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Isaiah 53
The Message
Isaiah 53
The Message
53 Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?
Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?
2-6 The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
on him, on him.
7-9 He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn’t say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he’d never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn’t true.
10 Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,
to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.
11-12 Out of that terrible travail of soul,
he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
will make many “righteous ones,”
as he himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly—
the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch,
because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
he took up the cause of all the black sheep.
Isaiah 53
New American Standard Bible
Isaiah 53
New American Standard Bible
The Suffering Servant
53 (A)Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a (B)tender [a]shoot,
And like a root out of dry ground;
He has (C)no stately form or majesty
That we would look at Him,
Nor an appearance that we would take pleasure in Him.
3 He was (D)despised and abandoned by men,
A man of [b]great pain and (E)familiar with sickness;
And like one from whom people hide their faces,
He was (F)despised, and we had no (G)regard for Him.
4 However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself (H)bore,
And our pains that He carried;
Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted,
Struck down by (I)God, and humiliated.
5 But He was [c]pierced for (J)our offenses,
He was crushed for (K)our wrongdoings;
The (L)punishment for our [d]well-being was laid upon Him,
And by (M)His wounds we are healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all
To [e]fall on Him.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet He did not (N)open His mouth;
(O)Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off from the land of the [f]living
(P)For the wrongdoing of my people, to whom the blow was due?
9 And His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a (Q)rich man in His death,
(R)Because He had (S)done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
10 But the Lord desired
To (T)crush Him, [g](U)causing Him grief;
If He renders [h]Himself as a guilt (V)offering,
He will see (W)His [i]offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the [j]good (X)pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the [k]anguish of His soul,
He will [l](Y)see it and be satisfied;
By His (Z)knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
For He will (AA)bear their wrongdoings.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a (AB)portion with the great,
And He will divide the plunder with the strong,
Because He poured out His [m](AC)life unto death,
And was (AD)counted with wrongdoers;
Yet He Himself (AE)bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the wrongdoers.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 53:2 Lit suckling
- Isaiah 53:3 Lit pains
- Isaiah 53:5 Or wounded
- Isaiah 53:5 Or peace
- Isaiah 53:6 Lit encounter Him
- Isaiah 53:8 Or life
- Isaiah 53:10 Lit He made Him sick
- Isaiah 53:10 Lit His soul
- Isaiah 53:10 Lit seed
- Isaiah 53:10 Or will of
- Isaiah 53:11 Or trouble
- Isaiah 53:11 DSS see light; LXX also has light
- Isaiah 53:12 Lit soul
Isaiah 53
New International Version
Isaiah 53
New International Version
53 Who has believed our message(A)
and to whom has the arm(B) of the Lord been revealed?(C)
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,(D)
and like a root(E) out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance(F) that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering,(G) and familiar with pain.(H)
Like one from whom people hide(I) their faces
he was despised,(J) and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,(K)
yet we considered him punished by God,(L)
stricken by him, and afflicted.(M)
5 But he was pierced(N) for our transgressions,(O)
he was crushed(P) for our iniquities;
the punishment(Q) that brought us peace(R) was on him,
and by his wounds(S) we are healed.(T)
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,(U)
each of us has turned to our own way;(V)
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity(W) of us all.
7 He was oppressed(X) and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;(Y)
he was led like a lamb(Z) to the slaughter,(AA)
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression[a] and judgment(AB) he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;(AC)
for the transgression(AD) of my people he was punished.[b]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,(AE)
and with the rich(AF) in his death,
though he had done no violence,(AG)
nor was any deceit in his mouth.(AH)
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will(AI) to crush(AJ) him and cause him to suffer,(AK)
and though the Lord makes[c] his life an offering for sin,(AL)
he will see his offspring(AM) and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper(AN) in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,(AO)
he will see the light(AP) of life[d] and be satisfied[e];
by his knowledge[f] my righteous servant(AQ) will justify(AR) many,
and he will bear their iniquities.(AS)
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[g](AT)
and he will divide the spoils(AU) with the strong,[h]
because he poured out his life unto death,(AV)
and was numbered with the transgressors.(AW)
For he bore(AX) the sin of many,(AY)
and made intercession(AZ) for the transgressors.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 53:8 Or From arrest
- Isaiah 53:8 Or generation considered / that he was cut off from the land of the living, / that he was punished for the transgression of my people?
- Isaiah 53:10 Hebrew though you make
- Isaiah 53:11 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text does not have the light of life.
- Isaiah 53:11 Or (with Masoretic Text) 11 He will see the fruit of his suffering / and will be satisfied
- Isaiah 53:11 Or by knowledge of him
- Isaiah 53:12 Or many
- Isaiah 53:12 Or numerous
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.