- 1Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
- 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.
- 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.
- 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 10 Yet 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.
- 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.
- 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.
KING JAMES VERSION
ISAIAH 53
Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.
CHAPTER VISUAL
Isaiah 53 — The despised and innocent Servant bears griefs and iniquities, is cut off, and yet sees the fruit of his sacrificial work.
About this illustration
The wounds are restrained and non-graphic; lamb, straying sheep, rich tomb, and dawning seed form a reverent composite. God is not shown as physically striking the servant.
Scripture basis: Isaiah 53:1–12King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom
EXPLORE THE MESSAGE
Related Watchman 33 Resources
Archaeological Evidence
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Third century BC–first century AD
Dead Sea Scrolls and the Great Isaiah Scroll
The Great Isaiah Scroll is an almost complete Hebrew copy of Isaiah from about 125 BC. Its fifty-four columns preserve all sixty-six chapters and let readers compare a Second Temple-period biblical manuscript directly with the later Masoretic tradition.
Isaiah 7:14 · Isaiah 9:6–7 · Isaiah 11:1–10
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Tenth century AD
Aleppo Codex
The tenth-century Aleppo Codex is the most authoritative surviving manuscript of the Ben Asher Masoretic tradition, although roughly a third of its once-complete Hebrew Bible has been missing since the 1947 Aleppo riots.
Deuteronomy 32:1–43 · Psalms 1:1–6 · Isaiah 53:1–12
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
AD 1008-1009
Leningrad Codex
Copied by Samuel ben Jacob in Cairo in AD 1008-1009, the Leningrad Codex is the oldest complete dated manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in the Tiberian Masoretic tradition and the base witness for major modern scholarly editions.
Genesis 1:1–5 · Deuteronomy 6:4–9 · Isaiah 53:1–12
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Traditionally AD 895; reassessed in recent scholarship
Cairo Codex of the Prophets
The Cairo Codex preserves the Former and Latter Prophets with Tiberian vocalization and Masora, but scientific and codicological study has challenged its colophon's traditional AD 895 attribution to Moses ben Asher in favor of an eleventh-century date.
Joshua 1:1–9 · 2 Samuel 7:8–17 · Isaiah 53:1–12
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Late Hasmonean or early Herodian period
4QIsaiahᵇ (4Q56): A Broad Fragmentary Isaiah Witness
4QIsaiahᵇ is a wide-ranging but discontinuous Cave 4 copy preserving passages from Isaiah 1 through 66, including servant and anointed-proclamation texts, and must not be confused with either Isaiah manuscript from Cave 1.
Isaiah 53:11–12 · Isaiah 61:1–3 · Luke 4:16–21
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Hasmonean period, approximately first century BC
4QIsaiahᶜ (4Q57): A Witness to Isaiah 52–53
Fragments of 4Q57 preserve portions from across Isaiah, notably material from Isaiah 52:10–53:8 in the servant passage.
Isaiah 52:10–15 · Isaiah 53:1–3 · Isaiah 53:6–8
View all 9 archaeology resources
- 1QIsaiah b (1Q8): The Second Isaiah Scroll
- Codex Marchalianus: Greek Prophets with Hexaplaric Notes
- 4QIsaiahd (4Q58): A Broad Witness to Isaiah 45–58
Prophecy Events
Sermons
Born Again and Ready
In “Born Again and Ready,” Pastor Dean Odle argues that conversion is the beginning of the Christian race, not permission to return to habitual sin. Beginning with Jesus’ words to Nicodemus in John 3, he presents the new birth as a real work of the Holy Spirit received through heartfelt faith, repentance, and confession of Christ. He then contrasts a merely verbal profession with obedient faith, drawing on James 2:17 and Titus 1:16.
Doctrine and DiscernmentSalvation and the GospelChristian LivingBible Prophecy
View sermon Passports
In “Passports,” Pastor Dean Odle sets aside a planned teaching for a ministry-centered service focused on encountering Jesus Christ, repentance, prayer, healing, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. After extended worship, he recounts his childhood encounter with Christ and the conversion of an Australian atheist at the Garden Tomb, arguing that biblical truth and the manifest presence of God belong together. Using Thomas’s doubt and Elisha’s prayer for his servant in 2 Kings 6, Odle urges young people and other hearers to take a deliberate step toward Christ so their spiritual eyes may be opened.
Doctrine and DiscernmentChristian LivingBible ProphecyHoly Spirit and Spiritual Gifts
View sermon Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Pastor Dean Odle’s “Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ” is a practical call for every believer to speak the gospel clearly and courageously. From Mark 16 and 2 Corinthians 4, he argues that Christians are not commissioned merely to behave well in public or offer vague encouragement. They must proclaim Jesus Christ: who He is, His fulfillment of Scripture, His death for sins, His burial and resurrection, and the necessity of repentance, faith, and surrender to His lordship.
Salvation and the GospelChrist AloneChristian LivingApostasy and Deception
View sermon Showing 1–3 of 6 sermons