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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.

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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.

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.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 11:6 Hebrew; Septuagint lion will feed