Isaiah 53:4
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The verse highlights a sharp contrast between the reality of the Servant's suffering and the people's perception of it. While he was actually bearing our griefs and sorrows, we wrongly thought he was being punished by God for his own sins.
This passage shifts from describing the Servant of the Lord as someone unassuming and overlooked to revealing the profound misunderstanding of his suffering. The prophet explains that while the Servant bears the people's pain and sorrow, the people mistakenly viewed him as punished by God for his own sins. This misunderstanding of his vicarious suffering, rather than his own wrongdoing, sets the stage for the subsequent explanation of his atoning sacrifice.
Did the Servant suffer for his own failures, or for someone else's?
This verse presents a stark contrast between the Servant's reality and the people's perception. The first part, 'Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,' reveals the true purpose of his suffering: it was vicarious. The Servant willingly took on the pain, sickness, and emotional burdens that belonged to us.
This wasn't a minor inconvenience for him; the Hebrew words used, 'borne' (nasa') and 'carried' (sabal), carry the weight of lifting and sustaining a heavy burden. It's the idea of taking something upon oneself to remove it from another.
It's crucial to understand that these 'griefs' and 'sorrows' aren't just abstract feelings. The text, and later Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 8:17), connects them to diseases and afflictions. The Servant didn't just sympathize; he absorbed them.
They saw only suffering, not the saving purpose behind it.
The second half of the verse, 'yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted,' reveals a profound misunderstanding. The people looking on saw his suffering as evidence of divine punishment, as if God himself was striking him down for his own sin.
They saw his pain, his humiliation, his affliction, and concluded he must be a sinner, someone abandoned by God. This was a superficial judgment, based entirely on outward appearances. They completely missed the deeper reality that his suffering was a deliberate act of love and atonement, not a consequence of his own wrongdoing.
This highlights a common human tendency: to judge based on outward appearances and to assume suffering always equals guilt. The prophet is correcting this flawed perspective, showing that the true meaning of the Servant's suffering was hidden from those who witnessed it.
Understand the original words
nakah · Hebrew Verb (Passive Participle)
To be struck down, beaten, or scourged. In a theological context, it is often used to describe divine judgment or the severe punishment inflicted upon an offender.
anah · Hebrew Verb (Passive Participle)
To be humbled, bowed down, or oppressed. It describes a state of suffering, whether physical, emotional, or situational, often under the heavy hand of external circumstances or judgment.
choli · Hebrew Noun
Literally 'sickness' or 'illness,' but used metaphorically to describe the frailty, pain, and suffering inherent in human life, especially as linked to the effects of sin.
This passage directly quotes Isaiah 53:4 and applies it to Jesus healing people's sicknesses, showing how Jesus' suffering wasn't just for spiritual sins but also for physical afflictions.
1 Peter 2:24Peter echoes the idea of Christ bearing our sins and sorrows, explicitly linking his suffering on the cross to the bearing of our transgressions, reinforcing the substitutionary aspect of his sacrifice.
John 1:29John the Baptist's proclamation of Jesus as the 'Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world' aligns with the suffering servant who bore our griefs and sorrows, fulfilling the prophetic imagery.
Isaiah 53:5This verse immediately follows Isaiah 53:4 and clarifies the purpose behind the suffering servant's griefs and sorrows: he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, highlighting the vicarious nature of his pain.
Luke 22:44The account of Jesus in Gethsemane, where he 'agonized in prayer, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground,' vividly illustrates the profound grief and sorrow he bore as he contemplated the suffering to come.
bensonIsaiah 53:4: "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted."
Isaiah 53:4-5 . Surely he hath borne our griefs — Whereas it may seem an incredible thing, that so excellent and glorious, and so innocent and holy a person should meet with this usage, it must be known that his griefs and miseries were not laid upon him for his own sake, but wholly for the sake of sinful men, in whose stead he stood, and for whose sins he suff…
clarkeIsaiah 53:4: "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted."
Surely he Bath borne our griefs "Surely our infirmities he hath borne" - Seven MSS. (two ancient) and three editions have חליינו cholayeynu in the plural number. And carried our sorrows "And our sorrows, he hath carried them" - Seventeen MSS. (two ancient) of Dr. Kennicott's, two of De Rossi's, and two editions have the word הוא hu, he, before סבלם sebalam,…
The verse highlights a sharp contrast between the reality of the Servant's suffering and the people's perception of it. While he was actually bearing our griefs and sorrows, we wrongly thought he was being punished by God for his own sins.
This passage shifts from describing the Servant of the Lord as someone unassuming and overlooked to revealing the profound misunderstanding of his suffering. The prophet explains that while the Servant bears the people's pain and sorrow, the people mistakenly viewed him as punished by God for his own sins. This misunderstanding of his vicarious suffering, rather than his own wrongdoing, sets the stage for the subsequent explanation of his atoning sacrifice.
This passage shifts from describing the Servant of the Lord as someone unassuming and overlooked to revealing the profound misunderstanding of his suffering. The prophet explains that while the Servant bears the people's pain and sorrow, the people mistakenly viewed him as punished by God for his own sins. This misunderstanding of his vicarious suffering, rather than his own wrongdoing, sets the stage for the subsequent explanation of his atoning sacrifice.
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"Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted." — The verse highlights a sharp contrast between the reality of the Servant's suffering and the people's perception of it. While he was actually bearing our griefs and sorrows, we wrongly thought he…
