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Isaiah 53
Contemporary English Version
Isaiah 53
Contemporary English Version
What God's Servant Did for Us
53 (A) Has anyone believed us
or seen the mighty power
of the Lord in action?
2 Like a young plant or a root
that sprouts in dry ground,
the servant grew up
obeying the Lord.
He wasn't some handsome king.
Nothing about the way he looked
made him attractive to us.
3 He was hated and rejected;
his life was filled with sorrow
and terrible suffering.
No one wanted to look at him.
We despised him and said,
“He is a nobody!”
4 He suffered and endured
great pain for us,
but we thought his suffering
was punishment from God.
5 (B)(C) He was wounded and crushed
because of our sins;
by taking our punishment,
he made us completely well.
6 (D) All of us were like sheep
that had wandered off.
We had each gone our own way,
but the Lord gave him
the punishment we deserved.
7 (E)(F) (G) He was painfully abused,
but he did not complain.
He was silent like a lamb
being led to the butcher,
as quiet as a sheep
having its wool cut off.
8 He was condemned to death
without a fair trial.
Who could have imagined
what would happen to him?
His life was taken away
because of the sinful things
my people[a] had done.
9 (H) He wasn't dishonest or violent,
but he was buried in a tomb
among cruel, rich people.[b]
10 The Lord decided his servant
would suffer as a sacrifice
to take away the sin
and guilt of others.
Now the servant will live
to see his own descendants.[c]
He did everything
the Lord had planned.
11 By suffering, the servant
will learn the true meaning
of obeying the Lord.
Although he is innocent,
he will take the punishment
for the sins of others,
so that many of them
will no longer be guilty.
12 (I) The Lord will reward him
with honor and power
for sacrificing his life.
Others thought he was a sinner,
but he suffered for our sins
and asked God to forgive us.
Isaiah 53
New International Version
Isaiah 53
New International Version
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.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 53:8 Or From arrest
- Isaiah 53:8 Or generation considered / that he was cut off from the land of the living, / that he was punished for the transgression of my people?
- Isaiah 53:10 Hebrew though you make
- Isaiah 53:11 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text does not have the light of life.
- Isaiah 53:11 Or (with Masoretic Text) 11 He will see the fruit of his suffering / and will be satisfied
- Isaiah 53:11 Or by knowledge of him
- Isaiah 53:12 Or many
- Isaiah 53:12 Or numerous
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.