Isaiah 11
11
The Ideal Davidic King#11:1–9 (10)] Here Isaiah looks forward to a new Davidide who will realize the ancient ideals (see Ps 72). The oracle does not seem to have a particular historical person in mind.
1But a shoot shall sprout from the stump#Shoot…stump: the imagery suggests the bankruptcy of the monarchy as embodied in the historical kings, along with the need for a new beginning, to spring from the very origin from which David and his dynasty arose. Jesse: David’s father (cf. 1 Sm 16:1–13). of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.#Is 4:2; 53:2; Jer 23:5–6; 33:14–16; Zec 3:8; 6:12; Rev 22:16.
2#The source of the traditional names of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Septuagint and the Vulgate read “piety” for “fear of the Lord” in its first occurrence, thus listing seven gifts. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him:#Is 42:1; 1 Sm 16:13; Mt 3:16; Mk 1:10; Jn 1:32.
a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A spirit of counsel and of strength,
a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord,
3and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide,
4But he shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide fairly for the land’s afflicted.#Ps 72:2, 4; 98:9.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.#2 Thes 2:8; Rev 2:16.
5Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.#Eph 6:14.
6#This picture of the idyllic harmony of paradise is a dramatic symbol of universal peace and justice under the rule of the new Davidic king. The peace and harmony even among carnivores and their natural prey in this description suggest a paradisiac aspect of the reign of the new king. Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.#Hos 2:20.
7The cow and the bear shall graze,
together their young shall lie down;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.#Is 65:25.
8The baby shall play by the viper’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
9They shall not harm or destroy on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord,
as water covers the sea.
Restoration#This passage, with its reference to God’s people in widely scattered lands, is probably from a much later period. God will restore them to their own land. The reconciliation of Ephraim (i.e., the Northern Kingdom) and Judah reverses what Isaiah saw as a disastrous event of the past (cf. 7:17). God’s action is likened to a new exodus, analogous to the time God first acquired Israel in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. Pathros: upper Egypt. Elam: east of Babylonia. Shinar: Babylonia. Hamath: on the Orontes River in Syria. Isles: or coastlands, in the Mediterranean.
10On that day,
The root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the peoples—
Him the nations will seek out;
his dwelling shall be glorious.#Is 2:2–4; Rom 15:12.
11On that day,
The Lord shall again take it in hand
to reclaim the remnant of his people
that is left from Assyria and Egypt,
Pathros, Ethiopia, and Elam,
Shinar, Hamath, and the isles of the sea.#Ex 3:20; Jer 23:7–8; 31:1–22; Zec 10:10.
12He shall raise a signal to the nations#Is 18:3.
and gather the outcasts of Israel;
The dispersed of Judah he shall assemble
from the four corners of the earth.
13The envy of Ephraim shall pass away,
and those hostile to Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not envy Judah,
and Judah shall not be hostile to Ephraim;
14But they shall swoop down on the foothills
of the Philistines to the west,
together they shall plunder the people of the east;#People of the east: tribes in the Arabian Desert (cf. Jgs 6:3, 33; 7:12).
Edom and Moab shall be their possessions,
and the Ammonites their subjects.
15The Lord shall dry up the tongue#Tongue: perhaps to be identified with the Gulf of Suez. of the Sea of Egypt,
and wave his hand over the Euphrates with his fierce wind,
And divide it into seven streamlets,
so that it can be crossed in sandals.#Zec 10:11; Rev 16:12.
16There shall be a highway for the remnant of his people
that is left from Assyria,
As there was for Israel
when it came up from the land of Egypt.#Is 51:10; Ex 14:29.
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Isaiah 11
11
Reign of the Davidic King
1Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse,#Is 9:7; 11:10; Ac 13:23
and a branch#Is 14:19; 60:21; Jr 23:5; 33:15; Dn 11:7; Zch 3:8; 6:12 from his roots will bear fruit.
2The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him#Is 42:1; 48:16; 61:1; Mt 3:16; Jn 1:32 —
a Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a Spirit of counsel and strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
3His delight will be in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge
by what he sees with his eyes,#Jn 2:25; 7:24
he will not execute justice
by what he hears with his ears,
4but he will judge the poor righteously#Ps 72:2,13–14; Is 3:14
and execute justice for the oppressed of the land.
He will strike the land
with a scepter#11:4 Lit the rod from his mouth,#Ps 2:9; Is 49:2; Mal 4:6; Rv 1:16; 19:15
and he will kill the wicked#Gn 18:25; Ps 139:19; Ezk 3:18–19; 18:20–24; 33:8–15
with a command#11:4 Lit with the breath from his lips.#Jb 4:9; Is 30:28,33; 2Th 2:8
5Righteousness will be a belt around his hips;#Eph 6:14
faithfulness will be a belt around his waist.
6The wolf will dwell with the lamb,#Is 65:25; Jr 5:6; Hs 2:18; 13:6–9
and the leopard will lie down with the goat.
The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf will be together,
and a child will lead them.
7The cow and the bear will graze,
their young ones will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like cattle.
8An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit,
and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den.
9They will not harm or destroy each other
on my entire holy mountain,
for the land will be as full
of the knowledge of the Lord
as the sea is filled with water.#Ps 98:2–3; Is 45:6; 52:10; 66:18–23; Hab 2:14
Israel Regathered
10On that day the root of Jesse#Is 11:1
will stand as a banner for the peoples.#Is 49:22; 62:10; Jn 3:14–15; 12:32
The nations will look to him for guidance,#Rm 15:12; Rv 5:5
and his resting place will be glorious.#Is 14:3; 28:12; 32:17–18
11On that day#Is 27:12 the Lord will extend his hand a second time to recover the remnant of his people who survive — from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the coasts and islands of the west.#Is 10:20–22; 37:4,31–32; 46:3
12He will lift up a banner for the nations
and gather the dispersed of Israel;#Is 56:8; Zph 3:10; Zch 10:6
he will collect the scattered of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.#Rv 7:1; 20:8
13Ephraim’s envy will cease;#Is 9:21; Jr 3:18; Ezk 37:16–17,22; Hs 1:11
Judah’s harassing will end.
Ephraim will no longer be envious of Judah,
and Judah will not harass Ephraim.
14But they will swoop down
on the Philistine flank to the west.
Together they will plunder the people of the east.#Jr 49:28
They will extend their power over Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites will be their subjects.#Ps 60:8; 83:6
15The Lord will divide#11:15 Text emended; MT reads destroy#11:15 Or dry up the Gulf of Suez.#11:15 Lit the Sea of Egypt
He will wave his hand over the Euphrates
with his mighty wind#Is 7:20; 8:7; Rv 16:12
and will split it into seven streams,
letting people walk through on foot.
16There will be a highway for the remnant of his people
who will survive from Assyria,#Is 19:23; 35:8; 40:3; 62:10
as there was for Israel
when they came up from the land of Egypt.#Ex 14:26–29
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