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Isaiah 53:9

in Isaiah 53

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.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

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.

This verse in Isaiah 53

Commentary

14 notes on this verse
And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death,.... These words are generally supposed to refer to a fact that was afterwards done; that Christ, who died with wicked men, as if he himself had been one, was buried in a rich man's grave. Could the words admit of the following transposition, they would exactly agree with it, "and he made his grave with the rich; and with the wicked in his death"; for he died between two thieves, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joseph of Arimathaea, a rich man.

This site's exposition

He was assigned a grave with the wicked

He “was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in His death”. The ground given is His innocence, “although He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth”. The Hebrew word for death is plural here, as Gill and Barnes note.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers5 voices

A commentator

Theodore of Heraclea

FRAGMENTS ON ISAIAH · Written before 355.

proposed

If you wish to look at the mind behind his appearance, you will find it to be an ocean of compassion for humanity residing there. For he saved them, the most foul people who gloried in their wealth and those condemned to death from their …
For Christ is of those who are humble-minded, and not of those who exalt themselves over His flock. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Sceptre of the majesty of God, did not come in the pomp of pride or arrogance, although He might have done so, but in a lowly condition, as the Holy Spirit had declared regarding Him. For He says, "Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? We have declared [our message] in His presence: He is, as it were, a child, and like a root in thirsty ground; He has no form nor glory, yea, we saw Him, and He had no form nor comeliness; but His form was without eminence, yea, deficient in comparison with the [ordinary] form of men. He is a man exposed to stripes and suffering, and acquainted with the endurance of grief: for His countenance was turned away; He was despised, and not esteemed. He bears our iniquities, and is in sorrow for our sakes; yet we supposed that [on His own account] He was exposed to labour, and stripes, and affliction. But He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we were healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray; [every] man has wandered in his own way; and the Lord has delivered Him up for our sins, while He in the midst of His sufferings opens not His mouth. He was brought as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before her shearer is dumb, so He opens not His mouth. In His humiliation His judgment was taken away; who shall declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth. For the transgressions of my people was He brought down to death. And I will give the wicked for His sepulchre, and the rich for His death, because He did no iniquity, neither was guile found in His mouth. And the Lord is pleased to purify him by stripes. […]

A commentator

John Chrysostom

COMMENTARY ON GALATIANS 3 · Written before 407.

proposed

In reality, the people were subject to another curse, which says, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all that is written in the book of the law." To this curse, I say, people were subject, for no person had continued in or was a keeper of the whole law. But Christ exchanged this curse for the other, "Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree." … It was necessary for him who is about to relieve us from a curse to be himself free of it. But he received another instead of ours. Therefore Christ took on himself just such curse and thereby relieved us from the curse. It was like an innocent person deciding to die for another sentenced to death, and so rescuing him from punishment. For Christ took on him not the curse of transgression but the other curse, in order to remove that of others. For "he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth."

A commentator

John Chrysostom

ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 13:7 · Written before 407.

proposed

And is not one ashamed to say that God is not crafty or deceitful? Concerning him, however, in respect of the flesh, it might be reasonable [to say it].

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 420.

proposed

He will be given the wicked as a burial place, and the wealthy as his tomb, because he did no violence, nor was deceit found in his mouth. LXX: I will give the wicked for his burial, and the rich for his death. He did not commit iniquity, nor was deceit found in his mouth. He gave the impious for his burial; and the rich for his death.
7 more voices on this verse

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

John Chrysostom

DEMONSTRATION AGAINST THE PAGANS 4:7 · Written before 407.

proposed

Then to show that the court was corrupt and the sentence unjust, he went on to say, "In his humiliation his legal trial was taken away," that is, no one judged justly in his case.

A commentator

Hippolytus of Rome

FRAGMENTS ON THE PSALMS 1:6 · Written before 235.

proposed

David alone of the prophets prophesied with an instrument, called by the Greeks the "psaltery." … But this psaltery has the source of its musical numbers above, in order that we, too, may practice seeking things above and not suffer ourselves to be borne down by the pleasure of melody to the passions of the flesh. And I think that this truth, too, was signified deeply and clearly to us in a prophetic way in the construction of the instrument, namely, that those who have souls well ordered and trained have the way ready to things above. And again, an instrument having the source of its melodious sound in its upper parts may be taken as like the body of Christ and his saints—the only instrument that maintains rectitude; "for he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." This is indeed an instrument, harmonious, melodious, well-ordered, that took in no human discord and did nothing out of measure but maintained in all things, as it were, harmony toward the Father; for, as he says, "he that is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth; he that comes from heaven testifies of what he has seen and heard."

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Thomas Aquinas

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 1274.

proposed

And he shall give the ungodly. Here he sets out his vindication against his persecutors. And first, he sets out their reward: and he shall give the ungodly, the Jews into the hands of the Romans, for his burial, because they had him guarded in …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. He never offended either in word or deed, nor could any of his enemies take up that challenge of his, Which of you convinceth me of sin? The judge that condemned owned he found no fault in him, and the centurion that executed him professed that certainly he was a righteous man.

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

And he made his grave with the wicked - Jerome renders this, Et dabit impios pro sepultura et divitem pro morte sua. The Septuagint renders it, ‘I will give the wicked instead of his burial (ἀντὶ τῆς ταφῆς anti tēs taphēs), and the rich in the place, or instead of his death’ (ἀντὶ τοῦ θανάτου anti tou thanatou).

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Jer 26:23). and with . . . rich--rather, "but He was with a rich man," &c. GESENIUS, for the parallelism to "the wicked," translates "ungodly" (the effect of riches being to make one ungodly); but the Hebrew everywhere means "rich," never by itself ungodly; the parallelism, too, is one of contrast; namely, between their design and the fact, as it was ordered by God (Mt 27:57;

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

With the rich in his death “With the rich man was his tomb” - It may be necessary to introduce Bishop Lowth’s translation of this verse before we come to his very satisfactory criticisms: - And his grave was appointed with the wicked; But with the rich man was his tomb: Although he had done no wrong, Neither was there any guile in his mouth. Among the various opinions which have been given on this passage, I have no doubt in giving my assent to that which makes the ב beth in במותיו bemothaiv radical, and renders it excelsa sua. This is mentioned by Aben Ezra as received by some in his time; and has been long since approved by Schindler, Drusius, and many other learned Christian interpreters. The most simple tombs or monuments of old consisted of hillocks of earth heaped up over the grave; of which we have numerous examples in our own country, generally allowed to be of very high antiquity. The Romans called a monument of this sort very properly tumulus; and the Hebrews as properly במות bamoth, “high place,” for that is the form of’ the noun in the singular number; and sixteen MSS. and the two oldest editions express the word fully in this place, במותיו bamothaiv. Tumulus et collem et sepulchrum fuisse significat. Potest enim tumulus sine sepulchro interpretatione collis interdum accipi. Nam et terrae congestio super ossa tumulus dicitur. “Tumulus signifies a sepulcher with a hillock of earth raised over it. The word is sometimes restrained to the bank of earth; for the heaping up of the earth over the bones is named the tumulus.” - Servius, Aen. 3:22. And to make the tumulus still more elevated and conspicuous, a pillar or some other ornament was often erected upon it: - Τυμβον χευαντες, και επι στηλην ερυσαντες, Πηξαμεν ακροτατῳ τυμβῳ ευηρες ερετμον. Odyss. sii. […]

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

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.
Targum · Targum Jonathan on Isaiah 53:10, via Sefaria, London "Chaldee Paraphrase," 1871

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

14 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיִּתֵּ֤ןand someone assigned

    vaiyitenH5414 →2011 times

  • אֶת־with

    ʾet-H854 →929 times

  • רְשָׁעִים֙wicked [people]

    reshaimH7563 →263 times

  • קִבְר֔וֹgrave his

    kivroH6913 →67 times

  • וְאֶת־and with

    veetH854 →929 times

  • עָשִׁ֖ירa rich [person]

    ʾashirH6223 →

  • בְּמֹתָ֑יוin death<s> his

    bemotavH4194 →156 times

  • עַ֚לon

    ʾalH5921 →5755 times

  • לֹא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • חָמָ֣סviolence

    chamasH2555 →60 times

  • עָשָׂ֔הhe had done

    ʾasahH6213 →2628 times

  • וְלֹ֥אand not

    velo'H3808 →5168 times

  • מִרְמָ֖הdeceit

    mirmahH4820 →

  • בְּפִֽיו׃[was] in mouth his

    befivH6310 →498 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    2 Corinthians 5:21

    God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

    it leads to

    • 1 Peter 3:18

      For 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,

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Peter 2:22–24

      “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”

    • Romans 5:19

      For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

    • Galatians 3:13

      Christ 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.”

    • 1 Corinthians 1:30

      It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

  • Through

    1 John 3:5

    But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.

    it leads to

    • 2 Corinthians 5:21

      God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Hebrews 9:28

      so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.

  • Through

    1 Peter 2:22

    “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”

    it leads to

    • Hebrews 4:15

      For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.

Where this verse is studied

About Isaiah

The Prophet Isaiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Prophet Isaiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Clement of Rome, Clement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 16; Hippolytus of Rome, FRAGMENTS ON THE PSALMS 1:6; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON GALATIANS 3; John Chrysostom, ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 13:7; John Chrysostom, DEMONSTRATION AGAINST THE PAGANS 4:7; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodore of Heraclea, FRAGMENTS ON ISAIAH and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.