The Meaning of Isaiah 53:9 Explained

Isaiah 53:9

KJV: And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

YLT: And it appointeth with the wicked his grave, And with the rich are his high places, Because he hath done no violence, Nor is deceit in his mouth.

Darby: And men appointed his grave with the wicked, but he was with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither was there guile in his mouth.

ASV: And they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he made  his grave  with the wicked,  and with the rich  in his death;  because he had done  no violence,  neither [was any] deceit  in his mouth. 

What does Isaiah 53:9 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The final insult to the Servant would be that people would plan to bury Him among the wicked, implying His own wickedness. Likewise, burial among the rich-instead of among the humble-would cast doubt on His righteousness, since the rich were often oppressors of the poor (cf. Psalm 49:5-6; Psalm 52:7; Proverbs 18:23; Proverbs 28:6; Proverbs 28:20; Jeremiah 17:11; Micah 6:12). Yet, in another sense, since Jesus" corpse received honorable treatment after His death, this suggested that He was unworthy of such an ignominious martyrdom. Isaiah seems to have meant that somehow wicked people and a rich man would be involved in the Servant"s burial (cf. Matthew 27:57-60). This is somewhat paradoxical.
". . . without the commentary supplied by the fulfilment [1], it would be impossible to understand Isaiah 53:9 a at all." [2]
"Like the other enigmas of this Song of Solomon , this too is written so that when the turn of events provides the explanation we shall know for certain that we stand in the presence of the Servant of the Lord." [3]
The Servant would not defend Himself ( Isaiah 53:7), but neither would He be guilty of anything worthy of death (cf. 1 Peter 2:22). Lack of "violence" and "deceit" represents total guiltlessness. The Servant would always speak the truth. Truly, the Servant would have to be more than a sinful human (cf. John 8:29; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Those who suffer as God"s servants should do so willingly, knowing that they are fulfilling their calling.

Context Summary

Isaiah 53:1-12 - The Rejected And Suffering Redeemer
The common lot of man may be summed up in three words: suffering, sin, and death. Our Lord, the Divine Servant, presents a notable exception to the rest of the race-not in His sufferings, Isaiah 53:3; not in His death, for He died many deaths in one, Isaiah 53:9, r.v. margin, but in His perfect innocence and goodness. His sufferings were due to sins not His own, Romans 5:8. We must make His soul our guilt offering, Isaiah 53:10, r.v. margin. It is the same word as is used in Leviticus 5:1-16. There is no need to summon the aid of another. Do it for yourself!
Jesus shall one day be satisfied. In the glory that shall accrue to the Father; in the redemption of untold myriads; in the character of the redeemed; in the destruction of the results of the Fall, we shall hear His sigh of content and see the triumph on His face. We shall witness His transference of the kingdom to the Father, 1 Corinthians 15:24. We shall behold the satisfactory termination of the mystery of evil. If He is satisfied, we shall be! [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 53

1  The prophet, complaining of incredulity, excuses the scandal of the cross
4  By the benefit of his passion
10  And the good success thereof

What do the individual words in Isaiah 53:9 mean?

And they made with the wicked His grave but with the rich at His death because no violence He had done nor [was any] deceit in His mouth
וַיִּתֵּ֤ן אֶת־ רְשָׁעִים֙ קִבְר֔וֹ וְאֶת־ עָשִׁ֖יר בְּמֹתָ֑יו עַ֚ל לֹא־ חָמָ֣ס עָשָׂ֔ה וְלֹ֥א מִרְמָ֖ה בְּפִֽיו

וַיִּתֵּ֤ן  And  they  made 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
רְשָׁעִים֙  the  wicked 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: רָשָׁע  
Sense: wicked, criminal.
קִבְר֔וֹ  His  grave 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: קֶבֶר  
Sense: grave, sepulchre, tomb.
וְאֶת־  but  with 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: אֵת 
Sense: with, near, together with.
עָשִׁ֖יר  the  rich 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: עָשִׁיר  
Sense: rich, wealthy n.
בְּמֹתָ֑יו  at  His  death 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מָוֶת  
Sense: death, dying, Death (personified), realm of the dead.
עַ֚ל  because 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
לֹא־  no 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
חָמָ֣ס  violence 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חָמָס  
Sense: violence, wrong, cruelty, injustice.
עָשָׂ֔ה  He  had  done 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
וְלֹ֥א  nor  [was  any] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
מִרְמָ֖ה  deceit 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִרְמָה  
Sense: deceit, treachery.
בְּפִֽיו  in  His  mouth 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: פֶּה  
Sense: mouth.