Passage

Isaiah 53.4

Book: Isaiah · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"2. For he grew 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 see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3. He 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."

"4. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted."

"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. 6. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:2-6, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"2. For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no good looks or majesty. When we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3. He was despised, and rejected by men; a man of suffering, and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him."

"4. Surely he has borne our sickness, and carried our suffering; yet we considered him plagued, struck by God, and afflicted."

"5. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed. 6. All we like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:2-6, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"2. For 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. 3. He 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. ^{we hid: or, he hid as it were his face from us: Heb. as an hiding of faces from him, or, from us}"

"4. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted."

"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. ^{wounded: or, tormented} ^{stripes: Heb. bruise} 6. 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. ^{laid: Heb. made the iniquity of us all to meet on him}" (Isaiah 53:2-6, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"2. Yea, he cometh up as a tender plant before Him, And as a root out of a dry land, He hath no form, nor honour, when we observe him, Nor appearance, when we desire him. 3. He is despised, and left of men, A man of pains, and acquainted with sickness, And as one hiding the face from us, He is despised, and we esteemed him not."

"4. Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, And our pains, he hath carried them, And we, we have esteemed him plagued, Smitten of God, and afflicted."

"5. And he is pierced for our transgressions, Bruised for our iniquities, The chastisement of our peace [is] on him, And by his bruise there is healing to us. 6. All of us like sheep have wandered, Each to his own way we have turned, And Jehovah hath caused to meet on him, The punishment of us all." (Isaiah 53:2-6, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Isaiah son of Amoz (traditional unity) + LORD direct discourse
Audience: Judah under Uzziah/Jotham/Ahaz/Hezekiah + exilic remnant
Location: Jerusalem and Judah
Time period: ministry c. 740-680 BC

Theological reading

Key words

H0430 - elohim, elohim (Strong's H430). Also appears in: Genesis 1.1, Genesis 1.2, Genesis 1.14-19.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.