53 Will anyone believe
the news that we have to tell people? [ a ]
Will anyone understand
how the Lord has used his great power?
2 God's servant grew up in front of him,
like a young, green plant,
with its roots in dry ground.
He was not handsome.
He did not seem like a great king.
We did not see him as a special person.
There was nothing to see
that would make us want to be with him.
3 People did not respect him.
They refused to accept him.
He was a man who received much pain.
He knew what it felt like to be weak and ill.
People did not even want to look at him.
They did not respect him.
We decided that he was worth nothing.
4 But he took away all our weakness!
He carried our pain for us.
We thought that he was receiving punishment for his own sins.
We thought that God was causing him to suffer.
5 But it was our sins that caused his wounds.
The bad things that we had done crushed him.
The punishment that he received
has brought peace to us.
The wounds that he received
have made us well.
6 We have all turned away,
like sheep that take the wrong path.
Each of us has turned to follow our own way.
But the Lord has taken all our sins
and put the punishment on him.
7 People were cruel to him,
and he received much pain.
But he did not say anything to complain.
He was like a lamb that people were leading away to kill.
He was like a sheep when they are cutting off its wool,
but it makes no noise.
In the same way, he did not say anything.
8 They spoke lies to accuse him in court.
Then they led him away to kill him.
And nobody at that time said that it was wrong.
His life in this world quickly came to an end.
And it was the sins of our own people that caused him to die.
9 They decided to bury him with wicked people.
But his body was put in a rich man's grave.
He had not done anything to hurt anyone.
He had not told lies to deceive people.
10 But it was the Lord who chose to hurt his servant.
He caused his servant to receive much pain.
His servant died to remove people's guilt.
As a result, God will bless him with many descendants,
and he will have a long life.
What the Lord wants will happen,
because of what his servant does.
11 When God's servant sees the result of his pain,
he will understand what he has done.
And he will be happy.
The Lord says,
‘My righteous servant will cause many people to be “not guilty”,
because he will take the punishment for all their sins.
12 So I will put him in a place of honour,
as a great person deserves.
He will share the good things that powerful men receive
when they have won a battle.
He deserves this, because he agreed to die as a sacrifice.
People thought that he himself was a sinner
when he took away the sins of many people.
He prayed that God would forgive sinners.’
53 Who really believed what we heard? Who saw in it the Lord ’s great power? [ a ]
2 He was always close to the Lord. He grew up like a young plant, like a root growing in dry ground. There was nothing special or impressive about the way he looked, nothing we could see that would cause us to like him. 3 People made fun of him, and even his friends left him. He was a man who suffered a lot of pain and sickness. We treated him like someone of no importance, like someone people will not even look at but turn away from in disgust.
4 The fact is, it was our suffering he took on himself; he bore our pain. But we thought that God was punishing him, that God was beating him for something he did. 5 But he was being punished for what we did. He was crushed because of our guilt. He took the punishment we deserved, and this brought us peace. We were healed because of his pain. 6 We had all wandered away like sheep. We had gone our own way. And yet the Lord put all our guilt on him.
7 He was treated badly, but he never protested. He said nothing, like a lamb being led away to be killed. He was like a sheep that makes no sound as its wool is being cut off. He never opened his mouth to defend himself. 8 He was taken away by force and judged unfairly. The people of his time did not even notice that he was killed. [ b ] But he was put to death [ c ] for the sins of his [ d ] people. 9 He had done no wrong to anyone. He had never even told a lie. But he was buried among the wicked. His tomb was with the rich.
10 But the Lord was pleased with this humble servant who suffered such pain. [ e ] Even after giving himself as an offering for sin, he will see his descendants and enjoy a long life. He will succeed in doing what the Lord wanted. 11 After his suffering he will see the light, [ f ] and he will be satisfied with what he experienced.
The Lord says, “My servant, who always does what is right, will make his people right with me; he will take away their sins. 12 For this reason, I will treat him as one of my great people. I will give him the rewards of one who wins in battle, and he will share them with his powerful ones. I will do this because he gave his life for the people. He was considered a criminal, but the truth is, he carried away the sins of many. Now he will stand before me and speak for those who have sinned.”
53 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
2 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.
3 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.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 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.
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 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.
10 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.
11 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.
12 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.
53 ( A ) Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a ( B ) tender [ a ] shoot,
And like a root out of dry ground;
He has ( C ) no stately form or majesty
That we would look at Him,
Nor an appearance that we would take pleasure in Him.
3 He was ( D ) despised and abandoned by men,
A man of [ b ] great pain and ( E ) familiar with sickness;
And like one from whom people hide their faces,
He was ( F ) despised, and we had no ( G ) regard for Him.
4 However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself ( H ) bore,
And our pains that He carried;
Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted,
Struck down by ( I ) God, and humiliated.
5 But He was [ c ] pierced for ( J ) our offenses,
He was crushed for ( K ) our wrongdoings;
The ( L ) punishment for our [ d ] well-being was laid upon Him,
And by ( M ) His wounds we are healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all
To [ e ] fall on Him.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet He did not ( N ) open His mouth;
( O ) Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off from the land of the [ f ] living
( P ) For the wrongdoing of my people, to whom the blow was due ?
9 And His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a ( Q ) rich man in His death,
( R ) Because He had ( S ) done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
10 But the Lord desired
To ( T ) crush Him, [ g ] ( U ) causing Him grief;
If He renders [ h ] Himself as a guilt ( V ) offering,
He will see ( W ) His [ i ] offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the [ j ] good ( X ) pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the [ k ] anguish of His soul,
He will [ l ] ( Y ) see it and be satisfied;
By His ( Z ) knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
For He will ( AA ) bear their wrongdoings.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a ( AB ) portion with the great,
And He will divide the plunder with the strong,
Because He poured out His [ m ] ( AC ) life unto death,
And was ( AD ) counted with wrongdoers;
Yet He Himself ( AE ) bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the wrongdoers.
53 Who has believed our message ( A )
and to whom has the arm ( B ) of the Lord been revealed? ( C )
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, ( D )
and like a root ( E ) out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance ( F ) that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, ( G ) and familiar with pain. ( H )
Like one from whom people hide ( I ) their faces
he was despised, ( J ) and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering, ( K )
yet we considered him punished by God, ( L )
stricken by him, and afflicted. ( M )
5 But he was pierced ( N ) for our transgressions, ( O )
he was crushed ( P ) for our iniquities;
the punishment ( Q ) that brought us peace ( R ) was on him,
and by his wounds ( S ) we are healed. ( T )
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, ( U )
each of us has turned to our own way; ( V )
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity ( W ) of us all.
7 He was oppressed ( X ) and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth; ( Y )
he was led like a lamb ( Z ) to the slaughter, ( AA )
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression [ a ] and judgment ( AB ) he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living; ( AC )
for the transgression ( AD ) of my people he was punished. [ b ]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, ( AE )
and with the rich ( AF ) in his death,
though he had done no violence, ( AG )
nor was any deceit in his mouth. ( AH )
10 Yet it was the Lord ’s will ( AI ) to crush ( AJ ) him and cause him to suffer, ( AK )
and though the Lord makes [ c ] his life an offering for sin, ( AL )
he will see his offspring ( AM ) and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper ( AN ) in his hand.
11 After he has suffered, ( AO )
he will see the light ( AP ) of life [ d ] and be satisfied [ e ] ;
by his knowledge [ f ] my righteous servant ( AQ ) will justify ( AR ) many,
and he will bear their iniquities. ( AS )
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, [ g ] ( AT )
and he will divide the spoils ( AU ) with the strong, [ h ]
because he poured out his life unto death, ( AV )
and was numbered with the transgressors. ( AW )
For he bore ( AX ) the sin of many, ( AY )
and made intercession ( AZ ) for the transgressors.
