53 Who has believed what we have heard?[a]
And to whom has the arm of the Lord(A) been revealed?(B)
He grew up before him like a young plant(C)
and like a root out of dry ground.
He didn’t have an impressive form
or majesty that we should look at him,
no appearance that we should desire him.(D)
He was despised and rejected by men,(E)
a man of suffering who knew what sickness was.(F)
He was like someone people turned away from;[b]
he was despised, and we didn’t value him.

Yet he himself bore our sicknesses,
and he carried our pains;(G)
but we in turn regarded him stricken,
struck down by God,(H) and afflicted.
But he was pierced because of our rebellion,(I)
crushed because of our iniquities;(J)
punishment(K) for our peace was on him,
and we are healed by his wounds.(L)
We all went astray like sheep;(M)
we all have turned to our own way;
and the Lord has punished him
for[c] the iniquity(N) of us all.(O)

He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughter
and like a sheep silent before her shearers,
he did not open his mouth.(P)
He was taken away because of oppression and judgment,
and who considered his fate?[d]
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
he was struck because of my people’s rebellion.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
but he was with a rich man at his death,(Q)
because he had done no violence
and had not spoken deceitfully.(R)

10 Yet the Lord was pleased(S) to crush him severely.[e](T)
When[f] you make him a guilt offering,(U)
he will see his seed, he will prolong his days,
and by his hand, the Lord’s pleasure will be accomplished.(V)
11 After his anguish,
he will see light[g] and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
my righteous(W) servant(X) will justify many,(Y)
and he will carry their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him[h] the many as a portion,
and he will receive[i] the mighty as spoil,
because he willingly submitted to death,(Z)
and was counted among the rebels;(AA)
yet he bore the sin of many(AB)
and interceded for the rebels.(AC)

Footnotes

  1. 53:1 Or believed our report
  2. 53:3 Lit And like a hiding of faces from him
  3. 53:6 Or has placed on him; lit with
  4. 53:8 Or and as for his generation, who considered him?
  5. 53:10 Or him; he made him sick.
  6. 53:10 Or If
  7. 53:11 DSS, LXX; MT omits light
  8. 53:12 Or him with
  9. 53:12 Or receive with

53 Who has believed our message?
    To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,
    like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
    nothing to attract us to him.
He was despised and rejected—
    a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
    He was despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
    it was our sorrows[a] that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
    a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
    the sins of us all.

He was oppressed and treated harshly,
    yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
    And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
    he did not open his mouth.
Unjustly condemned,
    he was led away.[b]
No one cared that he died without descendants,
    that his life was cut short in midstream.[c]
But he was struck down
    for the rebellion of my people.
He had done no wrong
    and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
    he was put in a rich man’s grave.

10 But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
    and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
    he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
    and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
    he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
    my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
    for he will bear all their sins.
12 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
    because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
    He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Footnotes

  1. 53:4 Or Yet it was our sicknesses he carried; / it was our diseases.
  2. 53:8a Greek version reads He was humiliated and received no justice. Compare Acts 8:33.
  3. 53:8b Or As for his contemporaries, / who cared that his life was cut short in midstream? Greek version reads Who can speak of his descendants? / For his life was taken from the earth. Compare Acts 8:33.