Isaiah 53

1. Who hath believed our report? The prophet, in the name of the people, confesses their unbelief. “Report” signifies, not the message delivered by us, but “that which we have heard” (R.V. marg.), i.e., the message delivered to us. The our in this verse, and the we in ver. 2, alike denote the people of Israel.

2 as a tender plant. A weakly shoot from a decayed trunk, giving no promise of beauty or value: see note on xi. 1.

a root out of a dry ground. There was nothing in the time or surroundings of the Saviour’s birth to account for Him.

4. Surely He hath borne our griefs. The quotation of these words in Matt. viii. 17, with reference to some of the effects of sin, seems to point to Christ’s work in the removal of all. The words “borne” and “carried” imply taking upon Himself and taking away: comp. John i. 29; 1 Pet. ii. 24.

we did esteem Him stricken. That is, by Divine judgement. The word is applied especially to the infliction of such diseases as the plague or the leprosy: see note on Lev. xiii. 2; Luke xiii. 2; John ix. 2.

5. He was wounded for our transgressions. “It was not His own sins and iniquities, but ours which He had taken upon Himself, that He might make atonement for them in our stead, that were the cause of His having to suffer so cruel and painful a death."—Delitzsch. The “chastisement of our peace” means the chastisement by which our peace (with God) was effected.

healed. Cured of the malady of sin, not merely delivered from its consequences.

6 have gone astray. That is, astray from God.

the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. “Nothing could be plainer than these words. The speakers confess that they know that the Servant’s suffering was both vicarious and redemptive” (G. A. Smith).

8. And who shall declare His generation, etc.? Of the different renderings given to this clause, the best seems to be that of the R.V.: “And as for His generation, who among them considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living?”

9. He made His grave with the wicked. Rather, “And His grave was appointed with the wicked; but He was with,” etc. The Jewish rulers intended our Saviour to have the disgraceful burial of a criminal; but Divine Providence wonderfully ordered it otherwise: see Matt. xxvii. 57-61. Some interpreters, however, for Because read Although (R.V.), and regard both the preceding lines as referring to our Lord’s humiliation.

10 it pleased the Lord to bruise Him. The use of the word “pleased” here conveys to English readers a meaning which is not in the Hebrew, the idea of the original being “it was God’s purpose.”

He shall see [His] seed. As a consequence of His being put to death (“when Thou shalt make,” etc.), He lives again. His “seed,” or posterity, is the Church of the redeemed.

He shall prolong His days. See Rev. i. 18, “alive for evermore.”

the pleasure of the Lord. The work of salvation.

11. He shall see of the travail of His soul. That is, “He shall see the fruit of His sufferings, and shall be satisfied.” The good resulting from His great sorrows shall abundantly compensate Him for all that He endured.

By His knowledge. That is, “by the knowledge of Him”; such a knowledge as leads to faith in Him, and thus saves the soul. Many, however, take the phrase as referring to Christ’s own knowledge, “His insight into the dealings and purposes of the Eternal,” an essential element in His qualification as Saviour.

justify many. Or, “make the many righteous”: comp. Rom. v. 19.

12 made intercession. Rather, “maketh intercession” continuously; applying to them all the blessings which flow from His atoning death.

Of the whole of this wonderful chapter Delitzsch says: “The banner of the cross is here set up.”