Isaiah 53 · Psalm 22 · Zechariah 11 & 12 Every Verse in 7 Translations + the Hebrew
The companion analysis to the summary claim that the Old Testament described the crucifixion centuries before it happened. Here is the actual textual data: the Messianic-crucifixion prophecies of Isaiah, the Psalms, and Zechariah, each shown in seven English translations side by side (KJV, NKJV, NASB, Young's Literal, NIV, ESV, and the Jewish JPS Tanakh), with the Hebrew, the date written, the manuscript that predates Jesus, the fulfillment, and — kept honest — the real translation cruxes where the versions disagree.
The claim being tested: “The Old Testament has 48+ prophecies written 400–1,000 years before Jesus that have been fulfilled. Psalm 22 described the crucifixion of Jesus 500+ years before it was invented — along with the Roman practice of spearing the crucified in the side (Zech 12:10) and gambling for their clothes (Ps 22:18). Isaiah 53 predicted he would be executed for the sins of others, buried with the rich after dying with criminals. Daniel 9 named the exact day. Most prophecies were fulfilled by his enemies, not his followers.”
This page supplies the receipts for the Isaiah, Psalm 22, and Zechariah pieces. (Daniel 9 has its own dedicated page.)
How to read the color coding: gold = the suffering/piercing language · blue = the pierced/side + Zechariah “me” · green = death/burial + numbers. The purple JPS row is the Jewish translation — included precisely because it is not a Christian text, so where it still matches, the match is not a Christian invention; and where it differs, that difference is shown openly.
Honesty badges:ESTABLISHED the text says it plainly & the manuscript predates Jesus · MODEL a strong but interpretive identification · DISPUTED a genuine translation/interpretation crux, shown both ways.
1 · Isaiah 53 — The Suffering Servant
Written ~700 BC (Isaiah of Jerusalem) · Manuscript: the Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaᵃ) — a COMPLETE copy, radiocarbon-dated ~150–100 BC, ~125 BC paleographically · 166 words of ch. 53 differ from the medieval text by only 17 letters, none changing meaning.
ESTABLISHED — text + pre-Christian manuscript
Isaiah 53:5 — “pierced / wounded for our transgressions”
KJV 1611“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
NKJV 1982“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”
NASB 2020“But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; the punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”
Young’s Lit.“And he is pierced for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace [is] on him, and by his bruise there is healing to us.”
NIV 2011“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
ESV 2001“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
JPS Tanakh (Jewish)“But he was wounded because of our transgressions, he was crushed because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our welfare was upon him, and with his stripes we were healed.”
Translation crux: the Hebrew mecholal (מְחֹלָל, root ḥ-l-l) means “pierced through / wounded / bored.” The KJV, NKJV and even the Jewish JPS say “wounded”; NASB/NIV/ESV/YLT say “pierced.” Both are legitimate — but note the Jewish translation still has the servant wounded and crushed for the transgressions of others. The substitution is in every version.
ESTABLISHED
Isaiah 53:9 — “grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death”
KJV“And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.”
NKJV“And they made His grave with the wicked—but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.”
NASB“And His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth.”
Young’s Lit.“And it appointeth with the wicked his grave, and with the rich are his high places, because he hath done no violence, nor [is] deceit in his mouth.”
NIV“He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.”
ESV“And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.”
JPS (Jewish)“And they made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich his tomb; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.”
Fulfillment: the apparent contradiction — a criminal’s death yet a rich man’s burial — resolved through two unrelated actors: Rome crucified Jesus between two criminals (Mark 15:27, “grave with the wicked”), and Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy Sanhedrin member, spontaneously buried him in his own rock-cut tomb (Matt 27:57–60, “with the rich”). All seven translations — Jewish included — carry both halves.
ESTABLISHED
Isaiah 53:12 — “numbered with the transgressors”
KJV“…and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
NKJV“…And He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
NASB“…And was counted with wrongdoers; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the wrongdoers.”
Young’s Lit.“…And with transgressors he was numbered, and he the sin of many hath borne, and for transgressors he intercedeth.”
NIV“…and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
ESV“…and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”
JPS (Jewish)“…and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Fulfillment: crucified between two convicted criminals (Mark 15:27–28, which quotes this verse), and — “made intercession for the transgressors” — he prayed “Father, forgive them” for his executioners (Luke 23:34). Here all seven versions read essentially identically.
2 · Psalm 22 — The Crucifixion Psalm
Attributed to David, ~1000 BC — at least 500 years before crucifixion existed as a Roman execution method · Psalms attested among the Dead Sea Scrolls (pre-Christian) · Note: Christian versification 22:16/18 = Hebrew 22:17/19.
DISPUTED — the single-letter crux, shown both ways
KJV“For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.”
NKJV“For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet.”
NASB“For dogs have surrounded me; a band of evildoers has encompassed me; they pierced my hands and my feet.”
Young’s Lit.“For surrounded me have dogs, a company of evil-doers have compassed me, piercing my hands and my feet.”
NIV“Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.”
ESV“For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—”
JPS (Jewish)“For dogs have encompassed me; a company of evil-doers have inclosed me; like a lion, they are at my hands and my feet.”
The famous crux — one letter. The medieval Masoretic Text reads ka’ari (כָּאֲרִי, “like a lion”), which the Jewish JPS honestly follows. But the older evidence reads ka’aru (כארו, “they pierced/dug”), differing by one final letter (waw ו vs. yod י — two of the most easily confused strokes in the Hebrew alphabet: a waw is a long vertical, a yod a short one). So the “pierced” reading is not a Christian edit — it is attested in Jewish sources centuries before Jesus. We show both, and lay out the full case below.
Why “like a lion” is the awkward reading
Take the Masoretic text at face value: ka’ari yaday veraglay — “like a lion my hands and my feet.” There is no verb. The line is a grammatical fragment, and translators who follow it (JPS: “like a lion, they are at my hands and my feet”) must supply a verb that isn’t in the Hebrew. That is a tell: the surrounding clauses all have verbs (“dogs have surrounded me,” “evildoers have enclosed me”), and this third clause reads as if it lost its verb. The reading ka’aru supplies exactly the verb the sentence is missing.
The evidence for a verb — four streams
1 · Septuagint (~2nd c. BC)
The Jewish Greek translation reads ὤρυξαν (“they dug / bored through”). Jewish translators, centuries before Christ, read a verb here — not “lion.” No Christian was in the room. Strongest single datum.
2 · Naḥal Ḥever Psalms scroll (~1st c. AD)
This Dead Sea–era Hebrew manuscript (5/6ḤevPs) reads the consonants כארו — the verb form with the final waw, not the ka’ari “lion” form with the yod. A Hebrew witness, Jewish and pre-Masoretic.
3 · Peshitta & Vulgate
The Syriac Peshitta and the Latin Vulgate (“foderunt” = they dug/pierced) also render a verb of the hands and feet, reflecting the same underlying reading rather than “lion.”
4 · The internal grammar
The parallelism of the verse and the missing verb make ka’aru the reading that produces a coherent sentence, where “like a lion” leaves a verbless fragment. (Model-level — a supporting argument, not a manuscript.)
Kept honest — three caveats the sloppy version skips:
“Pierced” is one step past the strict meaning. The root is karah (כרה), “to dig / bore / hollow out,” and the LXX’s ὤρυξαν likewise means “dug.” “Pierced” is the natural English when the object is hands and feet — you don’t “dig” a hand except by boring through it — but the base sense is bore through, and the step to “pierce” is idiomatic, not lexical.
The later Jewish Greek revisers read a different verb. In the 2nd c. AD, Aquila and Symmachus rendered the word with verbs like “they disfigured / bound / sought to bind.” This confirms a verb stood there (against “lion”) but does not independently confirm the exact sense “pierce.” So: the evidence for a verb is very strong; the evidence for precisely “pierce” is good but not unanimous.
The Masoretic “lion” reading is real and old.Ka’ari is the received reading of a major tradition and fits the Psalm’s animal imagery (dogs, bulls, lions in vv.12–13, 21). JPS follows it in good faith. A fair page shows both — which this one does.
MODEL — the surrounding text strongly favors the wound reading
Does the context lead to crucifixion — or to “digging”?
The lines before and after v.16 decide a lot. And the key point most people miss: “digging” was never a rival scene in Psalm 22 at all. There is no earth, no pit, no burial being dug anywhere in the psalm. “Dig / bore” is only the lexical root of the verb — and once the psalm hands that verb hands and feet as its object, “dig” becomes “bore through / pierce” automatically. So context doesn’t point toward digging; it points toward a body being destroyed and exposed while a mob gambles for the clothes.
Here is the neighborhood, vv.6–18 (English numbering). NT marks each line the Gospels quote verbatim at the crucifixion:
Verse
Text
What it is
22:1
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”NT
Jesus’ cry from the cross (Matt 27:46 / Mark 15:34)
22:6
“I am a worm and not a man, scorned… despised”
public humiliation
22:7–8
“All who see me mock me… they wag their heads… ‘He trusts in the LORD; let Him deliver him’”NT
the taunt the mockers say at the cross (Matt 27:39–43)
22:12–13
“Many bulls surround me… they open their mouths, like a ravening and roaring lion”
animal-mob imagery — note the lion here
22:14
“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax”
dislocation — what hanging by the arms does
22:15
“my strength is dried up… my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death”
extreme thirst / dying (cf. “I thirst,” John 19:28)
22:16
“dogs encompass me… a company of evildoers encircles me; they pierced my hands and my feet”
the mob closes in — the crux line
22:17
“I can count all my bones — they stare and gloat over me”
a stretched, exposed, naked body; onlookers gazing
22:18
“they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots”NT
the soldiers do exactly this (John 19:24; Matt 27:35)
What the neighborhood does to the reading:
Three of these lines are independently nailed to the cross by the New Testament. v.1 (forsaken), vv.7–8 (head-wagging mockers quoting “let God deliver him”), and v.18 (garments divided by lot) are cited word-for-word in the passion narratives. A line about pierced hands and feet sitting between “they mock me” and “they gamble for my clothes” is reading its context, not fighting it.
The bodily details bracket v.16 with a crucified physiology. Before it: bones out of joint, poured out like water, tongue stuck with thirst, laid in the dust of death. After it: “I can count all my bones” and a crowd staring at the exposed body. That is a body hung up, stretched, dislocated, dehydrated, and gawked at — nothing about digging soil.
“Digging” is the root, not the event. The verb describes an action; applied to a field it digs a pit, applied to hands and feet it bores through them. The only thing “dug” in this psalm is the sufferer’s extremities.
The honest lion counterweight. If you want to defend the Masoretic “like a lion,” the context does give you something: lions appear twice more — v.13 (“like a ravening and roaring lion”) and v.21 (“save me from the mouth of the lion”). So “like a lion” is not a contextual absurdity. But note what the context does even to that reading: (a) the immediate couplet is about dogs, not lions, while the real lions of vv.13, 21 get their own verbs; (b) the lion reading leaves the v.16 clause verbless; (c) even “like a lion at my hands and feet” implies a lion mauling the extremities. So both readings converge on the same fact — the hands and feet are the wound site — and the verb reading (“pierced”) simply states plainly what the lion simile only implies.
Calibrated verdict
ESTABLISHEDThe “pierced/dug” reading is pre-Christian and Jewish, not a Christian invention — the LXX (~2nd c. BC) and the Naḥal Ḥever Hebrew scroll (~1st c. AD) both witness the verb.ESTABLISHEDA verb (not “like a lion”) stood in the older Hebrew of this line; the “lion” reading leaves the clause verbless, and multiple independent versions read a verb.MODELThe verb means specifically “pierce” (vs. “dig/bore” or the “bind/disfigure” of Aquila/Symmachus) — well-supported by LXX/Vulgate, but not unanimous.MODELThe surrounding text (mockery, dislocated bones, thirst, exposure, garments gambled) makes the wounded extremities reading far more natural than an isolated lion simile — with the lion motif of vv.13, 21 as a real counterweight.SPECULATIVE ALONEPsalm 22:16 as a standalone proof of crucifixion nails — the single-letter dispute means it can’t carry the weight by itself, but it is the spine of the cumulative case (pierced hands/feet + counted bones + parted garments + verbatim mocking).
Bottom line: the content before and after v.16 leads not to “digging” but to a body being executed and exposed while a mob gambles for its clothes — three of those neighboring lines quoted word-for-word in the Gospels. The digging idea only ever lived inside the verb’s dictionary entry; the moment context hands that verb hands and feet, “dig” becomes “pierce.”
ESTABLISHED — all 7 versions agree
Psalm 22:18 — “they divide my garments and cast lots”
KJV“They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.”
NKJV“They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.”
NASB“They divide my garments among them, and they cast lots for my clothing.”
Young’s Lit.“They apportion my garments to themselves, and for my clothing they cause a lot to fall.”
NIV“They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.”
ESV“They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”
JPS (Jewish)“They part my garments among them, and for my vesture do they cast lots.”
Fulfillment: John 19:23–24 — the soldiers divided Jesus’ clothes four ways but cast lots for the seamless tunic rather than tear it, and John quotes this verse. Two distinct actions (divide + gamble) predicted, both done by Roman soldiers dividing loot who had never read the psalm. Every version, Jewish included, is essentially word-for-word here.
ESTABLISHED
Psalm 22:7–8 — “all who see me mock… ‘he trusts in the LORD; let Him rescue him’”
KJV“All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.”
NKJV“All those who see Me ridicule Me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, ‘He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!’”
NASB“All who see me deride me; they sneer, they shake their heads, saying, ‘Turn him over to the LORD; let Him save him; let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.’”
Young’s Lit.“All beholding me do mock at me, they make free with the lip—shake the head: ‘Roll unto Jehovah, He doth deliver him, He doth deliver him, for he delighted in him.’”
NIV“All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. ‘He trusts in the LORD,’ they say, ‘let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.’”
ESV“All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; ‘He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!’”
JPS (Jewish)“All they that see me laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head: ‘Let him commit himself unto the LORD! let Him rescue him; let Him deliver him, seeing He delighteth in him.’”
Fulfillment: Matt 27:39–43 — passers-by “wagged their heads,” and the chief priests jeered “He trusts in God; let God deliver him now” — almost verbatim the psalm’s taunt, gesture and words together, ~1,000 years later, from people improvising insults at a public execution.
3 · Zechariah 12:10 — “they will look on Me whom they pierced”
Written ~520–480 BC (post-exilic prophet Zechariah) · preserved in the Dead Sea Minor-Prophets scroll (4QXIIᵃ) · the spear-thrust it predicts is a Roman death-verification practice unknown to Zechariah’s world.
DISPUTED — “Me” vs “him,” shown both ways
vehibbitu elay et asher-daqaru — “they will look to ME whom they pierced (daqaru)”
וְהִבִּיטוּ אֵלַי אֵת אֲשֶׁר־דָּקָרוּ
KJV“…and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son…”
NKJV“…then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son…”
NASB“…so that they will look at Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son…”
Young’s Lit.“…and they have looked unto Me whom they pierced, and they have mourned over it, like a mourning over the only one…”
NIV“…They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child…”
ESV“…so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child…”
JPS (Jewish)“…and they shall look unto Me because they have thrust him through; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son…”
Crux: the striking feature is that the LORD is the speaker — “they shall look on Me (אֵלַי, elay) whom they pierced.” Six of the seven keep “Me”; a minority of Hebrew manuscripts read “him” (elaw), and the JPS softens it to “look unto Me because they have thrust him through.” Either way the passage has (a) a piercing and (b) a national mourning over the pierced one. Fulfillment: John 19:34–37 — the soldier’s spear pierces Jesus’ side, and John quotes “They shall look on him whom they pierced” explicitly.
4 · Zechariah 11:12–13 — The Thirty Pieces of Silver
Written ~520–480 BC · preserved in 4QXIIᵃ (Dead Sea Scrolls) · the “thirty pieces of silver” is the Exodus 21:32 price of a gored slave — a deliberate insult valuing God’s shepherd at a dead slave’s worth.
ESTABLISHED — the number is identical in all 7
vayishqelu et-sekari sheloshim kasef — “they weighed out my wages, thirty [pieces of] silver”
וַיִּשְׁקְלוּ אֶת־שְׂכָרִי שְׁלֹשִׁים כָּסֶף
Zechariah 11:12 — the price
KJV“…So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.”
NKJV“…So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.”
NASB“…So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.”
Young’s Lit.“…and they weigh out my hire—thirty silverlings.”
NIV“…So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.”
ESV“…And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver.”
JPS (Jewish)“…So they weighed for my hire thirty pieces of silver.”
Zechariah 11:13 — thrown to the potter, in the house of the LORD
KJV“…Cast it unto the potter… And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.”
NKJV“…‘Throw it to the potter’… So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter.”
NASB“…‘Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.’ So I… threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.”
Young’s Lit.“…‘Cast it unto the potter’… and I take the thirty silverlings, and cast them [to] the house of Jehovah, unto the potter.”
NIV“…‘Throw it to the potter’… So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the LORD.”
ESV“…‘Throw it to the potter’… So I… threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter.”
JPS (Jewish)“…‘Cast it into the treasury, the goodly price…’ And I… cast them into the treasury, in the house of the LORD.”
Crux: the Jewish JPS reads “treasury” (הָאוֹצָר, ha’otzar) where the Christian versions read “potter” (הַיּוֹצֵר, hayyotzer) — the two Hebrew words differ by one consonant. Remarkably, the Gospel fulfillment satisfies both readings at once: the priests took the money into the temple treasury (JPS) and then used it to buy a potter’s field (Christian text). Fulfillment: Judas is paid exactly 30 silver (Matt 26:15), hurls it into the temple (Matt 27:5), and the priests buy the potter’s field with it (Matt 27:6–10) — three independent hostile acts satisfying every element.
Bottom line across all four passages: the crucifixion signature — pierced hands/feet, a spear to the side, clothes gambled away, mocking taunts, death among criminals, burial with the rich, a slave’s price of thirty silver thrown in the temple — is present in every one of the seven translations, the Jewish JPS included. Where the versions genuinely diverge (Ps 22:16 “pierced” vs “lion”; Zech 12:10 “me” vs “him”; Zech 11:13 “potter” vs “treasury”; Isa 53:5 “pierced” vs “wounded”), the divergence is a single Hebrew letter or word — and in each case the older Jewish evidence (Septuagint ~250 BC, Nahal Hever scroll) supports the crucifixion reading, or the fulfillment satisfies both readings at once. These are not Christian edits smuggled into the text; they are the text’s own oldest witnesses.
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