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The Third Description of Immanuel: The Branch From Jesse

11 

A shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse,
and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him:
    the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and might,
    the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
He will be delighted with the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
nor will he render decisions based on what he hears with his ears,
but with righteousness he will judge the poor,
and he will render fair decisions in favor of the oppressed on the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath from his lips he will put the wicked to death.
Righteousness will be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his hips.
The wolf will dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
the calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together,
and a little child will lead them.
The cow and the bear will graze together,
and their young ones will lie down together.
The lion will eat straw like the cattle.
The nursing child will play near a cobra’s hole,
and the weaned child will put his hand into a viper’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea.

A Remnant of Israel Will Return

10 This is what will take place on that day. The peoples will seek the Root of Jesse, who will be standing like a banner[a] for the peoples, and his resting place will be glorious.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 11:10 Or signal flag

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

In those days, John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near!” Yes, this is he of whom this was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

A voice of one crying out in the wilderness,

“Prepare the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.”[a]

John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem, all of Judea, and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruit in keeping with repentance! Do not think of saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 10 Already the ax is ready to strike[b] the root of the trees. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 I baptize you with water for repentance. But the one who comes after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 3:3 Isaiah 40:3
  2. Matthew 3:10 Literally is placed against

Indeed, whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that, through patient endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we would have hope. And may God, the source of patient endurance and encouragement, grant that you agree with one another in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that with one mind, in one voice, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For this reason, accept one another as Christ also accepted you to the glory of God. For I am saying that Christ became a servant of those who are circumcised for the sake of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs. He also did this so that the Gentiles would glorify God for his mercy, as it is written:

For this reason I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and I will sing to your name.[a]

10 And again it says:

Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.[b]

11 And again:

Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples give him praise.[c]

12 And again Isaiah says:
There will be a Root of Jesse,
and he is the one who will rise up to rule the Gentiles;
on him the Gentiles will place their hope.[d]

13 Now may the God of hope fill you with complete joy and peace as you continue to believe, so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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