Isaiah — Chapter 11

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1And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

2And 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;

3And 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:

4But 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.

5And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

6The 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.

7And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.

9They 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.

10And 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.

11And 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.

12And 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.

13The 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.

14But 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.

15And 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.

16And 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.

1And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit.

2And the Spirit of Jehovah 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 Jehovah.

3And his delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears;

4but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide 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.

5And righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.

6And the wolf 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.

7And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder`s den.

9They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.

10And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place shall be glorious.

11And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, that shall remain, 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.

12And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

13The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that vex Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.

14And they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines on the west; together shall they despoil the children of the east: they shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.

15And Jehovah will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind will he wave his hand over the River, and will smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dryshod.

16And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria; like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

1A shoot will grow out of Jesse’s root stock, a bud will sprout from his roots.

2The Lord’s Spirit will rest on him— a Spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, a Spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, a Spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord.

3He will take delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by mere appearances or make decisions on the basis of hearsay.

4He will treat the poor fairly and make right decisions for the downtrodden of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and order the wicked to be executed.

5Justice will be like a belt around his waist, integrity will be like a belt around his hips.

6A wolf will reside with a lamb, and a leopard will lie down with a young goat; an ox and a young lion will graze together, as a small child leads them along.

7A cow and a bear will graze together, their young will lie down together. A lion, like an ox, will eat straw.

8A baby will play over the hole of a snake; over the nest of a serpent an infant will put his hand.

9They will no longer injure or destroy on my entire royal mountain. For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty, just as the waters completely cover the sea.

10At that time a root from Jesse will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance, and his residence will be majestic.

11At that time the Lord will again lift his hand to reclaim the remnant of his people from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the seacoasts.

12He will lift a signal flag for the nations; he will gather Israel’s dispersed people and assemble Judah’s scattered people from the four corners of the earth.

13Ephraim’s jealousy will end, and Judah’s hostility will be eliminated. Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah, and Judah will no longer be hostile toward Ephraim.

14They will swoop down on the Philistine hills to the west; together they will loot the people of the east. They will take over Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be their subjects.

15The Lord will divide the gulf of the Egyptian Sea; he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River and send a strong wind; he will turn it into seven dried-up streams and enable them to walk across in their sandals.

16There will be a highway leading out of Assyria for the remnant of his people, just as there was for Israel, when they went up from the land of Egypt.

1A shoot will come out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit.

2Yahweh’s Spirit will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh.

3His delight will be in the fear of Yahweh. He will not judge by the sight of his eyes, neither decide by the hearing of his ears;

4but with righteousness he will judge the poor, and decide with equity for the humble of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.

5Righteousness will be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his waist.

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

7The cow and the bear will graze. Their young ones will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the ox.

8The nursing child will play near a cobra’s hole, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.

9They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea.

10It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious.

11It will happen in that day that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

12He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

13The envy also of Ephraim will depart, and those who persecute Judah will be cut off. Ephraim won’t envy Judah, and Judah won’t persecute Ephraim.

14They will fly down on the shoulders of the Philistines on the west. Together they will plunder the children of the east. They will extend their power over Edom and Moab, and the children of Ammon will obey them.

15Yahweh will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind he will wave his hand over the River, and will split it into seven streams, and cause men to march over in sandals.

16There will be a highway for the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, like there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Reflection

Summary

A shoot springs from Jesse's stump — the Spirit-anointed Messiah who judges with righteousness, brings peace to creation (the wolf dwelling with the lamb), and gathers Israel's scattered remnant from the nations in a second exodus.

Authorship & Background

Author: Isaiah son of Amoz (see Chapter 1 notes for full details).
Classification: Messianic Oracle — The Branch and the Kingdom Key Themes: The Branch from Jesse's root, the sevenfold Spirit, righteous judgment, the peaceable kingdom (wolf and lamb), the second exodus gathering, reunification of Israel and Judah
Historical Context: After chapter 10 depicted Assyria as a forest God would cut down (10:33-34), chapter 11 shows what grows from ANOTHER stump — Jesse's. David's dynasty appears dead (a cut stump), but a shoot (netser) springs from the root. This is the Messiah: Spirit-empowered, righteous in judgment, bringing cosmic peace. The animal kingdom reconciled (vv.6-9) symbolizes creation restored to Edenic harmony. Verses 10-16 describe a future regathering of Israel from all nations — a "second exodus" that surpasses the first (v.16: "like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt").
Structure:
  • The Shoot from Jesse's Stump (v.1)
  • The Sevenfold Spirit (v.2)
  • Righteous Judgment (vv.3-5)
  • The Peaceable Kingdom (vv.6-9)
  • The Root of Jesse as a Banner (v.10)
  • The Second Exodus: Gathering the Remnant (vv.11-16)

Map & Geography

  • Egypt (v.11, v.16): Land to the southwest; place of Israel's bondage and exodus.
  • Assyria (v.11, v.16): Empire to the northeast that conquered the northern kingdom of Israel (722 BC).
  • Edom (v.14): Land south of the Dead Sea; descendants of Esau.
  • Moab (v.14): Land east of the Dead Sea; often in conflict with Israel.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik provides detailed exposition of the Branch, the sevenfold Spirit, the peaceable kingdom's interpretation (literal future vs. spiritual present), and the second exodus gathering.
  • Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "The Root of Jesse" (MTP Vol. 14, No. 834) "He is both Root and Branch — the source of David AND the descendant of David. He made His own ancestor. He created the family He joined. Mystery upon mystery: the Creator born of His creature, the Root springing from His own Branch."

Videos

The Bible Project — Isaiah Overview (Video)

Animated overview of the book of Isaiah showing the literary structure, key themes, and how this book fits into the larger biblical narrative. Excellent visual introduction.

Reflection

  • 1. God brings life from stumps (v.1). Whatever looks dead in your life — a dream, a relationship, a calling — God specializes in resurrection from apparent death. The stump is not the end; the roots still live. Is there something you've given up on that God might still bring to life?
  • 2. The Spirit's anointing is COMPLETE on the Messiah (v.2) — and available to you through Christ. Wisdom for your decisions, understanding for your confusion, counsel for your crossroads, might for your weakness, knowledge for your ignorance, fear of God for your presumption. Which aspect do you most need today?
  • 3. "The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea" (v.9). This is the GOAL — not just personal salvation but cosmic transformation. Are you contributing to the spread of God's knowledge, or are you hoarding it?
  • 4. Natural enemies reconciled (vv.6-8). The gospel reconciles people who should be enemies — racial, political, economic opposites brought together. Who is your "wolf" that you need to see as a potential "lamb" — someone the gospel might transform?
  • 5. "A little child shall lead them" (v.6). In God's kingdom, leadership doesn't require strength, age, or experience — it requires innocence and trust. The complicated world is led by the simple. What childlike quality have you lost that God might want to restore?