Isaiah 53 · Verse 3

Isaiah 53:3

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.
Isaiah 53:3, King James Version

Isaiah 53:3 in other translations

BSBHe was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
WEBHe 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.
ASVHe 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.
YLTHe 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.
DARBYHe is despised and left alone of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and like one from whom men hide their faces; — despised, and we esteemed him not.
BBEMen made sport of him, turning away from him; he was a man of sorrows, marked by disease; and like one from whom men's faces are turned away, he was looked down on, and we put no value on him.
WebsterHe is despised and rejected by 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.

What does Isaiah 53:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
3. rejected--"forsaken of men" [Gesenius]. "Most abject of men." Literally, "He who ceases from men," that is, is no longer regarded as a man [Hengstenberg]. (See on Is 52:14; Is 49:7). man of sorrows--that is, whose distinguishing characteristic was sorrows. acquainted with--familiar by constant contact with. grief--literally, "disease"; figuratively for all kinds of calamity (Jr 6:14); leprosy especially represented this, being a direct judgment from God. It is remarkable Jesus is not mentioned as having ever suffered under sickness. and we hid ... faces--rather, as one who causes men to hide their faces from Him (in aversion) [Maurer]. Or, "He was as an hiding of the face before it," that is, as a thing before which a man covers his face in disgust [Hengstenberg]. Or, "as one before whom is the covering of the face"; before whom one covers the face in disgust [Gesenius]. we--the prophet identifying himself with the Jews. See Horsley's view (see on Is 53:1). esteemed ... not--negative contempt; the previous words express positive.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 Acquainted with grief - For וידוע vidua, familiar with grief, eight MSS. and one edition have וירע veyada, and knowing grief; the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate read it ויודע veyodea. We hid as it were our faces from him "As one that hideth his face from us" - For וכמסתר uchemaster, four MSS. (two ancient) have וכמסתיר uchemastir, one MS. ומסתיר umastir. For פנים panim, two MSS. have פניו panaiu; so likewise the Septuagint and Vulgate. Mourners covered up the lower part of their faces, and their heads, 2Sam 15:30; Eze 29:17; and lepers were commanded by the law, Lev 13:45, to cover their upper lip. From which circumstance it seems that the Vulgate, Aquila, Symmachus, and the Jewish commentators have taken the word נגוע nagua, stricken, in the next verse, as meaning stricken with the leprosy: εν αφῃ οντα, Sym.; αφημενον, Aq.; leprosum, Vulg. So my old MS. Bible. I will insert the whole passage as curious: - There is not schap to him, ne fairnesse, And we seegen him, and he was not of sigte, And we desiriden him dispisid; and the last of men: Man of souaris and witing infirmitie; And he hid his cheer and despisid; Wherfor ne we settiden bi him: Verili our seeknesse he toke and our sorewis he bair, And we helden him as leprous and smyten of God, and meekid; He forsoth wounded is for our wickednesse, Defoulid is for our hidous giltis The discipline of our pese upon him, And with his wanne wound we ben helid.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 53:1-3

The person. (Is. 53:1-3) sufferings. (Is. 53:4-9) humiliation, and exaltation of Christ, are minutely described; with the blessings to mankind from his death. (Is. 53:10-12) Verses 1-3 No where in all the Old Testament is it so plainly and fully prophesied, that Christ ought to suffer, and then to enter into his glory, as in this chapter. But to this day few discern, or will acknowledge, that Divine power which goes…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 53:1-3 →

Isaiah 53:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

נִבְזֶה֙niv.Zeh[he was] despisedH959
וַחֲדַ֣לva.cha.Daland rejected ofH2310
אִישִׁ֔ים'i.ShimpeopleH376
אִ֥ישׁ'isha man ofH376
מַכְאֹב֖וֹתmakh.'o.VotpainsH4341
וִיד֣וּעַvi.Du.a'and a [man] acquainted ofH3045
חֹ֑לִיCho.lisicknessH2483
וּכְמַסְתֵּ֤רu.khe.mas.Terand like a hiding ofH4564
פָּנִים֙pa.NimfaceH6440
מִמֶּ֔נּוּmi.Me.nufrom himH4480
נִבְזֶ֖הniv.Zeh[he was] despisedH959
וְלֹ֥אve.Lo'and notH3808
חֲשַׁבְנֻֽהוּ\׃cha.shav.Nu.huwe valued himH2803

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 53:3

  • John 1:10-11

    He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

  • Matthew 26:67

    Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,

  • Hebrews 12:2-3

    Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

  • Isaiah 53:10

    Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

  • Isaiah 49:7

    Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.

  • Psalms 22:6-8

    But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

  • Mark 14:34

    And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.

  • Isaiah 53:4

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

  • Hebrews 5:7

    Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

  • Luke 9:22

    Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

  • Isaiah 50:6

    I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

  • Hebrews 4:15

    For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
despised.
49:7; 50:6; Ps 22:6-8; 69:10-12,19,20; Mic 5:1; Zec 11:8,12,13
Mt 26:67; 27:39-44,63; Mr 9:12; 15:19; Lu 8:53; 9:22; 16:14
Lu 23:18-25; Joh 8:48; Heb 12:2,3
a man.
4,10; Ps 69:29; Mt 26:37,38; Mr 14:34; Lu 19:41; Joh 11:35
Heb 2:15-18; 4:15; 5:7
we hid as it were our faces from him. or, he hid as it were,his face from us. Heb. as a hiding of faces from him or from us. we esteemed.
De 32:15; Zec 11:13; Mt 27:9,10; Joh 1:10,11; Ac 3:13-15

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 53:2

    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.

  • Isaiah 53:3

    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.

  • Isaiah 53:4

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

Read all of Isaiah 53

Isaiah 53:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Despreciado y desechado entre los hombres, varón de dolores, experimentado en quebranto: y como que escondimos de él el rostro, fué menospreciado, y no lo estimamos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Il est méprisé et délaissé des hommes, homme de douleurs, et sachant ce que c’est que la langueur, et comme quelqu’un de qui on cache sa face; il est méprisé, et nous n’avons eu pour lui aucune estime.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Er war verachtet und verlassen von den Menschen, ein Mann der Schmerzen und mit Leiden vertraut, und wie einer, vor dem man das Angesicht verbirgt; er war verachtet, und wir haben ihn für nichts geachtet.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		despectum, et novissimum virorum, virum dolorum, et scientem infirmitatem, et quasi absconditus vultus ejus et despectus, unde nec reputavimus eum.