Isaiahchapter 53
12 verses · BSBIsaiah book hub →
This chapter opens in the middle of a passage. The fourth of Isaiah's songs about the Servant begins three verses earlier, at Isaiah 52:13. Read Isaiah 52 from the start→
Original Language
Isaiah 53— Hebrew word study · with the Hebrew tradition
The song opens here, at Isaiah 52:13
52:13Behold, My Servant will prosper;He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
52:14Just as many were appalled at Him—His appearance was disfigured beyond that of any man, and His form was marred beyond human likeness—
52:15so He will sprinkle many nations.Kings will shut their mouths because of Him.For they will see what they have not been told, and they will understand what they have not heard.
These verses are numbered in Isaiah 52.
How to read a word below: the Hebrewword, then how it sounds, then what it means, then its number in Strong’s concordance, a widely used lookup this site follows (H for Hebrew and Aramaic, G for Greek). Square brackets hold a word the English supplies that the Hebrew does not, angle brackets mark the Hebrew’s own grammatical elements that English renders as separate words, and the mark ס or פ is where the Hebrew manuscripts end a paragraph.
Despised and Rejected, No Beauty That We Should Desire Him1
Isaiah 53:1· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Rashi on Isaiah 53:1
Who would have believed our report So will the nations say to one another, Were we to hear from others what we see, it would be unbelievable.
Where this parts from what this site holdsRashi reads the speakers here as the nations of the world and the servant as the people of Israel. This site reads the chapter of Jesus, as the New Testament does when John quotes this verse of him at John 12:38.
Read it in full at Sefaria · The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
Isaiah 53:2· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Rashi on Isaiah 53:2
And he came up like a sapling before it This people, before this greatness came to it, was a very humble people, and it came up by itself like a sapling of the saplings of the trees.
Where this parts from what this site holdsThis reading takes the servant to be the people of Israel, humble before its greatness. This site reads the chapter of Jesus, as the New Testament does.
Read it in full at Sefaria · The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
Isaiah 53:3· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Wounded for Our Transgressions, Bruised for Our Iniquities4
Isaiah 53:4· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Isaiah 53:5· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Isaiah 53:6· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
As a Lamb Led to the Slaughter, a Grave with the Rich7
Isaiah 53:7· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Isaiah 53:8· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Isaiah 53:9· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
It Pleased the LORD to Bruise Him — He Shall See His Seed10
Isaiah 53:10· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Targum Jonathan on Isaiah 53:10
And it was the pleasure of the Lord to refine and to purify the remnant of His people, in order to cleanse their souls from sin, that they might see the kingdom of their messiah, that their sons and daughters might multiply, and prolong their days, and those that keep the law of the Lord shall prosper through His pleasure.
Where this parts from what this site holdsThe Targum moves the suffering to the remnant of the people and leaves the messiah of the verse unsuffering. This site reads the verse of Jesus, whose own soul is the guilt offering the Hebrew names here.
Read it in full at Sefaria · London "Chaldee Paraphrase," 1871
Isaiah 53:11· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Note on the text · Isaiah 53:11
The Hebrew text copied through the Middle Ages says the Servant "shall see and be satisfied"; two Isaiah scrolls from Qumran and the ancient Greek translation say he shall see light. The NIV, the NRSV, the CSB and the Berean text this site prints adopt it; the ESV, the NASB and the NKJV keep the Masoretic reading and note the scrolls beneath the line.
The witnesses, and what each reads here
- The Great Isaiah Scroll from Qumran (1QIsaᵃ) · roughly the second century BC"he shall see light", the extra word present in the Hebrew.
- A second Isaiah scroll from the same caves · Dead Sea Scrolls period, last centuries BCAlso supports the reading with "light."
- The Greek Old Testament (Septuagint) · translated in the last centuries BC; surviving in later manuscriptsReads "to show him light", inside a sentence built differently from the Hebrew, supporting evidence for the Qumran reading rather than the same Hebrew wording.
- The Masoretic Hebrew text · the Aleppo Codex, about 930; the Leningrad Codex, 1008"He shall see, he shall be satisfied", without "light." The reading behind the KJV and the ASV.
Rashi on Isaiah 53:11
From the toil of his soul he would eat and be satisfied, and he would not rob and plunder.
Where this parts from what this site holdsThis reading takes the servant's labour as Israel's honest work rather than a death for others. This site reads the verse of Jesus, whose knowledge justifies many because he bore their iniquities.
Read it in full at Sefaria · The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
Isaiah 53:12· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Rashi on Isaiah 53:12
Therefore Because he did this, I will allot him an inheritance and a lot in public with the Patriarchs.
Where this parts from what this site holdsThis reading gives the servant a portion among the patriarchs for what he suffered. This site reads the verse of Jesus, who himself quoted its next clause of his own arrest at Luke 22:37.
Read it in full at Sefaria · The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg