quietly and willingly facing punishment or harm; naively facing sure defeat or destruction
—Like lambs to the slaughter, the basketball players laughed and sang songs on their way to the game, not knowing that the opposing team had not lost in five years.

In his prophecies, Isaiah gave new details about the one who would come to bring salvation to the people. He called him a servant from God who would give the people healing through his suffering:

He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds,

crushed because of our sins;

he endured punishment that made us well;

because of his wounds we have been healed.

All of us had wandered off like sheep;

each of us had strayed off on his own path,

but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him.

He was treated harshly and afflicted,

but he did not even open his mouth.

Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block [as a lamb to the slaughter],

like a sheep silent before her shearers,

he did not even open his mouth. (Isaiah 53:5-7)

Being a shepherd was a common profession for the Israelites, and the people killed sheep for food, sheared them for their wool, and sacrificed them to God to receive forgiveness for their sins. Of course, the sheep themselves did not understand what would happen to them, so they went to their fates quietly. This is the image that Isaiah used to describe the servant who would come to save the people.