Isaiah 53:6 (ASV)

Passage

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.

Isaiah 53:8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who [among them] considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke [was due]?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "gone astray", "like", "turned", "jehovah", "hath", and "laid". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sheep" and "gone astray", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "But he was wounded for our transgressions..." into verse 7's "He was oppressed yet when he was...", so "sheep" and "gone astray" belong inside that flow. In The Suffering Servant Bears Iniquity, the local focus is the servant of the LORD, atonement, and judgment and restoration.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "sheep" and "gone astray" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.