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1 Has anyone believed our news? Who has the Lord shown his power to?* The way these questions are framed, they expect a negative response: “No one.” The verses that follow explain why nobody paid attention to the news. 2 Like a young shoot he grew up before him, like a root growing up from dry ground. He had no beauty or glory to make us look at him; nothing about his appearance attracted us to him. 3 People despised him and rejected him. He was a man who really suffered and who experienced the deepest pain. We treated him like someone you turn away from in disgust—we despised him and had no respect for him.
4 However, he was the one who carried our weaknesses, he was loaded down with our pain—but we assumed he was being hit, beaten, and humiliated by God. 5 But he was wounded because of our rebellious acts, he was crushed because of our guilt. He experienced the discipline that brings us peace,† “Peace”: often in the sense of “well-being” rather than the absence of war. In addition, the word “discipline” in this verse is more to do with training a child than punishment, as the Septuagint translators recognized. and his wounds heal us. 6 All of us have wandered off, just like sheep. Each of us has gone our own way, and the Lord allowed all our guilt to fall on him.‡ The Septuagint ends this verse “the Lord gave him up for our sins.” The word translated “fall on” is variously translated, for example: approach, came, met, touched, pray to, interceded, pleaded etc.
7 He was persecuted and mistreated, but he didn't say anything. He was led like a lamb to be killed, and in the same way that a sheep about to be sheared is silent, he didn't say a word. 8 Through force and a death sentence he was killed§ The Septuagint has: “In humiliation his judgment was taken away.” See Acts 8:33. Taken away refers to being taken away in death. —who cared what happened to him? He was executed, removed from the land of the living; he was killed because of my people's wickedness. 9 They buried him as if he was someone evil, giving him a grave among the rich, even though he hadn't done anything wrong, and he hadn't told any lies.
10 However, it was the Lord's will for him to be crushed and to suffer, for when he gives his life as a guilt offering he will see his descendants,* “Descendants”: literally, “seed,” or better, “posterity.” This is to be taken in the wider view of the many who become “children of God.” he will have a long life, and what the Lord wants will be achieved through him. 11 After his suffering, he will see the results and be satisfied. Through his knowledge my servant who does what is right will set many right,† Right before God. and he will bear their sins. 12 That's why I'm going to grant him a place among the great, and give him the prize of the victorious, because he poured out his life in death and was counted as one of the rebels. He took on himself the sins of many and asked forgiveness for the rebels.

*53:1 The way these questions are framed, they expect a negative response: “No one.” The verses that follow explain why nobody paid attention to the news.

†53:5 “Peace”: often in the sense of “well-being” rather than the absence of war. In addition, the word “discipline” in this verse is more to do with training a child than punishment, as the Septuagint translators recognized.

‡53:6 The Septuagint ends this verse “the Lord gave him up for our sins.” The word translated “fall on” is variously translated, for example: approach, came, met, touched, pray to, interceded, pleaded etc.

§53:8 The Septuagint has: “In humiliation his judgment was taken away.” See Acts 8:33. Taken away refers to being taken away in death.

*53:10 “Descendants”: literally, “seed,” or better, “posterity.” This is to be taken in the wider view of the many who become “children of God.”

†53:11 Right before God.

© 2018 Dr. Jonathan Gallagher