Isaiah 53:7

53:7 He was treated harshly and afflicted,

but he did not even open his mouth.

Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block,

like a sheep silent before her shearers,

he did not even open his mouth.

Isaiah 57:11

57:11 Whom are you worried about?

Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully

and not remember me

or think about me?

Because I have been silent for so long,

you are not afraid of me.

Isaiah 62:1

The Lord Takes Delight in Zion

62:1 “For the sake of Zion I will not be silent;

for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet,

until her vindication shines brightly

and her deliverance burns like a torch.”


tn The translation assumes the Niphal is passive; another option is take the clause (note the subject + verb pattern) as concessive and the Niphal as reflexive, “though he humbled himself.”

sn This verse emphasizes the servant’s silent submission. The comparison to a sheep does not necessarily suggest a sacrificial metaphor. Sheep were slaughtered for food as well as for sacrificial rituals, and טֶבַח (tevakh) need not refer to sacrificial slaughter (see Gen 43:16; Prov 7:22; 9:2; Jer 50:27; note also the use of the related verb in Exod 21:37; Deut 28:31; 1 Sam 25:11).

tn Heb “you do not place [it] on your heart.”

tn Heb “Is it not [because] I have been silent, and from long ago?”

sn God’s patience with sinful Israel has caused them to think that they can sin with impunity and suffer no consequences.

map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

tn Heb “goes forth like brightness.”