Isaiah 53

The Book of Isaiah was composed in the 8th century B.C. Isaiah, called by God to be a prophet for Jerusalem, gave us some of the most profound and beautiful predictions of the coming of the glory of God--of his only Son Jesus Christ--700 years before it ever happened! That's like if God inspired me to foretell a glory that would occur in 2,700 AD! God is truly all-powerful!

Isaiah 53

Who would believe what we have heard?^*

To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?^a

2He grew up like a sapling before him,^b

like a shoot from the parched earth;

He had no majestic bearing to catch our eye,

no beauty to draw us to him.

3He was spurned and avoided by men,

a man of suffering, knowing pain,

Like one from whom you turn your face,

spurned, and we held him in no esteem.^c

4Yet it was our pain that he bore,

our sufferings he endured.

We thought of him as stricken,

struck down by God^* and afflicted,^d

5But he was pierced for our sins,

crushed for our iniquity.

He bore the punishment that makes us whole,

by his wounds we were healed.^e

6We had all gone astray like sheep,

all following our own way;

But the LORD laid upon him^*

the guilt of us all.^f

7Though harshly treated, he submitted

and did not open his mouth;

Like a lamb led to slaughter

or a sheep silent before shearers,

he did not open his mouth.^g

8Seized and condemned, he was taken away.

Who would have thought any more of his destiny?

For he was cut off from the land of the living,

struck for the sins of his people.

9He was given a grave among the wicked,

a burial place with evildoers,

Though he had done no wrong,

nor was deceit found in his mouth.^h

10But it was the LORD’s will to crush him with pain.

By making his life as a reparation offering,^*

he shall see his offspring, shall lengthen his days,

and the LORD’s will shall be accomplished through him.

11Because of his anguish he shall see the light;

because of his knowledge he shall be content;

My servant, the just one, shall justify the many,

their iniquity he shall bear.

12Therefore I will give him his portion among the many,

and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,

Because he surrendered himself to death,

was counted among the transgressors,

Bore the sins of many,

and interceded for the transgressors.ⁱ