The Suffering Servant

53 (A)Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
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.
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.

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.
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.
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.

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.
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?
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

  1. Isaiah 53:2 Lit suckling
  2. Isaiah 53:3 Lit pains
  3. Isaiah 53:5 Or wounded
  4. Isaiah 53:5 Or peace
  5. Isaiah 53:6 Lit encounter Him
  6. Isaiah 53:8 Or life
  7. Isaiah 53:10 Lit He made Him sick
  8. Isaiah 53:10 Lit His soul
  9. Isaiah 53:10 Lit seed
  10. Isaiah 53:10 Or will of
  11. Isaiah 53:11 Or trouble
  12. Isaiah 53:11 DSS see light; LXX also has light
  13. Isaiah 53:12 Lit soul

53 Who can believe what we have heard,
    and for whose sake has the Lord’s arm[a] been revealed?
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.
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.

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.
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.
Like sheep we had all wandered away,
    each going its own way,
    but the Lord let fall on him all our crimes.

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.

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.
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

  1. Isaiah 53:1 Or power
  2. Isaiah 53:2 Or him
  3. Isaiah 53:9 Cf Tg; MT and with a rich one in his deaths
  4. Isaiah 53:10 Or if you place his life
  5. Isaiah 53:11 DSS (1QIsaa); MT lacks light.