Isaiah 53:7

53:7 He was treated harshly and afflicted, ¹ 

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. ² 

Jeremiah 11:19

11:19 Before this I had been like a docile lamb ready to be led to the slaughter.

I did not know they were making plans to kill me. ³ 

I did not know they were saying, ⁴ 

“Let’s destroy the tree along with its fruit! ⁵ 

Let’s remove Jeremiah ⁶  from the world of the living

so people will not even be reminded of him any more.” ⁷ 

Jeremiah 12:3

12:3 But you, Lord, know all about me.

You watch me and test my devotion to you. ⁸ 

Drag these wicked men away like sheep to be slaughtered!

Appoint a time when they will be killed! ⁹ 

Jeremiah 51:40

51:40 “I will lead them off to be slaughtered

like lambs, rams, and male goats.” ¹⁰ 

Acts 8:32

8:32 Now the passage of scripture the man ¹¹  was reading was this:

“He was led like a sheep to slaughter,

and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,

so he did ¹²  not open his mouth.

[53:7]  ¹ 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.”

[53:7]  ² 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).

[11:19]  ³ tn Heb “against me.” The words “to kill me” are implicit from the context and are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[11:19]  ⁴ tn The words “I did not know that they were saying” are not in the text. The quote is without formal introduction in the original. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[11:19]  ⁵ tn This word and its pronoun (לַחְמוֹ, lakhmo, “its bread”) is often emended to read “in/with its sap” = “in its prime” (either לֵחוֹ [lekho] or לֵחְמוֹ [lekhÿmo]); the latter would be more likely and the מוֹ (mo) could be explained as a rare use of the old poetic third plural suffix for the third singular; cf. GKC 258 §91.l for general use and Ps 11:7 and Job 27:23 for third singular use. Though this fits the context nicely the emendation is probably unnecessary since the word “bread” is sometimes used of other foodstuff than grain or its products (cf. BDB 537 s.v. לֶחֶם 2.a).

[11:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “cut it [or him] off.” The metaphor of the tree may be continued, though the verb “cut off” is used also of killing people. The rendering clarifies the meaning of the metaphor.

[11:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “so that his name will not be remembered any more.”

[12:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “You, Lord, know me. You watch me and you test my heart toward you.”

[12:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “set aside for them a day of killing.”

[51:40]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I will bring them down like lambs to be slaughtered, like rams and he goats.”

[8:32]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:32]  ¹² tn Grk “does.” The present tense here was translated as a past tense to maintain consistency with the first line of the quotation (“he was led like a sheep to slaughter”), which has an aorist passive verb normally translated as a past tense in English.