Isaiah 53:8-9 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living… The Hebrew word for "generation" is translated "age" in Isaiah 38:12, but it more properly means "lifetime." The Septuagint translators. have, however, hit the true idea of this passage in making the Greek word γενεάν, instead of βίον or αἰῶνα, for the thought regards the apparent brevity of Messiah career. "He comes, and He goes, and there is an end of Him. Who will take the trouble to think about a life that is cut off so soon, and leaves, apparently, no trace? He has no successor, no family, no descendants to preserve His name." The Septuagint reading, therefore, while not a literal translation of the Hebrew, follows its thought. The Hebrew literally is, "Who shall think upon His career?" The Septuagint. is, "Who shall describe or recount His race or generation?" The one refers directly to His lifetime, but indirectly to His posterity; the other confines itself to the posterity. Now, both questions are answered in verse 10" "He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days." The Messiah will have a spiritual seed on the earth, and in them He will continue His own earthly life. (Howard Crosby, LL.D.) Parallel Verses KJV: He was taken from prison 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. |
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