Isaiah 53

1 (Who will believe what we will tell them [about God’s servant]?/Hardly anyone will believe what we will tell them [about God’s servant].) [RHQ] (Who will see what Yahweh does by his great power?/Very few people will see what Yahweh does by his great power.) [MTY, RHQ]

Who hath believed our report, And to whom hath the arm of Jehovah been revealed?

2 While God watches, his servant will grow up [appearing/seeming to be very insignificant/unimportant], like a weak young plant that shoots up from a root [of a tree that is growing] in dry ground. There will be nothing beautiful or majestic about him, nothing that would cause us to want to be with him.

For He grew up before him like a tender plant, Like a sucker from a dry soil; He had no form, nor comeliness, that we should look upon him, Nor beauty, that we should take pleasure in him.

3 People will despise and reject him. {He will be despised and rejected.} He will endure much pain, and he will suffer much. [Because his face will be very disfigured], people will not [want to] look at him; people will despise him and think that he is not worth paying any attention to.

He was despised, and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with disease; As one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 But he will be [punished for] the sicknesses [of our souls]; he will endure great pain for us. But we will think that he is being punished by God, afflicted/punished [for his own sins].

But he bore our diseases, And carried our pains, And we esteemed him stricken from above, Smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But his body will be bruised because of the evil things that we did, wounded because of our sins. He will be beaten in order that things will go well for our [souls]; and because he will be whipped, [our souls] can be healed.

But he was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; For our peace was the chastisement upon him, And by his stripes are we healed.

6 All of us have gone away [from God] like [SIM] sheep who have strayed away [from their shepherd]. We have turned away [from doing the things that God wants in order] to do the things that we wanted [MET]. [We deserve to be punished, but] Yahweh will punish him instead of punishing us for all of our sins.

All we, like sheep, were going astray; We turned every one to his own way, And Jehovah laid upon him the iniquity of us all.

7 He will be abused and caused to suffer, but he will not say anything [to complain]. They will lead him [to where they will execute him], [like they lead] a lamb to where it will be slaughtered. And like a sheep does not (bleat/make any noise) when the shearer [cuts off its wool], he will not say anything [MTY] [to defend himself when he is killed].

He was oppressed, that was already afflicted. Yet he opened not his mouth; As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, He opened not his mouth.

8 After he is arrested and put on trial, he will be taken away [and executed]. And no one [RHQ] will be able to talk about his descendants, because he will die [EUP] [without being married and having children]. He will be (afflicted/caused to suffer) for the wrong things that we have done.

By oppression and punishment he was taken away, And who in his generation would consider That he was cut off from the land of the living, That for the transgression of my people he was smitten?

9 Although he will never have done any wrong or deceived [MTY] anyone, people will plan to bury his corpse where wicked people are buried, but instead, a rich man will [bury him] after he dies.

His grave was appointed with the wicked, And with the rich man was his sepulchre, Although he had done no injustice, And there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 But it will be Yahweh’s will that he be afflicted and caused to suffer. And [when he dies], Yahweh will cause him to be an offering to remove the guilt of sinners. But later he will have many [spiritual] children, and he will live (a long time/forever) after he [dies and] becomes alive [again], and he [MTY] will accomplish everything that Yahweh has planned.

It pleased Jehovah severely to bruise him; But when he hath made his life a sacrifice for sin, He shall see posterity; he shall prolong his days, And the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand.

11 When he sees all that he will accomplish because of his suffering, he will be satisfied. And because of what will have happened to him, Yahweh’s righteous servant will cause the guilt of many people to be ended, because he will remove [the guilt for] their sins.

Free from his sorrows, he shall see and be satisfied; By his knowledge shall my righteous servant lead many to righteousness, And he shall bear their iniquities.

12 So Yahweh will consider him to be one of the truly great people; he will [be like a king who] divides up [among his soldiers] the (spoils/things they took from their enemies after defeating them) [MET], because he will sacrifice himself and die. [Even though people] will consider him to be a sinner, he will remove the guilt of many [people], and he will intercede/pray that those who have done things that are wrong [will be forgiven].

Therefore will I give him his portion with the mighty, And with heroes shall he divide the spoil, Because he poured out his soul unto death, And was numbered with transgressors; Because he bore the sin of many, And made intercession for transgressors.