Isaiah 53:4–6

Context

The passage belongs to the unit running from Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12, commonly called the "Song of the Suffering Servant." At the end of chapter 52, God introduces "my servant." Beginning in 53:1, a group speaking as "we" confesses how they had misunderstood that servant.

Verses 4–6 form the heart of this confession. The people had regarded the servant's suffering as punishment from God: "yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted" (v. 4). They come to realize, however, that "he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities" (v. 5). They then declare, "All 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" (v. 6). There are two views on the identity of the confessing "we." One identifies them with the nations and kings mentioned in 52:15; the other identifies them with the people of Israel.

Interpretation

• New Testament and Christian tradition: The New Testament applies this passage to Jesus Christ. Matthew 8:17 quotes verse 4 in connection with Jesus' healing ministry. 1 Peter 2:24–25 quotes verses 5–6 in connection with the cross. Following this lead, most churches read the passage as a prophecy of Christ's substitutionary death, in which he bore the sins of others in their place.
• Penal substitution: Evangelical theology, including the Reformed tradition, cites this passage as a leading Old Testament basis for the doctrine of penal substitution—the understanding that Christ received, in the place of sinners, the punishment due to them. Expressions cited in support include "the chastisement of our peace was upon him." Those who emphasize other understandings of the atonement generally acknowledge that the passage contains the idea of vicarious suffering, but views differ on how far the framework of "punishment" should be applied.
• Jewish interpretation: In Judaism, a widespread interpretation identifies the servant with the nation of Israel as a whole. The medieval commentator Rashi is a representative exponent of this view. In this reading, the "we" are the nations who observed Israel.
• Scholarly interpretation: Biblical scholarship has proposed a variety of identities for the servant, including Israel, the prophet himself, and a particular figure of the exilic period.

Debates and Issues

• Does "healed" refer to physical healing? The Hebrew words rendered "griefs" and "sorrows" in verse 4 mean sicknesses and pains, respectively. Pentecostal denominations, appealing to Matthew 8:17, hold that Christ's atonement also includes physical healing (divine healing). By contrast, Presbyterian and other Reformed interpreters point out that 1 Peter 2:24 quotes the passage in the context of turning away from sin. They therefore tend to read "healed" primarily as spiritual restoration and do not regard the passage as guaranteeing the healing of every illness in the present.
• Differences in translation: The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, renders verse 4 as "bears our sins." Matthew 8:17, by contrast, quotes it in terms closer to the Hebrew text, speaking of sickness and infirmity: "Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."

In the Korean Church

The passage is frequently used as a sermon text during Holy Week and on Good Friday. Part II of Handel's oratorio Messiah includes choruses set to this text, which church choirs sometimes perform at seasonal concerts. At divine healing meetings in the Full Gospel tradition, verse 5, "with his stripes we are healed," is often quoted.

Related Passages

• Matthew 8:17
• 1 Peter 2:24–25
• Acts 8:32–35
• Isaiah 53:10–12
• 2 Corinthians 5:21