Urban Word Bible
Isaiah 53
Read Isaiah 53 in clear, relatable modern language.
The Rejected Servant
1 Who believed what we heard, Who recognized the Lord’s power in this,
2 He grew up before God like a tender plant, like a root out of dry ground. He had no majesty, no special beauty, nothing that made people look at Him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows, familiar with grief. We turned away from Him, looked down on Him, and did not value Him.
He Suffered for Us
4 Surely He took our sickness and carried our pain. Yet we thought God was punishing Him, striking Him down, humiliating Him.
5 But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. The punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.
6 All of us were like sheep, wandering off, each of us choosing our own way. But the Lord laid on Him the sin of us all.
Silent and Oppressed
7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. Like a lamb led to slaughter, like a sheep silent before shearers, He did not speak.
8 He was taken away by oppression and judgment, who even cared, he was cut off from the land of the living, punished for the sins of My people.
9 They buried Him with the wicked, but with the rich in His death. Even though He had done no violence and no lie was ever in His mouth.
God’s Will and Victory
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and make Him suffer. And when His life is offered as a sin offering, He will see His offspring and live long. And the Lord’s plan will succeed through Him.
11 After His suffering, He will see the light and be satisfied. By His knowledge, My righteous Servant will justify many. Because He will carry their sins.
12 So I will give Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong. Because He poured out His life unto death and was counted with the sinners. He bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.