Isaiah 53 · ESV Study Bible

He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions

ISAIAH 53 [†] g Who has believed what he has heard from us? [1]

And to whom has h the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2[†] For he grew up before him like a young plant,

i and like a root out of dry ground;

j he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

and no beauty that we should desire him.

3[†] k He was despised and rejected [2] by men;

a man of sorrows, [3] and acquainted with [4] grief; [5]

and as one from whom men hide their faces [6]

he was despised, and l we esteemed him not.

4[†] m Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

n smitten by God, and afflicted.

5[^][†] o But he was pierced for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

p and with his wounds we are healed.

6[†] q All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned—every one—to his own way;

r and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

7[†] He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

s yet he opened not his mouth;

t like a u lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he opened not his mouth.

8[†] By oppression and judgment he was taken away;

and as for his generation, v who considered

that he was cut off out of the land of the living,

stricken for the transgression of my people?

9[^][†] And they made his grave with the wicked

w and with a rich man in his death,

although x he had done no violence,

and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10[†] Yet y it was the will of the LORD to crush him;

he has put him to grief; [7]

z when his soul makes [8] an offering for guilt,

he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

a the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

11[^][†] Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see [9] and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall b the righteous one, my servant,

c make many to be accounted righteous,

d and he shall bear their iniquities.

12[†] e Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, [10]

f and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, [11]

because he poured out his soul to death

and was numbered with the transgressors;

g yet he bore the sin of many,

and makes intercession for the transgressors.

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 53:9 they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man. The numerous parallels between the description of the servant in this verse and the death of Jesus have led Christians through the ages to see this as fulfilled by the events surrounding Jesus’ death. Although the servant was condemned as a criminal (“with the wicked”), he was buried in an expensive garden tomb belonging to a rich man. Likewise the servant is presented as someone who was completely innocent, both in deed (having done no violence) and in word (there was no deceit in his mouth). The servant is thus described as a person of total moral purity, the true substitute for sinners (cf. v. 7). See Matt. 27:57–60 for the fulfillment of this prophecy.

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 53:6 All we … every one. The servant, who alone was sinless, was uniquely qualified to bear the sins of others, and all people contributed to his pain. like sheep. Stupid and helpless. the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. See Lev. 16:21–22; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:25.

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 53:12 Therefore. The sacrificial death of the servant explains his subsequent glory and the eternal blessings of those who believe in him. a portion … the spoil. The imagery is that of a conqueror sharing his victory with his allies. numbered with the transgressors. The servant is identified with rebels (cf. Luke 22:37). makes intercession. This is the servant’s priestly work on behalf of those he represents, securing their acceptance before God.

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 53:2 Unbelief in the servant was natural because he was an obscure, outwardly unimpressive person in a failed culture. “His generation” was blind (v. 8).

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 53:8 By oppression and judgment. I.e., oppressive judgment. The servant was wrongly condemned. who considered … ? Those who condemned Jesus did not understand what they were doing (cf. Luke 23:34; Acts 3:14–18; 1 Cor. 2:8).

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 53:1–3 The servant lived in rejection.

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 53:1 Us refers to the believing remnant of Israel (quoted in John 12:37–38; Rom. 10:16). The arm of the LORD is the power of God in action (cf. Isa. 40:10; 51:9; 62:8).

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 53:3 See 49:7; cf. John 1:10–11. Rejection of the servant reveals how misguided the human mind is. a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Jesus experienced sorrow and grief of various sorts throughout his whole life. “Acquainted with” could also be rendered “knowing” (esv footnote; see note on Isa. 53:11).

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 53:11 he shall see and be satisfied. The outcome of the servant’s sufferings is not regret but the satisfaction of obvious accomplishment. by his knowledge. His experiential knowledge of grief (v. 3, see esv footnote). many. His triumph, which does not secure the salvation of every individual without exception (universalism), spreads out beyond the remnant of Israel to “a great multitude that no one could number” (Rev. 7:9; cf. Rom. 5:15). to be accounted righteous. See Rom. 4:11–12.

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 53:5 But contrasts with “our” incomprehension in v. 4b. The servant’s anguish was “our” fault, not his own. our transgressions, our iniquities. His sufferings went to the root of all human woe (cf. Matt. 8:17; 1 Pet. 2:24). pierced, crushed, chastisement, wounds. Isaiah emphasizes how severely God punished the rejected servant for the sins of mankind.