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Isaiah 53

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

Isaiah 53:1 KJV

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.

Isaiah 53:2 KJV

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.

Isaiah 53:3 KJV

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Isaiah 53:4 KJV

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.

Isaiah 53:5 KJV

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.

Isaiah 53:6 KJV

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.

Isaiah 53:7 KJV

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.

Isaiah 53:8 KJV

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.

Isaiah 53:9 KJV

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.

Isaiah 53:10 KJV

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.

Isaiah 53:11 KJV

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 53:12 KJV

End of Isaiah 53

Continue reading Isaiah 54

What is Isaiah 53 about?

Isaiah 53 describes the "suffering servant," a figure despised and rejected, "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (verse 3). He suffers not for his own wrongs but for others: "he was wounded for our transgressions... and with his stripes we are healed" (verse 5). "All we like sheep have gone astray," yet the LORD laid on him the iniquity of us all. He goes silently "as a lamb to the slaughter," dies, and is buried with the rich, yet afterward he will see the fruit of his suffering and justify many. Written centuries before Jesus, the New Testament applies this chapter to his death and resurrection.

What does Isaiah 53 mean?

Isaiah 53:5

Isaiah 53 describes a servant of the LORD who suffers for the sins of others. This verse is its center: "he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities." The punishment that brought us peace with God fell on him, "and with his stripes we are healed." Stripes are the wounds of a whipping. Isaiah wrote centuries before Jesus, yet the New Testament applies this passage directly to his suffering and death; 1 Peter 2:24 quotes it. The healing in view is first spiritual, restoring our broken relationship with God. Christians read it as the heart of the gospel: Jesus took our place.

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