⁹ Judah is a lion’s cub;
        from the prey, my son, you rise up.
He lies down and crouches like a lion;
        like a lioness—who dares disturb him?
¹⁰ The scepter won’t depart from Judah,
        nor the ruler’s staff from among his banners.^[a]
Gifts will be brought to him;
        people will obey him.

11 A shoot will grow up from the stump of Jesse;
    a branch will sprout^[a] from his roots.
² The Lord’s spirit will rest upon him,
    a spirit of wisdom and understanding,
    a spirit of planning and strength,
    a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.
³ He will delight in fearing the Lord.
He won’t judge by appearances,
    nor decide by hearsay.
⁴ He will judge the needy with righteousness,
    and decide with equity for those who suffer in the land.
He will strike the violent^[b] with the rod of his mouth;
    by the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.
⁵ Righteousness will be the belt around his hips,
    and faithfulness the belt around his waist.
⁶ The wolf will live with the lamb,
    and the leopard will lie down with the young goat;
    the calf and the young lion will feed^[c] together,
    and a little child will lead them.
⁷ The cow and the bear will graze.
    Their young will lie down together,
    and a lion will eat straw like an ox.
⁸ A nursing child will play over the snake’s hole;
    toddlers will reach right over the serpent’s den.
⁹ They won’t harm or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain.
    The earth will surely be filled with the knowledge of the Lord,
    just as the water covers the sea.