Isaiah 53
New King James Version
The Sin-Bearing Messiah
53 Who (A)has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no [a]form or [b]comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no [c]beauty that we should desire Him.
3 (B)He is despised and [d]rejected by men,
A Man of [e]sorrows and (C)acquainted with [f]grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and (D)we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely (E)He has borne our [g]griefs
And carried our [h]sorrows;
Yet we [i]esteemed Him stricken,
[j]Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was (F)wounded[k] for our transgressions,
He was [l]bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His (G)stripes[m] we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord [n]has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet (H)He opened not His mouth;
(I)He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was (J)taken from [o]prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For (K)He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 (L)And [p]they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any (M)deceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to [q]bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul (N)an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
11 [r]He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge (O)My righteous (P)Servant shall (Q)justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
12 (R)Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
(S)And He shall divide the [s]spoil with the strong,
Because He (T)poured out His soul unto death,
And He was (U)numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And (V)made intercession for the transgressors.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 53:2 Stately form
- Isaiah 53:2 splendor
- Isaiah 53:2 Lit. appearance
- Isaiah 53:3 Or forsaken
- Isaiah 53:3 Lit. pains
- Isaiah 53:3 Lit. sickness
- Isaiah 53:4 Lit. sicknesses
- Isaiah 53:4 Lit. pains
- Isaiah 53:4 reckoned
- Isaiah 53:4 Struck down
- Isaiah 53:5 Or pierced through
- Isaiah 53:5 crushed
- Isaiah 53:5 Blows that cut in
- Isaiah 53:6 Lit. has caused to land on Him
- Isaiah 53:8 confinement
- Isaiah 53:9 Lit. he or He
- Isaiah 53:10 crush
- Isaiah 53:11 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; DSS, LXX From the labor of His soul He shall see light
- Isaiah 53:12 plunder
Isaiah 53
King James Version
53 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
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
Isaiah 53
English Standard Version
53 (A)Who has believed what he has heard from us?[a]
And to whom has (B)the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
(C)and like a root out of dry ground;
(D)he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 (E)He was despised and rejected[b] by men,
a man of sorrows[c] and acquainted with[d] grief;[e]
and as one from whom men hide their faces[f]
he was despised, and (F)we esteemed him not.
4 (G)Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
(H)smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 (I)But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
(J)and with his wounds we are healed.
6 (K)All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
(L)and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
(M)yet he opened not his mouth;
(N)like a (O)lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, (P)who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
(Q)and with a rich man in his death,
although[g] (R)he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet (S)it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;[h]
(T)when his soul makes[i] an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
(U)the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see[j] and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall (V)the righteous one, my servant,
(W)make many to be accounted righteous,
(X)and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 (Y)Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,[k]
(Z)and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,[l]
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
(AA)yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 53:1 Or Who has believed what we have heard?
- Isaiah 53:3 Or forsaken
- Isaiah 53:3 Or pains; also verse 4
- Isaiah 53:3 Or and knowing
- Isaiah 53:3 Or sickness; also verse 4
- Isaiah 53:3 Or as one who hides his face from us
- Isaiah 53:9 Or because
- Isaiah 53:10 Or he has made him sick
- Isaiah 53:10 Or when you make his soul
- Isaiah 53:11 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll he shall see light
- Isaiah 53:12 Or with the great
- Isaiah 53:12 Or with the numerous
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
