Isaiah 53
Common English Bible
53 Who can believe what we have heard,
and for whose sake has the Lord’s arm[a] been revealed?
2 He grew up like a young plant before us,[b]
like a root from dry ground.
He possessed no splendid form for us to see,
no desirable appearance.
3 He was despised and avoided by others;
a man who suffered, who knew sickness well.
Like someone from whom people hid their faces,
he was despised, and we didn’t think about him.
4 It was certainly our sickness that he carried,
and our sufferings that he bore,
but we thought him afflicted,
struck down by God and tormented.
5 He was pierced because of our rebellions
and crushed because of our crimes.
He bore the punishment that made us whole;
by his wounds we are healed.
6 Like sheep we had all wandered away,
each going its own way,
but the Lord let fall on him all our crimes.
7 He was oppressed and tormented,
but didn’t open his mouth.
Like a lamb being brought to slaughter,
like a ewe silent before her shearers,
he didn’t open his mouth.
8 Due to an unjust ruling he was taken away,
and his fate—who will think about it?
He was eliminated from the land of the living,
struck dead because of my people’s rebellion.
9 His grave was among the wicked,
his tomb with evildoers,[c]
though he had done no violence,
and had spoken nothing false.
10 But the Lord wanted to crush him
and to make him suffer.
If his life is offered[d] as restitution,
he will see his offspring; he will enjoy long life.
The Lord’s plans will come to fruition through him.
11 After his deep anguish he will see light,[e] and he will be satisfied.
Through his knowledge, the righteous one, my servant,
will make many righteous,
and will bear their guilt.
12 Therefore, I will give him a share with the great,
and he will divide the spoil with the strong,
in return for exposing his life to death
and being numbered with rebels,
though he carried the sin of many
and pleaded on behalf of those who rebelled.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 53:1 Or power
- Isaiah 53:2 Or him
- Isaiah 53:9 Cf Tg; MT and with a rich one in his deaths
- Isaiah 53:10 Or if you place his life
- Isaiah 53:11 DSS (1QIsaa); MT lacks light.
Isaiah 53
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 53
1 Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a sapling,
like a shoot in arid ground.
He had no beauty or majesty
that would cause us to look at him;
nothing in his appearance would attract us to him.
3 He was despised and shunned by others,
a man of sorrows who was no stranger to suffering.
We loathed him and regarded him as of no account,
as one from whom men avert their gaze.
4 Although it was our afflictions that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured,
we thought of him as stricken,
as struck down by God and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our offenses
and crushed for our iniquity;
the punishment that made us whole fell upon him,
and by his bruises we have been healed.
6 We had all gone astray like sheep,
each of us following his own way,
but the Lord laid upon him
the guilt of us all.
7 Although harshly treated and afflicted,
he did not open his mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughter
and like a sheep that keeps silent before its shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
8 Unjustly condemned, he was taken away,
and who gave any thought to his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living
and stricken for the sins of his people.
9 They assigned him a grave with the wicked
and a burial place with evildoers,
even though he had done no act of violence
nor had he ever spoken deceitfully.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord
to crush him with pain.
For if he gives his life as a sacrifice for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his life,
and through him the will of the Lord will be accomplished.
11 As a result of his anguish
my servant will behold the light and be content.
Through his humiliation he will justify many,
and their guilt he will bear.
12 Therefore, I will allot him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the mighty,
because he exposed himself to death
and was counted among the transgressors,
even though he bore the sins of many
and interceded for the transgressors.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
