Isaiah 53:11, what does the servant see?
Isaiah 53:11 is transmitted with both יראה אור, he shall see light, and יראה, he shall see without an object. The question is whether light belonged to the line.
The APB text at this verse
The manuscripts, editions, and versions
The committee record at this verse
The APB's translation committee works blind: it is never told it is translating the Bible, never given a book name or a verse number, and it never sees the witnesses above. Since revision 3.5, the places where the manuscripts disagree are decided before translation by three readers, Grok 4.3, GPT-6 Astra, and Claude Fable 5.1, who see the readings and the witnesses by age and class but never a reference or a manuscript name. Whatever was done at this verse was done on the language and the evidence alone, and the record is public.
“The base text reads יראה. The copies also carry יראה אור [hebrew manuscript attestation; ancient greek version; early hebrew scroll]; the committee kept the base text. The evidence is genuinely balanced between the early but non-Hebrew witnesses for יראה אור and the single but direct Hebrew tradition for יראה, so a second reader is desirable.”
The APB 3.5 decision kept the base text at this unit, and the committee’s printed Isaiah 53:11 therefore has he shall see without light. Its note says, “The base text reads יראה. The copies also carry יראה אור [hebrew manuscript attestation; ancient greek version; early hebrew scroll]; the committee kept the base text.” The note calls the evidence genuinely balanced and says a second reader is desirable. The pericope audit verdict is flagged.
The argument for each reading
If “sees light”
Reading A gives the servant an expressed object: יראה אור, he shall see light. The Great Isaiah Scroll supports that wording, and its witness note reports the same addition in 1QIsaᵇ and 4QIsaᵈ. The Septuagint also supports reading A with δεῖξαι αὐτῷ φῶς, to show him light. Its row states that the Greek read a text with light in it. On this side, the evidence includes three Qumran scrolls and an ancient Greek version, all of which make light part of the clause rather than leaving the seeing open-ended. The APB 3.5 note describes these as copies that carry יראה אור.
If the object is absent
Reading B follows the Masoretic Text, whose codex is dated A.D. 1008 and whose tradition is described as centuries older. It reads יראה, he shall see, with no object. This wording fits the consonantal verse text supplied here, where יראה stands between מעמל נפשו and ישבע. The reading does not specify what the servant sees; it permits the verb to remain without an expressed object. The APB printed text likewise reads, “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied,” without adding light. The APB 3.5 decision kept this base text.
The remaining uncertainty is whether the object light was present in the line or whether the verb stood without one. The packet presents support for both forms and supplies no verdict about the servant’s identity or a doctrinal conclusion. The immediate difference is explicit light versus an unspecified act of seeing; most doctrines rest on many passages.
Common questions
Does Isaiah 53:11 say the servant shall see light?
Some witnesses read יראה אור, he shall see light. The Masoretic Text reads יראה, he shall see, with no object, and the APB 3.5 decision kept that base text.
Which witnesses have light in Isaiah 53:11?
The Great Isaiah Scroll reads יראה אור, and its witness row says 1QIsaᵇ and 4QIsaᵈ do the same. The Septuagint has δεῖξαι αὐτῷ φῶς, to show him light.
Why does the APB text omit light?
The APB 3.5 note says the committee kept the base text, יראה. It also describes the evidence as genuinely balanced and says a second reader is desirable.
Related entries
Witness readings for critical editions are quoted from the SBLGNT apparatus (CC BY 4.0); Hebrew text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible). Readings of ancient manuscripts and versions are cited as published scholarly fact with their sources linked above. The page does not declare which reading is original.
The registry gives no verdict
The registry does not say which reading is original. Each page lists the witnesses, shows what the committee did with the same text, and leaves the judgment to the reader.