Isaiah
Chapter 11
From the stump of Jessea shoot will come forth; from his roots, a branch will grow and bear fruit.
The spirit of the Lord will rest upon him— a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and power, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.
Not by appearances will he judge, nor by what is said must he decide,
but with justice he will judge the poor and with righteousness decide for the meek. Like a rod, his word will strike the oppressor, and the breath of his lips slays the wicked.
Justice will be the belt of his waist, Truth, the belt of his hips.
The wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will rest beside the kid, the calf and the lion cub will feed together and a little child will lead them.
Befriending each other, the cow and the bear will see their young ones lie down together. Like cattle, the lion will eat hay.
By the cobra’s den, the infant will play. The child will put his hand into the viper’s lair.
No one will harm or destroy over my holy mountain, for as water fills the sea the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord.
The Return of the Exiles
On that day, the “Root of Jesse” will be raised as a signal for the nations. The people will come in search of him, thus making his dwelling place glorious.
On that day, the Lord will again raise his hand to reclaim the remnant of his people from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Ethiopia, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the coastlands of the sea.
He will set up a signal that can be seen from all the countries and assemble the exiles of Israel; he will gather the scattered people of Judah from all the corners of the earth.
Then Ephraim will cast off its jealousy, and Judah will be rid of its enemies. Ephraim will not envy Judah, nor Judah be hostile to Ephraim.
But the two will sweep down together upon the shoulder of Philistia to the west and plunder the nations to the east. They will lay their hands upon Edom and Moab and make the Ammonites their subjects.
The Lord will dry up the tongue of the Egyptian sea; he will sweep his hand over the Euphrates in scorching fury and break it into seven streams that people can cross dry-shod.
Then there will be a highway for the remnant of his people returning from Assyria, as when Israel came out of Egypt.
Commentaries
Messianic Peace.
The pruning of the strongest and tallest trees representing the kings of Israel contrasts with the shoot of Jesse that will emerge: the Messiah will come from that “remnant of Israel.” The words “stump,” “shoot,” and ‘branch’ associated with the tree of Jesse indicate the Davidic origin of the Messiah. The wisdom of this king-Messiah is directly related to God’s creative “breath” (Gn 2:7). David had also been filled with the Spirit at the moment of his coronation (1 Sm 16:13). This leader will ensure justice for the poor and oppressed with the power of the Spirit (cf. Is 61:1ff; Luke 4:18). The weapons of this messianic king will be his Word and the “breath” of his mouth (Ps 33:6), with which he will defeat his enemies and restore creation (Ps 72). The temple on the holy mountain is reminiscent of the Garden of Eden. The messianic king will restore paradisiacal peace and fill the earth with the knowledge of the Lord “as the waters cover the sea” (9).
The Return of the Exiles.
This prophecy refers to the return of the exiles from Assyria and Babylon. Since this exile had not yet happened at the time of the prophet, this passage is probably much later.
Verse 11 provides insight into the locations where the Israelites were scattered, underscoring the great hope for their eventual return. This hope is always seen as the loving work of God, who will gather his people from all those countries (cf. Ez 11:17; 20:34, 41; Ps 147:2). After the fall of Samaria in 721 B.C. and the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., many of its inhabitants were taken captive to Babylon. In contrast, others were scattered throughout Egypt, Phoenicia, and even the Greek islands, where many were sold as slaves.