Isaiah 53:4
What does Isaiah 53:4 mean?
A plain-English look at Isaiah 53:4 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Isaiah 53:4 means
This verse presents a pivotal shift in understanding the Servant's suffering. While people mistakenly believed His afflictions were a direct punishment from God for His own sins, the prophet reveals the astonishing truth: He willingly bore *our* sicknesses, sorrows, and pains. His suffering was not for His own transgressions but was a vicarious enduring of the consequences of humanity's sin. The world's judgment missed the mark entirely, attributing to Him a suffering that was, in fact, an act of substitutionary love and divine purpose.
Isaiah 53:4 in context
Isaiah 53 — The Suffering Servant
Seven hundred years before Calvary, Isaiah describes a servant despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows acquainted with grief, who is wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace is upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. He is led as a lamb to the slaughter and yet by his knowledge shall justify many. No other Old Testament passage so clearly anticipates the cross. The New Testament writers quote it again and again as the master-key to the meaning of Christ's death.
- Substitutionary atonement
- Messianic prophecy
- The Lamb of God
- Justification
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949But it was our pain he took, and our diseases were put on him: while to us he seemed as one diseased, on whom God's punishment had come.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, And our pains--he hath carried them, And we--we have esteemed him plagued, Smitten of God, and afflicted.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; and we, we did regard him stricken, smitten ofGod, and afflicted.
Context
This verse marks a dramatic turning point in the chapter's explanation of the Servant's suffering, moving from outward observation to profound spiritual insight. It directly challenges the prior human misunderstanding of His pain. By explaining that He bore *our* griefs, it transitions from describing His suffering to revealing its redemptive purpose, thereby laying the groundwork for the explicit statements of atonement in the verses that follow.
v.3He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men hide their face he was despised; and we esteemed him not.
v.4This passage
v.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.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Isaiah 53:5
But 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.
- Galatians 3:13
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
- Matthew 8:17
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our diseases.
- John 19:7
The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
- 1 Peter 3:18
Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
- 1 Peter 2:24
who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed.
Sermon ideas from Isaiah 53:4
Angles a pastor or small-group leader might preach or teach from this passage, drawn from the chapter's main themes.
What Isaiah 53:4 teaches us about substitutionary atonement
What Isaiah 53:4 teaches us about messianic prophecy
What Isaiah 53:4 teaches us about the lamb of god
What Isaiah 53:4 teaches us about justification
Related questions readers ask
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Want to dig deeper? Explore Isaiah 53
Hand-picked devotionals, topical studies, and pastoral answers that draw on Isaiah 53.
Topics that quote it
Topic
Bible Verses About Atonement
Atonement, a central doctrine of Christianity, describes how humanity is reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.
Topic
Bible Verses About Intercession
Intercession is prayer offered on behalf of another, a selfless act of love and faith that demonstrates our care for others.
Topic
Bible Verses About Propitiation
Propitiation refers to the appeasement of God's wrath through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, making reconciliation possible.
What the Bible says about…
Answer
What does the Bible say about healing?
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Answer
What does the Bible say about suffering?
Our light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory.
Answer
What does the Bible say about anxiety?
Cast your worries on him, because he cares for you.
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