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And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
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;
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:
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.
And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
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.
And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
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.
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.

New Defender's Study Bible Notes

11:1 stem of Jesse. The “rod out of the stem of Jesse” is actually a “shoot out of the stump of Jesse.” Jesse was, of course, the father of King David, so the prophecy indicates that the family “tree” coming from Jesse would be eventually be cut down (note Jeremiah 22:30). Later, a new branch would somehow rise out of the dead stump. This was fulfilled in the virgin birth of Jesus, the greater Son of David.


11:1 Branch. On the Branch, as a name of Christ, see note on Isaiah 4:2.


11:2 spirit of the LORD. The “Spirit of the LORD…of wisdom and understanding…of counsel and might…of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD” seems essentially to be a sevenfold description of the Holy Spirit, answering also to the “seven Spirits which are before His throne” (Revelation 1:4).


11:4 rod of his mouth. The promised Deliverer will not only come to establish righteousness and equity, especially bringing comfort to the poor and meek, but also in fierce judgment on the ungodly. The climax will be accomplished simply by His omnipotent Word, described here as the “rod of His mouth” and finally as “out of His mouth…a sharp sword” (Revelation 19:15).


11:4 the wicked. “The wicked” is “the Wicked [One],” the final world ruler known as “that man of sin” (II Thessalonians 2:3,8).


11:6 with the lamb. In the original creation, all animals were herbivorous (Genesis 1:30), and these conditions will be restored in the coming kingdom age, when Christ returns.


11:8 cockatrice. This old English word referred to a legendary serpent hatched from a cock’s egg, but the Hebrew word could mean any poisonous viper or adder.


11:9 not hurt nor destroy. Even carnivorous animals can, if necessary, survive on herbivorous diets, as they were originally created to do. In the age to come, environmental conditions and plant nutrients will be so changed as to implement this practice once again, and there will be no more bloodshed, in nature, even among the animals.


11:10 root of Jesse. See note on Isaiah 11:1.


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