53
The Suffering Servant
(Acts 8:26–40; 1 Peter 2:21–25)
1 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?*
2 He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
no beauty that we should desire Him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces,
He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
4 Surely He took on our infirmities
and carried our sorrows;†
yet we considered Him stricken by God,
struck down and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,
and by His stripes we are healed.‡
6 We all like sheep have gone astray,§
each one has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid upon Him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet He did not open His mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away,
and who can recount His descendants?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;*
He was stricken for the transgression of My people.
A Grave Assigned
(Matthew 27:57–61; Mark 15:42–47; Luke 23:50–56; John 19:38–42)
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with a rich man in His death,
although He had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in His mouth.†
10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him
and to cause Him to suffer;
and when His soul is made a guilt offering,‡
He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days,
and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
11 After the anguish of His soul,
He will see the light of life § and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many,
and He will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great,*
and He will divide the spoils with the strong,†
because He has poured out His life unto death,
and He was numbered with the transgressors.‡
Yet He bore the sin of many
and made intercession for the transgressors.
* 53:1 Cited in John 12:38 and Romans 10:16 † 53:4 LXX This One bears our sins and is pained for us; cited in Matthew 8:17 and 1 Peter 2:24 ‡ 53:5 Cited in 1 Peter 2:24 § 53:6 Cited in 1 Peter 2:25 * 53:8 LXX In humiliation He was deprived of justice. Who can recount His descendants? For His life was removed from the earth; cited in Acts 8:32–33. † 53:9 Cited in 1 Peter 2:22 ‡ 53:10 Or and though He makes His life a guilt offering § 53:11 DSS (see also LXX); MT does not include the light of life. * 53:12 Or many † 53:12 Or numerous ‡ 53:12 Cited in Luke 22:37