Isaiah 53:5 (WEB)

Passage

But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 53:3 He 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.

Isaiah 53:4 Surely he has borne our sickness, and carried our suffering; yet we considered him plagued, struck by God, and afflicted.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he didn’t open his mouth. As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he didn’t open his mouth.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "transgressions", "iniquities", "healed", "pierced", "crushed", "punishment", "brought", and "peace". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "transgressions" and "iniquities", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Surely he has borne our sickness and..." into verse 6's "All we like sheep have gone astray...", so "transgressions" and "iniquities" 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 "transgressions" and "iniquities" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.