Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
English Standard Version (ESV)
The surprising plural "our report" suggests the prophet isn't speaking alone but identifies with other prophets who also proclaimed this difficult message. The second question, "to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?" powerfully implies that God’s mighty power in salvation isn't automatically obvious; it must be divinely disclosed to be perceived.
Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
English Standard Version (ESV)
The prophet Isaiah has just described the glorious exaltation of God's Servant, but now pauses, adopting a tone of lament. He questions who will believe the astonishing message of this suffering Servant, and to whom the powerful arm of the Lord will truly be revealed. The implication is that the extraordinary revelation of God's power through such a humble and rejected figure will be met with widespread disbelief and misunderstanding, setting the stage for the Servant's profound humiliation and suffering described in the following verses.
Have you ever shared something deeply important, only to have it fall on deaf ears? This verse opens with a profound question about belief.
Isaiah 53:1 begins with a lament: "Who has believed what we have heard?" The prophet, speaking for himself and other messengers of God, expresses deep concern that the message he's about to share about the Suffering Servant will be met with widespread disbelief.
Why the Disbelief?
We often associate God's power with overwhelming displays of might. But here, God's power is revealed in a surprising, even contradictory, way.
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The second part of Isaiah 53:1 asks, "to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?" The "arm of the LORD" is a powerful biblical metaphor for God's active, saving power. It's what God uses to deliver His people and accomplish His purposes.
A Hidden Power:
Understand the original words
zeroa' YHWH · Hebrew Noun
A Hebrew idiom referring to the manifestation of God’s saving power and intervention in human history. It signifies the exertion of divine strength to accomplish His sovereign purposes.
c. 700 BC - 550 BC
Assyrian and Babylonian Empires Ascendant
The period leading up to Isaiah's writing and the Babylonian Exile was marked by the dominance of powerful Near Eastern empires like Assyria and Babylon. This geopolitical context influenced the hopes and fears of Judah, shaping their understanding of God's power and promises.
c. 740 BC— this verse
Isaiah Prophesies in Judah
Isaiah delivers his prophecies during a time of political instability and impending threat from empires like Assyria. His message often addressed the nation's spiritual state and their reliance on foreign alliances rather than God.
586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Babylonian Exile
The destruction of Jerusalem and the subsequent exile of many Judeans represented a profound crisis of faith, forcing them to re-evaluate God's promises and the meaning of their suffering.
c. 539 BC
Cyrus the Great Conquers Babylon
The conquest of Babylon by Cyrus the Great paved the way for the return of Jewish exiles to Jerusalem, marking a significant turning point in their history and national identity.
c. 5th Century BC
Post-Exilic Period and Temple Reconstruction
Following the return from exile, the Jewish community faced the challenges of rebuilding their lives, their temple, and their covenant relationship with God in a changed world.
This passage directly quotes Isaiah 53:1 to highlight the disbelief of the Jewish leaders regarding Jesus, even after seeing His miracles.
Romans 10:16Paul uses this verse to emphasize that not all who heard the message of salvation believed it, echoing the prophet's lament about widespread unbelief.
Isaiah 40:10This verse speaks of the Lord revealing 'His arm' (power) in His mighty acts of redemption, paralleling Isaiah 53:1's question about whose arm of the Lord has been revealed.
1 Corinthians 1:23This New Testament passage contrasts the 'wisdom of the world' with the 'Christ crucified,' a stumbling block to many and foolishness to some, aligning with the disbelief mentioned in Isaiah 53:1.
bensonIsaiah 53:1: "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?"
Isaiah 53:1 . Who hath believed our report? — The prophet having, in the last three verses of the former chapter, made a general report concerning the great and wonderful humiliation and exaltation of the Messiah, of which he intended to discourse more largely in this chapter, thought fit, before he descended to particulars, to use this preface. Who, not only of the Gentiles, but even of the Jews, will bel…
clarkeIsaiah 53:1: "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?"
Who hath believed our report? - The report of the prophets, of John the Baptist, and Christ's own report of himself. The Jews did not receive the report, and for this reason he was not manifested to them as the promised Messiah. 'He came unto his own, but his own received him not.' Before the Father he grew up as a tender plant: but to the Jews he was as a root out of a dry ground. 'He hath no form nor com…
The surprising plural "our report" suggests the prophet isn't speaking alone but identifies with other prophets who also proclaimed this difficult message. The second question, "to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?" powerfully implies that God’s mighty power in salvation isn't automatically obvious; it must be divinely disclosed to be perceived.
The prophet Isaiah has just described the glorious exaltation of God's Servant, but now pauses, adopting a tone of lament. He questions who will believe the astonishing message of this suffering Servant, and to whom the powerful arm of the Lord will truly be revealed. The implication is that the extraordinary revelation of God's power through such a humble and rejected figure will be met with widespread disbelief and misunderstanding, setting the stage for the Servant's profound humiliation and suffering described in the following verses.
The prophet Isaiah has just described the glorious exaltation of God's Servant, but now pauses, adopting a tone of lament. He questions who will believe the astonishing message of this suffering Servant, and to whom the powerful arm of the Lord will truly be revealed. The implication is that the extraordinary revelation of God's power through such a humble and rejected figure will be met with widespread disbelief and misunderstanding, setting the stage for the Servant's profound humiliation and suffering described in the following verses.
"Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?" — The surprising plural "our report" suggests the prophet isn't speaking alone but identifies with other prophets who also proclaimed this difficult message. The second question, "to whom has the arm o…
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Last reviewed October 2026