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Chapter 11

A Reign of Justice and Peace[a]

A shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse,
    and a branch will grow from his roots.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him:
    a Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a Spirit of counsel and power,
    a Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord,
    and his delight will be the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by outward appearances
    or reach a verdict based on hearsay.
Rather, he will judge the poor with justice
    and render fair decisions for the weak and the poor.
He will strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
    and with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be the belt around his waist
    and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
Then the wolf will live alongside the lamb,
    and the leopard will lie down with the kid;
the calf and the young lion will browse together,
    with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear will graze side by side;
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat hay like the ox.
The infant will play by the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will lay his hand
    on the viper’s nest.
No injury or harm will occur
    on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be filled with knowledge of the Lord
    just as water covers the sea.

Ephraim and Judah United

10 On that day the root of Jesse
    will be established as a signal to the nations.
They will come forth to unite under him,
    and his dwelling will be glorious.
11 When that day comes,
    the Lord will reach out his hand a second time
to recover the remnant of his people
    from Assyria and Egypt,
from Patmos,[b] Ethiopia, and Elam,
    from Shinar, Hamath, and the islands of the sea.
12 He will raise a signal to the nations
    and assemble the outcasts of Israel.
He will also gather the dispersed of Judah
    from the four corners of the earth.
13 The jealousy of Ephraim will cease
    and the hostility of Judah will end.
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
    nor will Judah have any hostility toward Ephraim.
14 Together they will swoop down
    on the foothills of the Philistines to the west
    and plunder the people of the east.
Edom and Moab will become subject to their rule,
    and the Ammonites will obey them.[c]
15 The Lord will dry up a pathway
    through the Sea of Egypt,
and he will wave his hand over the Euphrates
    in his fierce anger,
splitting it into seven streams
    so that it can be crossed on foot.
16 Thus there will be a highway
    for the remnant of his people from Assyria,
as there was for the Israelites
    when they came up from the land of Egypt.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 11:1 For the third time the prophet promises the people a king descended from David, the son of Jesse. In contrast to corrupt leaders, he will introduce justice; in contrast to rulers who brought war and destruction, he will inaugurate an era of peace. Filled with every gift (all the gifts which have become the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Christian tradition), he will be the perfect king, a new Solomon, a new David, and a new Moses. His reign will restore a golden age, as at the beginning of the world. Christians will immediately recognize Christ in this majestic figure, who represents an ideal in whom each individual can see realized the best aspirations of human beings.
  2. Isaiah 11:11 Patmos: the Hebrew has Pathros, which was in Upper Egypt. Ethiopia: Cush. Elam: Persia. Babylonia: Hebrew, Shinar. Hamath: in Syria.
  3. Isaiah 11:14 The peoples listed were Israel’s neighbors and traditional enemies.

The Branch From Jesse

11 A shoot(A) will come up from the stump(B) of Jesse;(C)
    from his roots a Branch(D) will bear fruit.(E)
The Spirit(F) of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom(G) and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,(H)
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord
and he will delight in the fear(I) of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,(J)
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;(K)
but with righteousness(L) he will judge the needy,(M)
    with justice(N) he will give decisions for the poor(O) of the earth.
He will strike(P) the earth with the rod of his mouth;(Q)
    with the breath(R) of his lips he will slay the wicked.(S)
Righteousness will be his belt(T)
    and faithfulness(U) the sash around his waist.(V)

The wolf will live with the lamb,(W)
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together;
    and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.(X)
The infant(Y) will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s(Z) nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy(AA)
    on all my holy mountain,(AB)
for the earth(AC) will be filled with the knowledge(AD) of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

10 In that day(AE) the Root of Jesse(AF) will stand as a banner(AG) for the peoples; the nations(AH) will rally to him,(AI) and his resting place(AJ) will be glorious.(AK) 11 In that day(AL) the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant(AM) of his people from Assyria,(AN) from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt,(AO) from Cush,[b](AP) from Elam,(AQ) from Babylonia,[c] from Hamath(AR) and from the islands(AS) of the Mediterranean.(AT)

12 He will raise a banner(AU) for the nations
    and gather(AV) the exiles of Israel;(AW)
he will assemble the scattered people(AX) of Judah
    from the four quarters of the earth.(AY)
13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
    and Judah’s enemies[d] will be destroyed;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
    nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.(AZ)
14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia(BA) to the west;
    together they will plunder the people to the east.(BB)
They will subdue Edom(BC) and Moab,(BD)
    and the Ammonites(BE) will be subject to them.(BF)
15 The Lord will dry up(BG)
    the gulf of the Egyptian sea;
with a scorching wind(BH) he will sweep his hand(BI)
    over the Euphrates River.(BJ)
He will break it up into seven streams
    so that anyone can cross over in sandals.(BK)
16 There will be a highway(BL) for the remnant(BM) of his people
    that is left from Assyria,(BN)
as there was for Israel
    when they came up from Egypt.(BO)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 11:6 Hebrew; Septuagint lion will feed
  2. Isaiah 11:11 That is, the upper Nile region
  3. Isaiah 11:11 Hebrew Shinar
  4. Isaiah 11:13 Or hostility