The suffering servant

¹ Who has believed our message? To whom has Yahweh’s arm been revealed?

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.

⁷ He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he didn’t open his mouth. As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he didn’t open his mouth.

⁸ He was taken away by oppression and judgment. As for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living and stricken for the disobedience of my people?

⁹ They made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him. He has caused him to suffer. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he will see his offspring. He will prolong his days and Yahweh’s pleasure will prosper in his hand.

¹¹ After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light and be satisfied. My righteous servant will justify many by the knowledge of himself; and he will bear their iniquities.

¹² Therefore I will give him a portion with the great. He will divide the plunder with the strong; because he poured out his soul to death and was counted with the transgressors; yet he bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors.

²⁶ But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise, and go toward the south to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert.”

²⁷ He arose and went; and behold, there was a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship.

²⁸ He was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.

²⁹ The Spirit said to Philip, “Go near, and join yourself to this chariot.”

³⁰ Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹ He said, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” He begged Philip to come up and sit with him.

³² Now the passage of the Scripture which he was reading was this, “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. As a lamb before his shearer is silent, so he doesn’t open his mouth.

³³ In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. Who will declare His generation? For his life is taken from the earth.”

³⁴ The eunuch answered Philip, “Who is the prophet talking about? About himself, or about someone else?”

³⁵ Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, preached to him about Jesus.

³⁶ As they went on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being baptized?”

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³⁸ He commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch didn’t see him any more, for he went on his way rejoicing.

⁴⁰ But Philip was found at Azotus. Passing through, he preached the Good News to all the cities, until he came to Caesarea.

²¹ For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps,

²² who didn’t sin, “neither was deceit found in his mouth.”

²³ When he was cursed, he didn’t curse back. When he suffered, he didn’t threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously.

²⁴ He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness. You were healed by his wounds.

²⁵ For you were going astray like sheep; but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.