Isaiah 53:8

He was taken. That is, by death, meaning, “He died.”

From prison. Better, “through oppression.” Messiah was not given a fair hearing, in spite of the pretense of correct judicial procedure. The verdict was biased.

Declare his generation. The meaning of the Hebrew is not entirely clear, and various translations have been proposed. This section of Isaiah is poetic in form. Accordingly, the second clause of the first poetic parallelism of v. 8 is normally related in meaning to the first clause (see Vol. Ill, p. 24). An entirely valid interpretation of the Hebrew rendered “who shall declare his generation?” and one also in harmony with the poetic content, would be, “who was concerned with His fate?” that is, “with what befell Him.” The first clause clearly refers to the trial and condemnation of Jesus, and the second, thus translated, to the fact that no one took His part or stood to defend Him. “He bore it all alone.” Others have suggested that the clause means that Jesus would have no natural posterity to perpetuate His family line.

For the transgression. For the vicarious nature of Christ’s sufferings and death see on vs. 4-6.