The Hebrew text implies that he was taken by arrest and by judgment. Think about the combined meaning of all the adjectivesIsaiah used to describe the Messiah: stricken, smitten, afflicted, wounded, bruised, and oppressed. Now the prophet even declares that he would be “cut off out of the land of the living,” which was certainly not the way Jews centuries later viewed the purpose and mission of their Messiah.
In the Old Testament the value of a person’s life was often measured by his posterity, who would perpetuate his name, works, and merits. Inasmuch as Christ would be “cut off” or killed, who would “declare his generation”? Who would be his posterity to carry on his work and glory? Who would declare the life and atoning mission of Jesus the Messiah? Abinadi testified “that when [Christ’s] soul has been made an offering for sin he shall see his seed” or posterity (Mosiah 15:10). Abinadi then taught that Christ’s seed are those who believe in him and are redeemed through him—the prophets and those who believe on their words (Mosiah 15:10–12). They become his children, his sons and daughters, who will perpetuate his words and works on the earth.