Isaiah

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

1Who has believed what we told them? And who has seen the LORD show his great strength?

2For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

2He grew up in front of the LORD like a small young plant, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing special to look at, no beauty that would make us want him.

3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

3People hated him and turned away from him. He was a man of deep sadness who knew pain well. People hid their faces from him. We thought he was worth nothing.

4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

4But it was our pain he took, and our sadness he carried. Yet we thought God was punishing him, striking him down and hurting him.

5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

5But he was wounded because of the wrong things we did. He was crushed because of our sins. The punishment that brought us peace fell on him, and his wounds healed us.

Note"With his stripes we are healed" - stripes are the marks left on the skin by a whip.

6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

6We all wandered off like sheep. Every one of us went his own way. And the LORD laid on him all the wrong that all of us had done.

7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

7People treated him cruelly and hurt him, but he did not say a word. He was led away like a lamb going to be killed. Like a sheep that stays quiet while its wool is cut, he said nothing.

8He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

8They seized him and judged him, and then took him away. Who can tell of the family that came after him? He was cut off from the land of the living. He was struck down for the wrong my people did.

NoteThe old wording "taken from prison and from judgment" can sound like a rescue. It means the opposite: he was seized, put on trial, and led away to die.

9And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

9They planned a grave for him with wicked men, but he was buried with a rich man. He had never hurt anyone, and no lie was ever in his mouth.

10Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

10Yet the LORD chose to crush him and let him suffer. When his life is given as an offering for sin, he will see his children after him. He will live on for many days, and what the LORD wants will succeed through him.

Note"It pleased the LORD" does not mean God enjoyed it. In older English "pleased" means chose or decided.

11He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

11After all the pain he went through, he will see the result and be satisfied. By what he knows, my servant who does right will put many people right. He will carry the weight of their sins.

12Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

12So I will give him a share along with the great, and he will divide the prize with the strong. For he poured out his life until he died, and he was counted as one of the criminals. He carried the sins of many people and prayed for those who did wrong.