Isaiah · chapter 11 of 66
Updated on
Isaiah 11 announces that from the stump of Jesse, David's father, a shoot will come on whom the Spirit of the Lord will rest. He will judge the poor with righteousness, and his kingdom will bring a peace so deep that the wolf will dwell with the lamb. The root of Jesse will stand as a signal for the peoples, and the Lord will gather the remnant of his scattered people a second time.
After the felled forest of Assyria at the end of chapter 10, Isaiah shows another tree: the stump of David's house, seemingly cut down, that sprouts again. This chapter is one of the most important messianic visions in the book and prepares the hymn of praise in chapter 12.
From the stump of Jesse a shoot will come forth, and from his roots a branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him: the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and might, of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight will be in that fear. He will not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he will judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and kill the wicked with the breath of his lips. Righteousness will be the belt of his waist and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
Then the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the young goat, the calf and the lion cub will feed together, and a little child will lead them. The cow and the bear will graze, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play over the hole of the cobra. They will not hurt or destroy in all God's holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
On that day the root of Jesse will stand as a signal for the peoples, the nations will seek him, and his resting place will be glorious. A second time the Lord will extend his hand to recover the remnant of his people who remain in Assyria, Egypt and other distant places. He will raise a signal for the nations and assemble the outcasts of Israel and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The jealousy of Ephraim and the hostility of Judah will cease, and the Lord will dry up the sea of Egypt and make a highway for the remnant of his people, as there was for Israel when it came up from Egypt.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
From the stump of Jesse a shoot will come, and from his roots a branch will bear fruit. Though David's dynasty looks like a felled tree, God will raise a king from it. The New Testament presents Jesus as a descendant of David.
On this king the Spirit of the Lord rests, with wisdom, counsel, might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His authority is based not on force but on the presence of the Spirit.
The wolf will dwell with the lamb and a little child will lead them. The image shows the peace that the Messiah's kingdom will bring, where violence and fear disappear even among animals.
Nothing will hurt in God's holy mountain because the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. That peace is born from everyone knowing the Lord.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: From the stump of Jesse. — Isaiah 11:1
Answer: The Spirit of the Lord. — Isaiah 11:2
Answer: With righteousness, deciding with equity for the meek of the earth. — Isaiah 11:4
Answer: With the lamb. — Isaiah 11:6
Answer: The knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. — Isaiah 11:9
Answer: A signal for the peoples, to which the nations will turn. — Isaiah 11:10
Isaiah 11 offers a concrete hope: the Messiah rules with justice, defends the poor and brings peace. In a small group, the image can lead us to ask how we reflect that character today in our families and churches, and to pray that Christ's justice and peace mark our relationships.
The vision of the wolf and the lamb also comforts us when we see violence and division. It is not a naive fantasy but a promise of what God will do when the knowledge of the Lord fills the earth. Meanwhile, we are called to live as a foretaste of that peace.
Isaiah 11 presents the ideal king who will bring justice, peace and a return for God's people. Chapter 12 answers with a short song of praise celebrating the Lord as his people's salvation on that day.
The New Testament presents Jesus as a descendant of David and of Jesse in the royal line. Paul quotes Isaiah 11:10 in Romans 15:12 to say that Christ rules the nations and that they hope in him. Many Christians see a present fulfillment in his first coming and the full peace of verses 6 to 9 at his return.
Interpreters differ. Some see a literal description of a renewed creation; others see poetic language for peace between people and nations that were once enemies. In both cases the central message is that the Messiah's reign will end violence.
It is an image of the king's word, with which he judges and destroys wickedness. It does not speak of a weapon but of the authority of his decision and word, something 2 Thessalonians 2:8 echoes with the breath of his mouth.