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 what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him. 3He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; he was despised, and we didn’t value him. 4Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.

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 will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
• Jeremiah 23:5“Look, the days are coming” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “when I will raise up a Righteous Branch for David. He will reign wisely as king and administer justice and righteousness in the land.
• Ezekiel 17:22“‘This is what the Lord God says: I will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it. I will pluck a tender sprig from its topmost shoots, and I will plant it on a high towering mountain.
• Zechariah 6:12You are to tell him: This is what the Lord of Armies says: Here is a man whose name is Branch; he will branch out from his place and build the Lord’s temple.
• Mark 6:3Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” So they were offended by him.
• Luke 2:7Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
• Luke 9:58Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
• Romans 8:3For what the law could not do since it was weakened by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering,
• Philippians 2:6who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited.
• Isaiah 52:14Just as many were appalled at you — his appearance was so disfigured that he did not look like a man, and his form did not resemble a human being —
• Mark 9:12“Elijah does come first and restores all things,” he replied. “Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?
• John 1:10He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him.
• John 9:28They ridiculed him: “You’re that man’s disciple, but we’re Moses’s disciples.
• John 18:40They shouted back, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.
• John 19:5Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
• 1 Peter 2:14or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good.

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