1Has anyone believed our news? Who has the Lord shown his power to? ¹⁹⁸

2Like a young shoot he grew up before him, like a root growing up from dry ground. He had no beauty or glory to make us look at him; nothing about his appearance attracted us to him.

3People despised him and rejected him. He was a man who really suffered and who experienced the deepest pain. We treated him like someone you turn away from in disgust—we despised him and had no respect for him.

4However, he was the one who took up our weaknesses and loaded himself down with our pain—but we assumed he was being hit, beaten, and humiliated by God.

5But he was wounded because of our rebellious acts, he was crushed because of our guilt. He experienced the discipline that brings us peace, ¹⁹⁹and his wounds heal us.

6All of us have wandered off, just like sheep. Each of us has gone our own way, and the Lord allowed all our guilt to fall on him. ²⁰⁰

7He was persecuted and mistreated, but he didn't say anything. He was led like a lamb to be killed, and in the same way that a sheep about to be sheared is silent, he didn't say a word.

8Through force and a death sentence he was killed ²⁰¹—who cared what happened to him? He was executed, removed from the land of the living; he was killed because of my people's wickedness.

9They buried him as if he was someone evil, giving him a rich man's grave, even though he hadn't done anything wrong, and he hadn't told any lies.

10However, it was the Lord's will for him to be crushed and to suffer, for when he gives his life as a guilt offering he will see his descendants, ²⁰²he will have a long life, and what the Lord wants will be achieved through him.

11After his suffering, he will see the results and be satisfied. Through his knowledge my servant who does what is right will set many right, ²⁰³and he will bear their sins.

12That's why I'm going to grant him a place among the great, and give him the prize of the victorious, because he poured out his life in death and was counted as one of the rebels. He took on himself the sins of many and asked forgiveness for the rebels.