Isaiah 11

1 the stem of Jesse. Rather, as R.V., “a shoot out of the stock of Jesse.”

a branch. Heb., netser; the root of the name Nazareth: see on Matt. ii. 23.

shall grow. Lit., “shall bear fruit.”

3 and shall make Him of quick understanding. etc. Rather, as R.V., “and His delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah.” Delitzsch renders, “And fear of Jehovah shall be fragrance unto Him!” But G. A. Smith gives us a fresh thought here. He says: “The phrase may as well mean He shall draw His breath in the fear of the Lord. . . . Christ drew His breath in the fear of the Lord. . . . We too may, by Christ’s grace, draw breath, like Him, in the fear of the Lord.”

the sight of His eyes . . . the hearing of His ears. “His favour or displeasure does not depend upon external qualities: He judges according to the relation of the heart to God."—Delitzsch.

4 reprove with equity for. Or, “shall do justice to”; “shall decide with equity for,” etc. These just decisions, rigorously enforced, are designated “the rod (or sceptre) of His mouth.

5 righteousness . . . faithfulness. Nearly synonymous, “justice . . . trustworthiness.”

6. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb. The cause of this reign of universal peace is to be found in the 9th verse. As the knowledge of the Eternal fills the hearts of men, so they shall be kind to one another; and the wild beasts, no longer hunted, but tamed by kindness, shall share the benefit of the Messiah’s reign.

9. As the waters cover the sea. That is, completely filling its bed.

10. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse. Rather, “And in that day the root (or sprout) of Jesse which is standing shall be for a banner of the peoples; to Him the nations shall seek, and His dwelling-place shall be glorious.”

11 shall set His hand again the second time. This restoration is called the “second,” the first being probably the deliverance of God’s ancient people from Egypt. The countries specified after Assyria, the enemy then threatening Judah, are named in geographical order as surrounding Palestine, and are therefore to be taken for the whole earth (12): see Gen. x; Numb. xii. 1. The complete fulfilment of the prophecy will be when “all Israel shall be saved”: see Rom. xi.

the islands of the sea. Or, the coast-land of the sea”; i.e. the Mediterranean Sea: meaning such parts of Europe as were then known.

12 an ensign for the nations. An intimation of the ingathering of the heathen in fellowship with Israel into His Church: cp. iv. 4, 5.

the outcasts of Israel . . . the dispersed of Judah. The word “outcasts” is masculine; the word “dispersed,” feminine: thus including all.

13. The envy also of Ephraim. See notes on Judg. viii. 1; 1 Kings xi. 28; and on title of Psa. lxxviii. The “adversaries of Judah” are here the Ephraimites.

14 they shall fly upon the shoulders, etc. That is, “They shall pounce upon” them like birds of prey. The tribes, instead of attacking one another, shall unite, as in David’s days, against their common enemies. “The children of the East” are Edom, Moab, and Ammon, the exciters of the great confederacies against Israel mentioned in 2 Sam. viii., x.

15 the tongue of the Egyptian sea. The narrow gulf of Suez, through which a dry passage was made for the Israelites (Exod. xiv.).

in the seven streams. Rather, “into seven streams” (R.V.). The “River” is the Euphrates, which shall not be a greater obstacle to the return than the Jordan had been to the entrance into their land (Josh. iii.).