Isaiah 53 (Read by Esteban Shedd)

Isaiah 53
Who has believed our message
To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm
My servant grew up in the Lord's presence like a tender green shoot
Like a root in dry ground
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance
Nothing to attract us to him
He was despised and rejected
A man of sorrows
Acquainted with deepest grief
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way
He was despised
And we did not care
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried
It was our sorrows that weighed him down
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God
A punishment for his own sins
But he was pierced for our rebellion
Crushed for our sins
He was beaten so we could be whole
He was whipped so we could be healed
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away
We have left God's paths to follow our own
Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all
He was oppressed and treated harshly
Yet he never said a word
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers
He did not open his mouth
Unjustly condemned
He was led away
No one cared that he died without descendants
That his life was cut short in midstream
But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people
He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone
But he was buried like a criminal
He was put in a rich man's grave
But it was the Lord's good plan to crush him and cause him grief
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin
He will have many descendants
He will enjoy a long life
And the Lord's good plan will prosper in his hands
When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish
He will be satisfied
And because of his experience
My righteous servant will make it possible
For many to be counted righteous
For he will bear all their sins
I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier
Because he exposed himself to death
He was counted among the rebels
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels