Isaiah 53
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
53 Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?(A)
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.(B)
3 He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering[a] and acquainted with infirmity,
and as one from whom others hide their faces[b]
he was despised, and we held him of no account.(C)
4 Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases,
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.(D)
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.(E)
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.(F)
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.(G)
8 By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people.(H)
9 They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomb[c] with the rich,[d]
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.(I)
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with affliction.
When you make his life an offering for sin,[e]
he shall see his offspring and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.(J)
11 Out of his anguish he shall see;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
The righteous one,[f] my servant, shall make many righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.(K)
12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out himself to death
and was numbered with the transgressors,
yet he bore the sin of many
and made intercession for the transgressors.(L)
Isaiah 53
Evangelical Heritage Version
53
Who has believed our report,
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot[a]
and like a root from dry ground.
He had no attractiveness and no majesty.
When we saw him, nothing about his appearance made us desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man who knew grief,
who was well acquainted with suffering.
Like someone whom people cannot bear to look at,
he was despised,
and we thought nothing of him.
4 Surely he was taking up our weaknesses,[b]
and he was carrying our sufferings.
We thought it was because of God
that he was stricken, smitten, and afflicted,
5 but it was because of our rebellion that he was pierced.
He was crushed for the guilt our sins deserved.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all have gone astray like sheep.
Each of us has turned to his own way,
but the Lord has charged all our guilt to him.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth.
Like a lamb he was led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep[c] that is silent in front of its shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
8 He was taken away without a fair trial[d] and without justice,
and of his generation, who even cared?[e]
So, he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was struck because of the rebellion of my people.
9 They would have assigned him a grave with the wicked,
but he was given a grave with the rich in his death,
because he had done no violence,
and no deceit was in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him
and to allow him to suffer.
Because you[f] made his life a guilt offering, he will see offspring.
He will prolong his days,
and the Lord’s gracious plan will succeed in his hand.
11 After his soul experiences anguish, he will see the light of life.[g]
He will provide satisfaction.[h]
Through their knowledge of him, my just servant will justify the many,
for he himself carried their guilt.[i]
12 Therefore I will give him an allotment among the great,[j]
and with the strong he will share plunder,
because he poured out his life to death,
and he let himself be counted with rebellious sinners.
He himself carried the sin of many,
and he intercedes for the rebels.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 53:2 A shoot or sucker is a plant that grows up from the stump where a tree has been cut down.
- Isaiah 53:4 Or sicknesses
- Isaiah 53:7 Or ewe
- Isaiah 53:8 Or protection
- Isaiah 53:8 Verse 8 is difficult, and translations and arrangements of the verse vary widely.
- Isaiah 53:10 The shift to the second person pronoun you must refer to God, who gives his Son as a sin offering.
- Isaiah 53:11 The words the light of life are not included in the standard Hebrew text but are in the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah.
- Isaiah 53:11 Or be satisfied. The understanding of this line depends on whether the subject is the Messiah, as is the case in all the other lines of this verse, or it is God the Father, who is satisfied by the Messiah’s suffering. The understanding of the verse also depends on whether the variant the light of life is included in the preceding line. Another factor is whether this line goes with what precedes or with what follows. What is clear is that the Messiah provides a full payment for sin (satisfaction), and the Lord is satisfied with that payment. What is uncertain is which of these two points is stressed by this verb.
- Isaiah 53:11 As in verse 5, the Hebrew term is plural and refers to the guilt deserved for sins.
- Isaiah 53:12 Or give him the many as his portion
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.