Isaiah 53:3 (WEB)
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.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Isaiah 53:3–6 (KJV)
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 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. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Key words
- אִישׁ מַכְאֹבוֹתish makh'ovot · Hebrew
- 'a man of sorrows' (v. 3) — the Suffering Servant; Pitre cites the phrase as 53:4 (p 134).
- חֳלָיֵנוּ הוּא נָשָׂאcholayenu hu nasa · Hebrew
- 'he hath borne our griefs' (v. 4) — the Servant takes the pains of others on himself.
Why it matters
The Servant is a man of sorrows who carries the griefs of others. Pitre opens the chapter on Mary's birth pangs with the paradox that Jesus came not to take suffering away but to take it upon himself, alluding to this prophecy through Mark 10:45 (p 118). As Jesus is the 'man of sorrows,' Mary, the mother who shares his passion, is rightly called the Mother of Sorrows, Mater Dolorosa (pp 133–134).