Isaiah 53 (AMP)

The Suffering Servant

1Who has believed [confidently trusted in, relied on, and adhered to] our message [of salvation]? [Is 52:7, 10]

And to whom [if not us] has the arm and infinite power of the Lord been revealed? [John 12:38-41; Rom 10:16]

2For He [the Servant of God] grew up before Him like a tender shoot (plant),

And like a root out of dry ground;

He has no stately form or majestic splendor

That we would look at Him,

Nor [handsome] appearance that we would 53:2 Lit take pleasure in.be attracted to Him.

3He was despised and rejected by men,

A Man of sorrows and pain and acquainted with grief;

And like One from whom men hide their faces

He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or esteem Him.

4¶But [in fact] He has borne our griefs,

And He has carried our sorrows and pains;

Yet we [ignorantly] assumed that He was stricken,

Struck down by God and degraded and humiliated [by Him]. [Matt 8:17]

5But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing];

The punishment [required] for our well-being fell on Him,

And by His stripes (wounds) we are healed.

6All of us like sheep have gone astray,

We have turned, each one, to his own way;

But the Lord has caused the wickedness of us all [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]

To fall on Him [instead of us]. [1 Pet 2:24, 25]

7¶He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He did not open His mouth [to complain or defend Himself];

Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

And like a sheep that is silent before her shearers,

So He did not open His mouth.

8 53:8 Or Due to.After oppression and judgment He was taken away;

And 53:8 Or who will explain to His generation.as for His generation [His contemporaries], who [among them] concerned himself with the fact

That He was cut off from the land of the living [by His death]

For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke [of death] was due?

9His grave was assigned with the wicked,

But He was with a rich man in His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. [Matt 27:57-60; 1 Pet 2:22, 23]

10¶Yet the Lord was 53:10 Or pleased.willing

To crush Him, 53:10 Lit He made Him sick.causing Him to suffer;

If 53:10 Or His soul presents an offering.He would give Himself as a guilt offering [an atonement for sin],

He shall see His [spiritual] offspring,

He shall prolong His days,

And the will (good pleasure) of the Lord shall succeed and prosper in His hand.

11As a result of the 53:11 Lit trouble.anguish of His soul,

He shall see it and be satisfied;

By His knowledge [of what He has accomplished] the Righteous One,

My Servant, shall justify the many [making them righteous—upright before God, in right standing with Him],

For He shall bear [the responsibility for] their sins.

12Therefore, I will divide and give Him a portion with the great [kings and rulers],

And He shall divide the spoils with the mighty,

Because He [willingly] poured out His life to death,

And was counted among the transgressors;

Yet He Himself bore and took away the sin of many,

And interceded [with the Father] for the transgressors. [Luke 22:37]

Understand Isaiah 53

Walk through Isaiah 53 verse by verse, then read what three commentaries say about the chapter. The explanations are written for new readers.

Read the Isaiah 53 commentary