11 1 Christ born of the root of Jesse. 2 His virtues and kingdom. 6 The fruits of the Gospel. 10 The calling of the Gentiles.

But there shall come a [a]rod forth of the stock of Jesse, and a grass shall grow out of his roots.

And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord,

And shall make him prudent in the fear of the Lord: for he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove by the hearing of his ears.

But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and with equity shall he reprove for the meek of the earth: and he shall [b]smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

And justice shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

The [c]wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie with the kid, and the calf, and the lion, and the fat beast together, and a little child shall lead them.

And the cow and the bear shall feed: their young ones shall lie together: and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock.

And the sucking child shall play upon the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand upon the cockatrice hole.

Then shall none hurt nor destroy in all the mountain of mine holiness: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as [d]the waters that cover the sea.

10 And in that day the root of Jesse, which shall stand up for a sign unto the [e]people, the nations shall seek unto it, and his [f]rest shall be glorious.

11 And in the same day shall the Lord stretch out his hand [g]again the second time, to possess the remnant of his people, (which shall be left) of Assyria, and of Egypt, and of Pathros, and of Ethiopia, and of Elam, and of Shinar, and of Hamath, and of the isles of the sea.

12 And he shall set up a sign to the nations, and assemble the dispersed of Israel, and gather the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the world.

13 The hatred also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy [h]Judah, neither shall Judah vex Ephraim:

14 But they shall flee upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the West: they shall spoil them of the East together: Edom and Moab shall be the stretching out of their hands, and the children of Ammon in their obedience.

15 The Lord also shall utterly destroy the [i]tongue of the Egyptian’s sea, and with his mighty wind shall lift up his hand [j]over the river, and shall smite him in his seven streams, and cause men to walk therein with shoes.

16 And there shall be a path to the remnant of his people which are left of Assyria, like as it was unto Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 11:1 Because the captivity of Babylon was a figure of the spiritual captivity under sin, he showeth that our true deliverance must come by Christ: for as David came out of Jesse a man without dignity, so Christ should come of a poor carpenter’s house as out of a dead stock, Isa. 53:2.
  2. Isaiah 11:4 All these properties can agree to none, but only unto Christ: for it is he that toucheth the hearts of the faithful, and mortifieth their concupiscences: and to the wicked he is the savor of death, and to them that shall perish: so that all the world shall be smitten with his rod, which is his word.
  3. Isaiah 11:6 Men because of their wicked affections are named by the names of beasts, wherein the like affections reign: but Christ by his Spirit shall reform them, and work in them such mutual charity, that they shall be like lambs, favoring and loving one another, and cast off all their cruel affections, Isa. 65:25.
  4. Isaiah 11:9 It shall be in as great abundance as the waters in the sea.
  5. Isaiah 11:10 He prophesieth of the calling of the Gentiles.
  6. Isaiah 11:10 That is, the Church, which he also calleth his rest, Ps. 132:14.
  7. Isaiah 11:11 For God first delivered his people out of Egypt, and now promiseth to deliver them out of their enemies’ hands as from the Parthians, Persians, Chaldeans, and them of Antiochia, among whom they were dispersed: and this is chiefly meant of Christ, who calleth his people being dispersed through all the world.
  8. Isaiah 11:13 Here he describeth the consent that shall be in his Church, and their victory against their enemies.
  9. Isaiah 11:15 Meaning, a corner of the sea, that entereth into the land, and hath the form of a tongue.
  10. Isaiah 11:15 To wit, Nile, the great river of Egypt, which entereth into the sea with seven streams.

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