Isaiah 53:2

Isaiah 53:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.

Context of Isaiah 53:2

1Who has believed [confidently trusted in, relied on, and adhered to] our message [of salvation]? And to whom [if not us] has the arm and infinite power of the Lord been revealed? For He [the Servant of God] grew up before Him like a tender shoot (plant), And like a root out of dry ground; He has no stately form or majestic splendor That we would look at Him, Nor [handsome] appearance that we would be attracted to Him. 3He was despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and pain and acquainted with grief; And like One from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or esteem Him. 4But [in fact] He has borne our griefs, And He has carried our sorrows and pains; Yet we [ignorantly] assumed that He was stricken, Struck down by God and degraded and humiliated [by Him].

Isaiah 53:2 word by word

וַיַּ֨עַל כַּיּוֹנֵ֜ק לְפָנָ֗יו וְכַשֹּׁ֙רֶשׁ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ צִיָּ֔ה לֹא־תֹ֥אַר ל֖וֹ וְלֹ֣א הָדָ֑ר וְנִרְאֵ֥הוּ וְלֹֽא־מַרְאֶ֖ה וְנֶחְמְדֵֽהוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For he shall grow upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• him as a tender plantיוֹנֵקyônêq · saplingH3126
• and as a rootשֹׁ֫רֶשׁsheresh · rootH8328
• out of a dryצִיָּהtsîyâh · drynessH6723
• groundאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
• he hath no formתֹּ֫אַרtô'ar · appearanceH8389
• nor comelinessהָדָרhâdâr · gloryH1926
• and when we shall seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• no beautyמַרְאֶהmar'eh · appearanceH4758
• that we should desireחָמַדchâmad · to desireH2530

Cross-references for Isaiah 53:2

• Isaiah 11:1Then a Shoot (the Messiah) will spring from the stock of Jesse [David’s father], And a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
• Jeremiah 23:5“Behold (listen closely), the days are coming,” says the Lord, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as King and act wisely And will do [those things that accomplish] justice and righteousness in the land.
• Ezekiel 17:22Thus says the Lord God, “I Myself will take a twig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
• Zechariah 6:12Then say to Joshua, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold (look, keep in sight, watch), a Man (Messiah) whose name is Branch, for He shall branch out from His place (Israel, the Davidic line); and He shall build the [ultimate] temple of the Lord.
• Mark 6:3Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are His sisters not here with us?” And they were [deeply] offended by Him [and their disapproval blinded them to the fact that He was anointed by God as the Messiah].
• Luke 2:7and she gave birth to her Son, her firstborn; and she wrapped Him in [swaddling] cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no [private] room for them in the inn.
• Luke 9:58And Jesus told him, “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
• Romans 8:3For what the Law could not do [that is, overcome sin and remove its penalty, its power] being weakened by the flesh [man’s nature without the Holy Spirit], God did: He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful man as an offering for sin. And He condemned sin in the flesh [subdued it and overcame it in the person of His own Son],
• Philippians 2:6who, although He existed in the form and unchanging essence of God [as One with Him, possessing the fullness of all the divine attributes—the entire nature of deity], did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped or asserted [as if He did not already possess it, or was afraid of losing it];
• Isaiah 52:14Just as many were astonished and appalled at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form [marred] more than the sons of men.
• Mark 9:12He answered them, “Elijah does come first and restores and reestablishes all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things [grief and physical distress] and be treated with contempt [utterly despised and rejected]?
• John 1:10He (Christ) was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.
• John 9:28And [at that remark] they stormed at him and jeered, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses!
• John 18:40Then they all shouted back again, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.
• John 19:5So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, and Pilate said to them, “Look! The Man!”
• 1 Peter 2:14or to governors as sent by him to bring punishment to those who do wrong, and to praise and encourage those who do right.

Commentaries on Isaiah 53:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2For he shall grow up - Supposes something to have preceded; as it might be asked, what or who shall 'grow up before him,' etc. As the translation now stands, no correct answer can be given to this question. The translation then is wrong, the connection broken, and the sense obscured. זרוע zeroa, translated the arm, from the root zara. To sow, or plant; also seed, etc. The limb which reaches from the shoulder to the hand, called the arm; or more properly…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2For he shall grow up before him - In this verse, the prophet describes the humble appearance of the Messiah, and the fact that there was nothing in his personal aspect that corresponded to the expectations that bad been formed of him; nothing that should lead them to desire him as their expected deliverer, but everything that could induce them to reject him. He would be of so humble an origin, and with so little that was magnificent in his external appear…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2a tender shoot … out of dry ground: Such a plant is at risk of dying out (compare Isaiah 37:27). It struggles to survive, much less offer anything to others. no stately form or majesty: The servant seemed to lack greatness or obvious royal splendor (see Isaiah 52:13–15). to attract us: People prefer leaders who are good-looking and charismatic. The servant would be neither.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. tender plant--Messiah grew silently and insensibly, as a sucker from an ancient stock, seemingly dead (namely, the house of David, then in a decayed state) (see on Is 11:1). shall grow ... hath--rather, "grew up ... had." before him--before Jehovah. Though unknown to the world (Joh 1:11), Messiah was observed by God, who ordered the most minute circumstances attending His growth. root--that is, sprout from a root. form--beautiful form: sorrow had…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 53:2

• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Persecution
• Unbelief

In the dictionaries

• Acquaint
• Bear
• Chastisement
• Comeliness
• Covenant
• Humiliation of Christ
• Intercession
• Lay
• Offering
• Stripe

Commentaries on Isaiah 53

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings