Isaiah 11

The Root of Jesse

1 Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.

2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.

3 And He will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what His eyes see, and He will not decide by what His ears hear,

4 but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips.

5 Righteousness will be the belt around His hips, and faithfulness the sash around His waist.

6 The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and young lion and fatling will be together, ^[a] and a little child will lead them.

7 The cow will graze with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

8 The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest.

9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water.

10 On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, ^[b] and His place of rest will be glorious.

11 On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, ^[c] from Elam, from Shinar, ^[d] from Hamath, and from the islands ^[e] of the sea.

12 He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will collect the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

13 Then the jealousy of Ephraim ^[f] will depart, and the adversaries ^[g] of Judah will be cut off. Ephraim will no longer envy Judah, nor will Judah harass Ephraim.

14 They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines to the west; together they will plunder the sons of the east. They will lay their hands on Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them.

15 The LORD will devote to destruction ^[h] the gulf ^[i] of the Sea of Egypt; with a scorching wind He will sweep His hand over the Euphrates. ^[j] He will split it into seven streams for men to cross with dry sandals.

16 There will be a highway for the remnant of His people who remain from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.

Isaiah 11 Commentary

Chapter 11

The peaceful character of Christ's kingdom and subjects. (1-9) The conversion of the Gentiles and Jews. (10-16)

Verses 1-9 The Messiah is called a Rod, and a Branch. The words signify a small, tender product; a shoot, such as is easily broken off. He comes forth out of the stem of Jesse; when the royal family was cut down and almost levelled with the ground, it would sprout again. The house of David was brought very low at the time of Christ's birth. The Messiah thus gave early notice that his kingdom was not of this world. But the Holy Spirit, in all his gifts and graces, shall rest and abide upon him; he shall have the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in him, ( Colossians 1:19 , Colossians 2:9 ) . Many consider that seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are here mentioned. And the doctrine of the influences of the Holy Spirit is here clearly taught. The Messiah would be just and righteous in all his government. His threatening shall be executed by the working of his Spirit according to his word. There shall be great peace and quiet under his government. The gospel changes the nature, and makes those who trampled on the meek of the earth, meek like them, and kind to them. But it shall be more fully shown in the latter days. Also Christ, the great Shepherd, shall take care of his flock, that the nature of troubles, and of death itself, shall be so changed, that they shall not do any real hurt. God's people shall be delivered, not only from evil, but from the fear of it. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? The better we know the God of love, the more shall we be changed into the same likeness, and the better disposed to all who have any likeness to him. This knowledge shall extend as the sea, so far shall it spread. And this blessed power there have been witnesses in every age of Christianity, though its most glorious time, here foretold, is not yet arrived. Meanwhile let us aim that our example and endeavours may help to promote the honour of Christ and his kingdom of peace.

Verses 10-16 When the gospel should be publicly preached, the Gentiles would seek Christ Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, and find rest of soul. When God's time is come for the deliverance of his people, mountains of opposition shall become plains before him. God can soon turn gloomy days into glorious ones. And while we expect the Lord to gather his ancient people, and bring them home to his church, also to bring in the fulness of the Gentiles, when all will be united in holy love, let us tread the highway of holiness he has made for his redeemed. Let us wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life, looking to him to prepare our way through death, that river which separates this world from the eternal world.

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew; LXX the young calf and bull and lion will feed together
• [b]. LXX On that day the Root of Jesse will appear, One who will arise to rule over the Gentiles; in Him the Gentiles will put their hope; cited in Romans 15:12.
• [c]. That is, the upper Nile region
• [d]. That is, Babylonia
• [e]. Or coastlands
• [f]. That is, the northern kingdom of Israel
• [g]. Or hostility
• [h]. Or will completely dry up
• [i]. Hebrew the tongue
• [j]. Hebrew the River

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 11

This chapter is a prophecy of the Messiah, and gives an account of his descent, as man; of his qualifications for his office, as a Judge and King; of his performance of it; of the peaceableness of his kingdom; of the spread of it among the Gentiles, by the preaching of the Gospel; and of the last and general conversion of the Jews. His original and descent from David the son of Jesse, under the titles of a rod and branch, is described as mean and obscure, expressed by stem and roots, Isa 11:1 his gifts and qualifications for his work, in general and particular, Isa 11:2 the performance of it, both with respect to good men and bad men, in the fear of the Lord, with all equity, righteousness, and readiness, Isa 11:3-5 the peaceableness of his kingdom is figuratively expressed, by the agreement of savage and tame creatures, the former becoming the latter, and so losing their malignant and hurtful nature, through the efficacy of the Gospel, spreading the knowledge of Christ all over the world, Isa 11:6-9 particularly among the Gentiles, comparable to those savage creatures, who, upon the exhibition of Christ in the Gospel; should seek to him, and find rest in him, Isa 11:10 which will be followed or accompanied with a collection of the Jews out of all lands, and the conversion of them, which will be brought about by the power and grace of God, all impediments being by him removed out of the way; the consequences of which will be, peace among themselves, and obedience among the Gentiles, Isa 11:11-16.