Isaiah 11

After Assyria is pictured as a great forest cut down in chapter 10, Isaiah turns to a new shoot growing from David’s family tree. This coming King is filled with the Spirit, rules with perfect justice, and brings a peace that reaches even the animal world. He then gathers his scattered people and draws the nations to himself.

Isaiah 11:1

David’s royal family looks like a felled tree, just a stump. Yet new life springs from it. God has not finished with David’s line. A fresh, humble beginning produces a King who bears real fruit. Christians see this fulfilled in Jesus.

BSA: shoot (“new sprout, branch”): The King arrives as a tender new growth, small and unlikely, from what looked dead. stump (“stock, trunk”): The royal line has been cut down, yet life remains in it.

Hebrew: חֹטֶר (ḥōṭer, H2415) — “a slender shoot or twig.” The word pictures something thin and fragile, not a mighty tree. The promised King begins in weakness.

See also: Matthew 1:1; Isaiah 53:2.

Isaiah 11:2

God’s Spirit rests on this King and stays. Isaiah describes the Spirit’s gifts in three pairs: wisdom with understanding, counsel with strength, knowledge with the fear of the LORD. He is fully equipped to rule well, with mind, might and reverence.

BSA: rest (“settle down, remain”): The Spirit does not visit briefly but makes a lasting home on him. wisdom (“skill, prudence, good judgment”): His wisdom is practical skill for living and ruling rightly.

See also: Luke 4:18; John 1:32.

Isaiah 11:3

This King loves reverence for God. It is his joy, not a burden. Unlike human judges, he does not rely on appearances or rumor. He sees what is really true, so no one can fool him and no one is wrongly condemned.

BSA: delight (“take great pleasure, have happiness”): Honoring God is his happiness, not mere duty.

Hebrew: וַהֲרִיחוֹ (wahăriḥô, H7306) — “and his scent, his delight.” The Hebrew word is related to smelling. He takes in the fear of the LORD as a pleasing fragrance.

Isaiah 11:4

The poor and humble, whom the powerful often ignore, receive justice from him. The wicked face his word. His spoken command carries the force of a weapon and brings judgment without any army. Good news for the oppressed, and a sober warning to the proud.

BSA: righteousness (“true, divine”): His justice is God’s own standard, not a human approximation. lowly (“humble, meek”): The humble have a champion who takes up their case.

See also: 2 Thessalonians 2:8; Revelation 19:15.

Isaiah 11:5

Ancient people tied a belt around the waist to get ready for action. His belt is righteousness and faithfulness. These are what he always wears and what holds him together. His rule is dependable and true to its promises.

BSA: faithfulness (“trustworthiness, fidelity”): He can be counted on to keep his word.

See also: Ephesians 6:14.

Isaiah 11:6

Isaiah pictures nature healed. Predators and prey rest side by side, and a small child leads them. Many Christians take this as a literal future renewal, others as a picture of peace under Christ. Either way, enmity and fear are gone.

BSA: together (“united, in unity”): Former enemies are not just tolerating each other but are at peace. lead (“guide, direct”): The weakest of all is trusted to guide the strongest.

See also: Romans 8:21.

Isaiah 11:7

The picture goes on. The cow and the bear graze together, their young share the same pasture, and the lion eats straw like an ox. Even the nature of the fiercest creatures is changed. Violence is not merely held back; it is gone.

BSA: straw (“stubble, fodder”): The lion gives up hunting and eats plain fodder.

Isaiah 11:8

Here the most vulnerable humans, a nursing infant and a weaned toddler, play safely by the deadliest snakes. Nothing that once threatened life can hurt them now. The curse’s effects on creation are reversed.

BSA: infant (“suckling child, nursing”): The very youngest, most helpless child is safe.

See also: Genesis 3:15.

Isaiah 11:9

Peace on God’s holy mountain comes because people know the LORD. This is not mere facts but a close, personal knowing. As water covers the sea floor, nothing is left untouched. Harm ends where God is truly known.

BSA: knowledge (“deep understanding, intimacy”): This is a close, personal knowing of God, not only information. full (“completely filled”): Nothing is left dry, as the sea is covered by its waters.

See also: Habakkuk 2:14.

Isaiah 11:10

The King is now called the Root of Jesse, as if he were both source and offspring of David’s line. He stands like a flag raised on a hill, and the nations rally to him. His resting place is glorious. Paul quotes this verse about Gentiles hoping in Christ.

BSA: banner (“ensign, signal”): A rallying point lifted high so that all can see and come. seek (“ask, worship”): The nations come inquiring of him and bowing to him.

Hebrew: נֵס (nēs, H5251) — “banner, signal pole.” It was a pole raised on a hill so scattered people could see it from afar and gather.

See also: Romans 15:12; Revelation 5:5.

Isaiah 11:11

God will gather His people a second time, as at the Exodus. They are scattered in many lands, from south to north and east to west. The word for recover can mean to buy back, so God reclaims what is His own.

BSA: recover (“to buy, to redeem”): God brings His people home as one who buys back what belongs to Him. remnant (“what is left, a surviving group”): Not everyone returns, but God preserves a surviving people.

See also: Isaiah 10:20-22.

Isaiah 11:12

The same banner that draws the nations also gathers God’s scattered people. Israel’s exiles and Judah’s scattered ones come from the four corners of the earth. No one is too far away for God to find.

BSA: exiles (“outcasts, scattered ones”): These are people driven out and forgotten, yet God remembers them. corners (“wings, extremities”): The earth is pictured with outstretched edges, and God’s reach extends to every one.

See also: John 11:52.

Isaiah 11:13

The kingdom split long ago into Ephraim, the northern tribes, and Judah in the south. Their old rivalry will end. Envy and harassment vanish. God’s gathering heals the divisions between His own people.

BSA: jealousy (“envy, strong feelings of resentment”): Bitterness between the brothers is removed at the root.

See also: Ezekiel 37:22.

Isaiah 11:14

United, the reunited people overcome the neighboring enemies on every side: Philistia, the eastern peoples, Edom, Moab and Ammon. Isaiah uses the image of their old foes to say that all opposition to God’s people will yield.

BSA: together (“united, in harmony”): Their strength now comes from standing as one.

Isaiah 11:15

As God once dried the Red Sea, He will clear every water barrier. The Euphrates, a great river, becomes seven shallow streams that people cross in sandals. Nothing in nature can stop God’s people from coming home.

BSA: devote to destruction (“utterly destroy, dedicate to destruction”): God sets the obstacle completely apart for removal. seven (“brooks, small rivers”): The mighty river is broken into small creeks that can be crossed easily.

Hebrew: הֶחֱרִים (heḥĕrîm, H2763) — “to devote to destruction, to put under the ban.” The word is used of things wholly given over to God. Here the sea is wholly given up to His power.

See also: Exodus 14:21-22.

Isaiah 11:16

The chapter ends with a highway for the returning remnant, just as at the Exodus out of Egypt. God makes a clear road for His people. He who once brought them out will bring them home again.

BSA: highway (“raised public”): It is a built-up, open road that is easy to travel. remnant (“surviving ones, leftovers”): Those who were spared are carried safely home.

See also: Isaiah 35:8; Isaiah 40:3.