¹Who has truly believed our revelation?

To whom will Yahweh reveal his mighty arm?

²He sprouted up like a tender plant before the Lord,[#53:2 Or “before him.”]

like a root in parched soil.

He possessed no distinguishing beauty

or outward splendor to catch our attention—

nothing special in his appearance to make us desire him.

³He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of deep sorrows

who was no stranger to suffering and grief.

We hid our faces from him in disgust

and considered him a nobody, not worthy of respect.

The Sin-Bearer Servant

⁴Yet he was the one who carried our sicknesses[#53:4 This was fulfilled in two ways. First, the Lamb of God carried away diseases as he walked the earth (see Matt. 8:16–17). And second, he paid the sin price for all humanity on the cross with his sacred blood.]

and endured the torment of our sufferings.

We viewed him as one who was being punished

for something he himself had done,

as one who was struck down by God and brought low.

⁵But it was because of our rebellious deeds that he was pierced[#53:5 See Zech. 12:10; John 19:31–37; Rev. 1:7.]

and because of our sins that he was crushed.

He endured the punishment that made us completely whole,

and in his wounding we found our healing.

⁶Like wayward sheep, we have all wandered astray.[#53:6 The Hebrew verb wander has an implication of self-deception. See 1 Peter 2:25.]

Each of us has turned from God’s paths and chosen our own way;

even so, Yahweh laid the guilt of our every sin upon him.

The Surrendered Servant

⁷He was oppressed and harshly mistreated;

still he humbly submitted, refusing to defend himself.

He was led like a gentle lamb to be slaughtered.

Like a silent sheep before his shearers,

he didn’t even open his mouth.

⁸By coercion and with a perversion of justice

he was taken away.

And who could have imagined his future?

He was cut down in the prime of life;

for the rebellion of his own people,

he was struck down in their place .

⁹They gave him a grave among criminals,[#53:9 See Matt. 27:38; Mark 15:27; Luke 23:32; John 19:18.]

but he ended up instead in a rich man’s tomb,

although he had done no violence nor spoken deceitfully.

The Servant’s Reward

¹⁰Even though it pleased Yahweh

to crush him with grief,

he will be restored to favor.

After his soul becomes a guilt-offering,

he will gaze upon his many offspring and prolong his days.

And through him, Yahweh ’s deepest desires

will be fully accomplished.

¹¹After the great anguish of his soul,

he will see light and be fully satisfied.

By knowing him, the righteous one,

my servant will make many to be righteous,

because he, their sin-bearer , carried away their sins.

¹²So I, Yahweh , will assign him a portion

among a great multitude,

and he will triumph

and divide the spoils of victory with his mighty ones —

all because he poured out his life-blood to death.

He was counted among the worst of sinners,

yet he carried sin’s burden for many

and intercedes for those who are rebels.