Isaiah 53

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 53:11

After His sacrificial work had ended, the Servant would look back on it with satisfaction, as would Yahweh (cf. 1 John 2:2). The "many" would obtain justification through the knowledge of Him and His work. The "many" is a distinct group, numerous but not all-inclusive, namely: believers. No other work is required but believing what one comes to know, namely: to rely on Him and His work. It is possible that Isaiah meant that the Servant alone would possess knowledge regarding what God required... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 53:12

Because of His work and its results, God would exalt the Servant (cf. Philippians 2:9-11; Revelation 5:12). He would give Him a reward with the many great ones whom He justified, and would divide this booty with the many who would become strong by virtue of His work for them (cf. Ephesians 4:8; Ephesians 6:10-17). Another interpretation sees Yahweh giving the Servant the many great ones (believers) as booty, specifically as a token of redemption completed. He would also give the Servant the... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 53

The Suffering of Jehovah’s Servant: Its Meaning and ResultsSee introductory note to chapters 49-57.Isaiah 52:13-15. The contrast between the Servant’s humiliation and exaltation; its effect upon the world.Isaiah 53:1-12. The import of the Servant’s sufferingnot understood. The vicarious nature and triumphant issue of the Servant’s suffering. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 53:1-12

1-3. The tenses are past (prophetic perfect), the future being viewed as already accomplished.1. The questions are asked by the prophet, and the implied answer is ’No one.’ None or few received the divine message, or recognised the working of Jehovah’s power in His Servant.Arm] cp. Isaiah 51:9; Isaiah 52:10.2. The people here speak. There was nothing in the servant’s appearance to attract them. Shall grow] RV ’grew.’ Before him] i.e. before God. Tender plant, etc.] not like a stately tree, but... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 53:1

LIII.(1) Who hath believed our report? . . .—The question has been variously interpreted as coming from the lips of the prophet or of Israel. The former view commends itself most, and the unusual plural is explained by his mentally associating with himself the other prophets, probably his own disciples, who were delivering the same message. The implied answer to the question may be either “None,” or, “Not all.” St. Paul (Romans 10:16) adopts the latter. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 53:2

(2) For he shall grow up . . .—The Hebrew tenses are in the perfect, the future being contemplated as already accomplished. The words present at once a parallel and a contrast to those of Isaiah 11:1. There the picture was that of a strong vigorous shoot coming out of the root of the house of David. Here the sapling is weak and frail, struggling out of the dry ground. For “before Him” (i.e., Jehovah) some critics have read “before us,” as agreeing better with the second clause; while others... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 53:3

(3) He is despised and rejected.—Better, for the last word, forsaken. This had been the crowning sorrow of the righteous sufferer of the Old Testament (Job 17:15; Job 19:14). It was to complete the trial of the perfect sufferer of the New (Matthew 26:56).A man of sorrows . . .—The words “sorrow” and “grief” in the Heb. imply the thought of bodily pain or disease. (Comp. Exodus 3:7; Lamentations 1:12; Lamentations 1:18.) Men have sometimes raised the rather idle question whether the body of our... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 53:4

(4) Surely he hath borne our griefs . . .—The words are spoken as by those who had before despised the Servant of Jehovah, and have learnt the secret of His humiliation. “Grief” and “sorrow,” as before, imply “disease” and “pain,” and St. Matthew’s application of the text (Matthew 8:17) is therefore quite legitimate. The words “stricken, smitten of God,” are used elsewhere specially of leprosy and other terrible sicknesses (Genesis 12:17; Leviticus 13:3; Leviticus 13:9; Numbers 14:12; 1 Samuel... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 53:5

(5) He was wounded . . .—Bruised. Both words refer to the death which crowned the sufferings of the Servant. That also was vicarious.The chastisement of our peace—i.e., the punishment which leads to peace, that word including, as elsewhere, every form of blessing. (Comp. the “reproof of life” in Proverbs 15:31.) In Hebrews 2:10; Hebrews 5:8-9, we have the thought which is the complement of this, that the chastisement was also an essential condition of the perfection of the sufferer.With his... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 53:6

(6) All we like sheep have gone astray . . .—The confession of repentant Israel (Psalms 119:176), of repentant humanity (1 Peter 2:25), was also the thought present to the mind of the Servant, as in Matthew 9:36; John 10:11.Hath laid on him.—Better, as in the margin, hath made to light on him. The words express the fact, but do not explain the mystery, of the substitutive satisfaction. The two sides of that mystery are stated in the form of a seeming paradox. God does not punish the righteous... read more

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 53:11

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 53:12

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 53

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 53:1-12

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 53:1

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 53:2

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 53:3

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 53:4

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 53:5

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 53:6

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