Isaiah 11
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 11
A Reign of Justice and Peace[a]
1 A shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch will grow from his roots.
2 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,
3 and his delight will be the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by outward appearances
or reach a verdict based on hearsay.
4 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.
5 Righteousness will be the belt around his waist
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
6 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.
7 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.
8 The infant will play by the cobra’s den,
and the young child will lay his hand
on the viper’s nest.
9 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
- 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.
- Isaiah 11:11 Patmos: the Hebrew has Pathros, which was in Upper Egypt. Ethiopia: Cush. Elam: Persia. Babylonia: Hebrew, Shinar. Hamath: in Syria.
- Isaiah 11:14 The peoples listed were Israel’s neighbors and traditional enemies.
Isaiah 11
Authorized (King James) Version
11 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse,
and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
2 and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
3 and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord:
and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes,
neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
4 but with righteousness shall he judge the poor,
and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth:
and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins,
and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
and a little child shall lead them.
7 And the cow and the bear shall feed;
their young ones shall lie down together:
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain:
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea.
10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse,
which shall stand for an ensign of the people;
to it shall the Gentiles seek:
and his rest shall be glorious.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day,
that the Lord shall set his hand again
the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left,
from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros,
and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar,
and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations,
and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel,
and gather together the dispersed of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.
13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart,
and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off:
Ephraim shall not envy Judah,
and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west;
they shall spoil them of the east together:
they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab;
and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
15 And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea;
and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river,
and shall smite it in the seven streams,
and make men go over dryshod.
16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people,
which shall be left, from Assyria;
like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
Isaiah 11
King James Version
11 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
15 And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.
16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.