THE ROOT OF JESSE

Passage: Isaiah 11:1-16

Key verse: 1

NIV

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)
2 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—
3 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)
4 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)
5 Righteousness will be his belt(T)
    and faithfulness(U) the sash around his waist.(V)

6 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.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.(X)
8 The infant(Y) will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s(Z) nest.
9 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.

10 In that day(AE) the Root of Jesse(AF) will stand as a banner(AG) for the peoples; the nations(AH) will rally to him,(AI) and his resting place(AJ) will be glorious.(AK) 11 In that day(AL) the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant(AM) of his people from Assyria,(AN) from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt,(AO) from Cush,[b](AP) from Elam,(AQ) from Babylonia,[c] from Hamath(AR) and from the islands(AS) of the Mediterranean.(AT)

12 He will raise a banner(AU) for the nations
    and gather(AV) the exiles of Israel;(AW)
he will assemble the scattered people(AX) of Judah
    from the four quarters of the earth.(AY)
13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
    and Judah’s enemies[d] will be destroyed;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
    nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.(AZ)
14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia(BA) to the west;
    together they will plunder the people to the east.(BB)
They will subdue Edom(BC) and Moab,(BD)
    and the Ammonites(BE) will be subject to them.(BF)
15 The Lord will dry up(BG)
    the gulf of the Egyptian sea;
with a scorching wind(BH) he will sweep his hand(BI)
    over the Euphrates River.(BJ)
He will break it up into seven streams
    so that anyone can cross over in sandals.(BK)
16 There will be a highway(BL) for the remnant(BM) of his people
    that is left from Assyria,(BN)
as there was for Israel
    when they came up from Egypt.(BO)

Read full chapter
Footnotes
  1. Isaiah 11:6 Hebrew; Septuagint lion will feed
  2. Isaiah 11:11 That is, the upper Nile region
  3. Isaiah 11:11 Hebrew Shinar
  4. Isaiah 11:13 Or hostility
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Righteous Reign of the Branch

11 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of (A)Jesse,
    and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
2 And (B)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 the fear of the Lord.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
(C)He shall not judge by (D)what his eyes see,
    or decide disputes by (E)what his ears hear,
4 but (F)with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
    and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall (G)strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
    and (H)with the breath of his lips (I)he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
    and (J)faithfulness the belt of his loins.

6 (K)The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
    and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
    and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
    their young shall lie down together;
    and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
    and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
9 (L)They shall not hurt or destroy
    in all (M)my holy mountain;
(N)for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

10 In that day (O)the root of (P)Jesse, who shall stand as (Q)a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

11 (R)In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, (S)from Assyria, (T)from Egypt, from (U)Pathros, from (V)Cush,[a] from (W)Elam, from (X)Shinar, from (Y)Hamath, and from (Z)the coastlands of the sea.

12 He will raise (AA)a signal for the nations
    and will assemble (AB)the banished of Israel,
and gather the dispersed of Judah
    from the four corners of the earth.
13 (AC)The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,
    and those who harass Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
    and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
14 (AD)But they shall swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west,
    and together they shall plunder (AE)the people of the east.
They shall put out their hand (AF)against (AG)Edom and (AH)Moab,
    and (AI)the Ammonites shall obey them.
15 And the Lord will utterly destroy[b]
    (AJ)the tongue of the Sea of Egypt,
and will wave his hand over (AK)the River[c]
    with his scorching breath,[d]
and strike it into seven channels,
    and he will lead people across in sandals.
16 And there will be (AL)a highway from Assyria
    for the remnant that remains of his people,
(AM)as there was for Israel
    when they came up from the land of Egypt.

Read full chapter
Footnotes
  1. Isaiah 11:11 Probably Nubia
  2. Isaiah 11:15 Hebrew devote to destruction
  3. Isaiah 11:15 That is, the Euphrates
  4. Isaiah 11:15 Or wind
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. A fruitful Branch (1-9)

Isaiah looked forward to Christ's coming. He would be a descendant of King David, son of Jesse. When Jesus walked the earth the Spirit of the Lord rested on him. He feared and loved his Father God with a holy love. He revealed God's love and righteousness to sinsick and dying people. Jesus' kingdom in our hearts brings forgiveness and peace. When he comes again to establish his Messianic kingdom, he will not judge by superficial appearances, but with righteousness. In his kingdom, natural enemies will all become friends. The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

2. He will stand as a banner for the peoples (1

-16)

The Lord knows his own people. On the day of judgment the Lord will gather his elect people to himself from the ends of the earth. He will give them victory, and they will reign with him.

Prayer: Lord, rule my heart with your righteousness and peace, for I am one of your own people. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

One Word: God's kingdom--our real hope.