חַיִּים מִפֶּשַׁע עַמִּי נֶגַע לָמוֹ
📜Literal rendering:
“From oppression and judgment he was taken, and his generation, who considered? For he was cut off from the land of the living; from the transgression of my people, a plague/strike was upon lamo.”
The word in question is lamo 'לָמוֹ' (lamo) which the Jewish Rabbi's through literal grammar translate it as 'them;
🔍 The Issue
• לָמוֹ (lamo) is a poetic form of לָהֶם (lahem) = “to them.”
• But in Hebrew poetry, lamo can sometimes function as singular (“to him”) when referring to a collective noun or a representative figure.
• This ambiguity is why translations differ:
• Plural sense: “For the transgression of my people, the stroke was upon them.” (Judaica Press, some Jewish commentaries)
• Singular sense: “For the transgression of my people, he was stricken.” (KJV, many Christian translations)
The Jewish rabbai's teach that YashaYahu was referring to YasharEL as Yahuah's servant because YashaYahu speaks of YasharEL as His servant continously from Chapters 43 to 53. The 9 verses in question is the Jewish non Messianic who look at these verses as YasharEL=My Servant
📖Isa 43:10 “You are My witnesses,” declares יהוה, “And My servant whom I have chosen, so that you know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no Ěl formed, nor after Me there is none.
📖Isa 44:1 “But now hear, O Ya‛aqoḇ My servant, and Yisra’ěl whom I have chosen.
📖Isa 44:2 Thus said יהוה who made you and formed you from the womb, who helps you, ‘Do not fear, O Ya‛aqoḇ My servant, and Yeshurun,a whom I have chosen
📖Isa 44:21 “Remember these matters, O Ya‛aqoḇ, and Yisra’ěl, for you are My servant! I have formed you, you are My servant, O Yisra’ěl, do not forget Me!
📖Isa 45:4 For the sake of Ya‛aqoḇ My servant, and of Yisra’ěl My chosen, I also call you by your name, I give you a title, though you have not known Me.
📖Isa 49:3 And He said to Me, ‘You are My servant, O Yisra’ěl, in whom I am adorned.’
📖Isa 52:13 See, My Servant shall work wisely, He shall be exalted and lifted up and very high.
📖Isa 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment. And as for His generation, who considered that He shall be cut off from the land of the living? For the transgression of My people He was stricken.
📖Isa 53:11 He would see the result of the suffering of His life and be satisfied. Through His knowledge My righteous Servant makes many righteous, and He bears their crookednesses.
Firstly, the non Messianic Jews who are under their rabbi's do not understand the Messiah representation. They fail to realize that Qayapha being a high priest that year prophesied ' it was better for one man to die for the people' which is a direct quote from Isaiah 53:8 'For the transgression of My people He was stricken'. He did it unknowingly and just as king Shaul who prophesied and was questioned by people whether Shaul was among the prophets, the wicked high priest prophesied under divination. John places this uniquely as this event of Qayapha prophesying happened when they plotted against Yahusha to kill Him, and when the actual event happened i.e. when Yahusha was led to Chanan (Ananias), John mentions what Qayapha had prophesied.
📖Joh 11:47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? Because this Man does many signs.
📖Joh 11:48 “If we let Him alone like this, they all shall believe in Him, and the Romans shall come and take away from us both our place and nation.”
📖Joh 11:49 And one of them, Qayapha, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know naught,
📖Joh 11:50 neither do you consider that it is better for us that one man die for the people than that the entire nation should perish.”
📖Joh 11:51 But he did not say this from himself, but being high priest that year he prophesied that יהושע was about to die for the nation,
📖Joh 11:52 and not for the nation only, but to gather together into one the children of Elohim who were scattered abroad.
📖Joh 18:13 and they led Him away to Ḥanan first, for he was the father-in-law of Qayapha who was high priest that year.
📖Joh 18:14 Now Qayapha was the one who gave counsel to the Yehuḏim that it was better that one man should die for the people.
There is an instance in NT where a girl possessed by spirit of divination spoke truth saying "“These men are the servants of the Most High Elohim, who proclaim to us the way of deliverance.”
📖Act 16:17 Having followed Sha’ul and us, she cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High Elohim, who proclaim to us the way of deliverance.”
📖Act 16:18 And she was doing this for many days. But Sha’ul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the Name of יהושע Messiah to come out of her.” And it came out that same hour.
⚓Jewish tradition: Generally rejects the notion of vicarious atonement through one man’s death. Isaiah 53 is often read as Israel suffering collectively for the nations, not as an individual Messiah.
⚓Messianics: Sees Caiaphas’ words as a direct fulfillment of Isaiah 53 — the Servant (Messiah) stricken for the sins of the people. 👉 So while Caiaphas himself was speaking politically (to prevent Roman crackdown), John interprets his words as prophetic, drawing on Isaiah 53 and related Tanakh motifs where the suffering of one brings redemption for many
📜Now coming back to the grammar of Isaiah 53:8 :
🧩 Interpretive Paths:
1. Collective (YasharEL as Servant)
• “Lamo” = “to them.”
• The servant represents the people of YasharEL collectively, afflicted because of the nations’ sins.
• This fits with other uses of lamo in poetry where a singular subject is treated as a collective.
2. Individual (Messianic Reading)
• “Lamo” = “to him.”
• The servant is an individual (Messiah), stricken for the sins of Elohim’s people.
• This reading aligns with Christian interpretation, emphasizing substitutionary suffering.
📜Plural Usage of lamo in Tanakh:
• Genesis 9:26
וַיֹּאמֶר בָּרוּךְ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי שֵׁם וִיהִי כְנַעַן עֶבֶד לָמוֹ
→ “Blessed be the Yahuah, the Elohim of Shem; and let Canaan be their/לָמוֹ servant.” (lamo = to them)
• Psalm 28:8
יְהוָה עֹז לָמוֹ וּמָעוֹז יְשׁוּעוֹת מְשִׁיחוֹ הוּא
→ “Yahuah is their / לָמוֹ strength, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.” (lamo = their)
• Psalm 73:10
לָכֵן יָשׁוּב עַמּוֹ הֲלֹם וּמֵי מָלֵא יִמָּצוּ לָמוֹ
→ “Therefore His people return here, and waters of a full cup are drained out to them/לָמוֹ.” (lamo = to them)
• Isaiah 44:15
וְהָיָה לְאָדָם לְבָעֵר וַיִּקַּח מֵהֶם וַיִּחָם אַף־יַשִּׂיק וְאֵל יִפְעָל וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לָמוֹ
→ “It is worshipped by them/לָמוֹ.” (lamo = by them)
So, the grammar indeed shows לָמוֹ lamo as translated as 'their/to them' which is plural. But the rule is also
📖 Singular Flow of the Verse: Isaiah 53:8
- לֻקָּח (luqqach) — “He was taken” (singular, passive).
- דּוֹרוֹ (doro) — “His generation” (singular possessive).
- נִגְזַר (nigzar) — “He was cut off” (singular, passive).
- מֵאֶרֶץ חַיִּים (me’erets chayim) — “from the land of the living.”
- All of these clearly point to one individual.
🔍 The Puzzle of lamo לָמוֹ
• Form: lamo לָמוֹ is the poetic form of לָהֶם (lahem = “to them”).
• Usage in Hebrew poetry: It often appears in places where the subject is singular but represents a collective (e.g., YasharEL as one people).
• In Isaiah 53:8: Grammatically, it could mean “to them,” but contextually it seems to be applied to the singular servant.
Now lets read those same verses above in their context to understand the grammar:
📖 Examples of Collective-Singular Usage of lamo:
The problem with the Jewish interpretations of these is they don't look at the earlier verse or earlier marker. Lets look at the same verses
📖 Genesis 9:25–26
Verse 25:
אָרוּר כְּנַעַן עֶבֶד עֲבָדִים יִהְיֶה לְאֶחָיו
→ “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
Verse 26:
וַיֹּאמֶר בָּרוּךְ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי שֵׁם וִיהִי כְנַעַן עֶבֶד לָמוֹ
→ “And he said, Blessed be Yahuah, the Elohim of Shem; and let Canaan be their (lamo) servant .”
Observation:
• Shem is named in the singular.
• But the blessing clearly extends to Shem’s descendants (a collective).
• Lamo marks this collective sense: “Canaan will be servant to them,” i.e., Shem’s line, not just Shem alone.
📖 Psalm 28:8–9
Verse 8:
יְהוָה עֹז לָמוֹ וּמָעוֹז יְשׁוּעוֹת מְשִׁיחוֹ הוּא
→ “Yahuah is their (lamo) strength, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.”
Verse 9:
הוֹשִׁיעָה אֶת־עַמֶּךָ וּבָרֵךְ אֶת־נַחֲלָתֶךָ וּרְעֵם וְנַשְּׂאֵם עַד־הָעוֹלָם
→ “Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance; shepherd them also, and lift them up forever.”
Observation:
• Verse 8 uses lamo = “their strength.”
• Verse 9 clarifies who “they” are: Elohim’s people (עַמֶּךָ)
• The people are spoken of as one collective unit, but lamo makes clear it is plural individuals within that singular “people.”
📖 Psalm 73:9–10
Verse 9:
שָׁתוּ בַשָּׁמַיִם פִּיהֶם וּלְשׁוֹנָם תִּהֲלַךְ בָּאָרֶץ
→ “They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth.”
Verse 10:
לָכֵן יָשׁוּב עַמּוֹ הֲלֹם וּמֵי מָלֵא יִמָּצוּ לָמוֹ
→ “Therefore His people return here, and waters of a full cup are drained out to them (lamo).”
Observation:
• “His people” (עַמּוֹ) is grammatically singular (“His people” as one unit).
• Yet lamo marks it as plural — the people are treated collectively, so the “waters” are drained out to them.
• This is a classic case of singular noun → collective plural pronoun.
📖 Isaiah 44:14–15
Verse 14:
כָּרָה־לוֹ אֶרֶז וַיִּקַּח תִּרְזָה וְאַלּוֹן וַיְאַמֵּץ־לוֹ בְּעֲצֵי־יָעַר נָטַע אֹרֶן וְגֶשֶׁם יְגַדֵּל
→ “He cuts down cedars for himself, and takes a cypress and an oak… he plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it.”
Verse 15:
וְהָיָה לְאָדָם לְבָעֵר וַיִּקַּח מֵהֶם וַיִּחָם אַף־יַשִּׂיק וְאֵל יִפְעָל וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לָמוֹ
→ “Then it becomes fuel for a man to burn; he takes some of it and warms himself… he makes a god and worships it, and bows down to them (lamo).”
👁️Observation:
• The idol (אֵל) is singular.
• But lamo is plural — “bows down to them.”
• Why? Because in Hebrew poetry, idols are often treated collectively (all the gods/idols together), even when one is mentioned.
• So the singular “god” here represents the collective of idols, hence lamo.
✨ The Pattern
• Hebrew poetry frequently uses lamo when a singular noun is functioning as a collective.
• In Psalm 73:10, “His people” (singular) = many individuals.
• In Isaiah 44:15, “god” (singular) = the collective of idols.
• This explains how in Isaiah 53:8, the Servant (singular) could be read as YasharEL (collective), with lamo marking the plural sense.
Now let's apply the same rule to Isaiah 53:8
📖 Isaiah 53:8 (Masoretic Hebrew)
מֵעֹצֶר וּמִמִּשְׁפָּט לֻקָּח וְאֶת־דּוֹרוֹ מִי יְשׂוֹחֵחַ כִּי נִגְזַר מֵאֶרֶץ חַיִּים מִפֶּשַׁע עַמִּי נֶגַע לָמוֹ
“From oppression and judgment he was taken, and his generation, who considered? For he was cut off from the land of the living; from the transgression of my people, a plague/strike was upon them/lamo.”
🔍 Two Interpretive Patterns
1. Collective YasharEL as Servant
• Singular subject (“he was taken,” “he was cut off”) = YasharEL spoken of as one Servant.
• Lamo = “to them.”
• Meaning: YasharEL, as Elohim’s Servant, suffers collectively because of the sins of the nations.
• This matches other poetic uses of lamo where a singular noun represents a collective (Genesis 9:26, Psalm 28:8–9, Psalm 73:10, Isaiah 44:15).
• So the Servant is “cut off” (exile, suffering), and the affliction is upon them (the people of YasharEL).
2. Yahusha as YasharEL’s Representative
• Singular subject = Yahusha personally.
• Lamo read poetically as singular (“to him”).
• Meaning: Yahusha embodies YasharEL — the true Son, the faithful Servant — and suffers on behalf of the people.
• Just as Hosea 11:1 (“Out of Egypt I called My Son”) is collective in Hosea but applied individually in Matthew, Isaiah 53:8 is collective in grammar but applied individually in messianic interpretation.
• Yahusha = the one who lives out YasharEL’s destiny, bearing the affliction “for my people.”
✨ The True Pattern-condensing the grammar
• Exodus 4:22: YasharEL = Elohim’s firstborn son.
Exo 4:22 “And you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus said יהוה, “Yisra’ěl is My son, My first-born,
• Hosea 11:1: YasharEL= son called out of Egypt → applied to Yahusha in Matthew.
Hos 11:1 “When Yisra’ěl was a child, I loved him, and out of Mitsrayim I called My son.
Mat 2:15 and remained there until the death of Herodes, to fill what was spoken by יהוה through the prophet, saying, “Out of Mitsrayim I have called My Son.”
• Isaiah 53:8: YasharEL = Servant afflicted “to them” → applied to Yahusha as the singular Servant who embodies YasharEL.
So, the same hermeneutical move is at work: the text speaks of YasharEL collectively, but the New Testament applies it to Yahusha as the representative of YasharEL, the one who fulfills the nation’s calling.
Here’s a literal rendering of Isaiah 53:8 with the singular flow preserved, while showing how Yahusha is understood as the representative of the collective nation (YasharEL):
Literal Rendering (with Yahusha as YasharEL-in-one)
“From oppression and from judgment he was taken, and as for his generation, who considered?
For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people, the plague/strike was upon them/lamo.”
🛡️How the Pattern Works
• Singular verbs: luqqach (“he was taken”), nigzar (“he was cut off”) → point to one individual.
• Collective representation: lamo (“to them”) → poetic plural, signaling that the one Servant embodies the many.
• Interpretation: Yahusha is the singular Servant, but he stands as the representative of YasharEL. His suffering is both personal (he was stricken) and collective (the affliction falls upon “them” through him).
So the verse reads literally as singular, but the poetic lamo allows Yahusha to be seen as YasharEL condensed into one faithful Servant — the one who bears the affliction of the many.
Here’s Isaiah 53:8 laid out in a copy‑friendly dual rendering — showing both the collective Israel reading and the representative Yahusha reading side by side in plain text (no columns, just clear sections):
🌉Summary of Isaiah 53:8 — Collective Reading:
“From oppression and from judgment he was taken, and as for his generation, who considered?
For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people, the plague/strike was upon them (lamo).”
📕Interpretation:
• The Servant = YasharEL as one collective.
• Singular verbs describe YasharEL as one “Servant.”
• Lamo = “to them,” marking the plural sense.
• YasharEL suffers exile and affliction because of the sins of the nations.
Isaiah 53:8 — Yahusha the Representation Reading
“From oppression and from judgment he was taken, and as for his generation, who considered?
For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people, the plague/strike was upon him (lamo as poetic singular).”
📕Interpretation:
• The Servant = Yahusha, the true reprentative of YasharEL.
• Singular verbs naturally fit an individual.
• Lamo read poetically as singular, applied to Yahusha.
• He embodies YasharEL’s role, bearing the affliction of the many in himself
📘Closing Summary
Isaiah 53:8 captures the paradox of the Servant: one figure described in singular terms, yet bearing the affliction of the many. In the collective reading, YasharEL is the Servant, suffering exile and oppression “to them” because of the sins of the nations. In the representative reading, Yahusha is the Servant, embodying YasharEL’s destiny in himself, stricken “to him” for the transgression of Elohim’s people. The poetic use of lamo bridges these two perspectives, allowing the verse to speak both of the nation and of the Messiah. Just as YasharEL was called Elohim’s firstborn son, and Yahusha was called out of Egypt as the true Son, so here the Servant is both the people and the one who fulfills their calling. In this way, Isaiah 53:8 becomes a profound testimony to the unity of Scripture: the collective and the representative, the nation and the Messiah, joined together in the mystery of redemptive suffering
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