Isaiahchapter 53

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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 from Isaiah 52:13→

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.

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.

Commentary on this chapter: read the Exposition What the manuscripts read here: on the Study level

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Chapter summary

Isaiah's fourth Servant Song reaches its center as a "we" voice asks who has believed the report and to whom the arm of Jehovah is revealed.

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Isaiah's fourth Servant Song reaches its center as a "we" voice asks who has believed the report and to whom the arm of Jehovah is revealed. The Servant grows up as a root out of dry ground, without form or comeliness, despised, rejected, a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. Then the confession turns: he bears our griefs, is wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, with his stripes we are healed, and Jehovah lays on him the iniquity of us all. Silent as a lamb led to the slaughter, he is cut off out of the land of the living, his grave made with the wicked and with a rich man, though he did no violence. Jehovah makes his soul an offering for sin: he sees his seed, justifies many, and divides spoil, having poured out his soul unto death and made intercession for the transgressors, the chapter the New Testament applies directly to Jesus, from Philip's exposition in Acts 8:32-35 to 1 Peter 2:22-25.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Prophecy · Isaiah — Isaiah overview

A. 1–3 Despised and Rejected, No Beauty That We Should Desire Him
B. 4–6 Wounded for Our Transgressions, Bruised for Our Iniquities
C. 7–9 As a Lamb Led to the Slaughter, a Grave with the Rich
D. 10–12 It Pleased the LORD to Bruise Him — He Shall See His Seed

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

1 Peter 24 verses
- 1 Peter 2:22“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”
- 1 Peter 2:23When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.
- 1 Peter 2:24He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
- 1 Peter 2:25For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
- Read 1 Peter 2 →
Matthew 262 verses
- Matthew 26:63But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
- Matthew 26:67Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him
- Read Matthew 26 →
Acts 82 verses
- Acts 8:32The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so He did not open His mouth.
- Acts 8:33In His humiliation He was deprived of justice. Who can recount His descendants? For His life was removed from the earth.”
- Read Acts 8 →
1 Peter 31 verse
- 1 Peter 3:18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- Read 1 Peter 3 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

John 11 verse
- John 1:10He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.
- Read John 1 →
Galatians 31 verse
- Galatians 3:13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
- Read Galatians 3 →
John 121 verse
- John 12:38This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
- Read John 12 →
Romans 101 verse
- Romans 10:16But not all of them welcomed the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”
- Read Romans 10 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.