Isaiah 53:1-12: "1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, 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 has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
"10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors."
Exodus 12:5: "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats..."
John 1:29: "The next day he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'"
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All three of the cited texts refer to a lamb, and this is also the image used in the hymn: "A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth, / The guilt of sinners bearing."
The verse from Exodus appears in the second half of the first verse: "That spotless life to offer."
John 1:29 and parts of Isaiah 53 (especially part of verse 6: "the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all") appear in "And, laden with the sins of earth" in the first verse.
Of the three cited texts, Isaiah 53 is referred to most often. "A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth" and "To slaughter led without complaint" in the hymn's first verse come from verse 7: "like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth." "He bears the stripes, the wounds, the lies, / The mockery..." in the hymn's first verse comes from Isaiah 53:3-5.
The remaining three verses of the hymn elaborate and reflect on what's described in the first verse and don't seem to incorporate these Bible passages any further.
The verse from Exodus appears in the second half of the first verse: "That spotless life to offer."
John 1:29 and parts of Isaiah 53 (especially part of verse 6: "the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all") appear in "And, laden with the sins of earth" in the first verse.
Of the three cited texts, Isaiah 53 is referred to most often. "A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth" and "To slaughter led without complaint" in the hymn's first verse come from verse 7: "like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth." "He bears the stripes, the wounds, the lies, / The mockery..." in the hymn's first verse comes from Isaiah 53:3-5.
The remaining three verses of the hymn elaborate and reflect on what's described in the first verse and don't seem to incorporate these Bible passages any further.
