Isaiah 53:7
“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Context
Within Isaiah 53, this verse describes the manner of the servant's suffering -- his quiet, unresisting endurance under oppression and affliction.
What Does Isaiah 53:7 Mean?
Isaiah 53:7 portrays the servant enduring oppression in silence, like a lamb led to slaughter. Though he is afflicted and mistreated, he does not protest or defend himself: "he opened not his mouth." The phrase is repeated at the beginning and end of the verse, framing his silence as deliberate and complete. This is not the silence of helplessness but of willing submission.
The two animal images deepen the picture. A lamb led to slaughter and a sheep before its shearers both stand quiet, offering no resistance. The comparison evokes the sacrificial lambs of Israel's worship, hinting that this servant's suffering carries a sacrificial meaning. His silence is striking because the afflicted normally cry out for justice or mercy, yet he yields without complaint. The New Testament reports that Jesus remained silent before His accusers, and the early church read this verse as a portrait of Him; the Ethiopian official in Acts asked about this very passage and heard the good news of Jesus from it. On its own terms, the verse reveals a remarkable willingness to suffer for a purpose greater than self-defense, accepting injustice rather than resisting it.
In the Original Language
The Hebrew nagas means to oppress, drive, or exact harshly; the lamb imagery uses seh, the word for a sheep or lamb such as those offered in sacrifice.
Cross References
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth.”
- Acts 8:32
“Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.”
- 1 Peter 2:23
“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
- John 1:29
Application
Consider the servant's willing, silent endurance and let it shape how you bear injustice -- trusting God's purpose rather than demanding self-vindication.